28 Fixes For Mouse Stuttering on Windows

Every time you move your mouse or glide your finger over the trackpad, it’s satisfying to watch the mouse pointer/cursor flow across your screen. What do you find unsatisfactory? While you’re trying to get anything done, your pointer lags all over the screen, testing your patience.

We may face consequences such as rage quitting, incomplete assignments, and other unfinished tasks if this problem is not resolved. A broken mouse can cause a drop in computer productivity, which is inefficient for whatever you do on the computer. Now, we don’t want that. Do we? That is exactly why we made this article to help you.

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What Does It Mean When We Say That The Mouse Is Stuttering?

mouse stuttering

A device lag occurs when a device does not make an impact on the computer as soon as it is told, within a short period of time or the advertised reaction time (ms).

A spike in the response time can wreak havoc on your computer productivity, especially if you’re playing an action-packed video game. In this case, you’ll require the lowest ms possible.

This isn’t the only time you’ll require a smooth mouse cursor movement. A stuttering mouse or choppy mouse movement might make it difficult to navigate to the desired location or move over a virtual object such as a file or button.

This will cause the output to be delayed beyond what a properly functional wireless or wired mouse can deliver in the same amount of time. A sluggish mouse cursor or a slow keyboard is extremely inconvenient to use and must be addressed as soon as possible.

Factors That Cause My Mouse To Stutter

There are six explainable factors that can explain the stuttering mouse.

Outdated Mouse Drivers

When the mouse drivers are old or corrupt, the mouse you use may not be detected. These drivers are essential for your mouse to be allowed to access the interactable parts of your computer.

Driver corruption is a serious issue, that has to be immediately addressed. You can either remove and reinstall the drivers or simply scan the system and reboot it.

Connectivity Issues

Both wireless and wired mice can experience mouse lag because of improper connectivity. The USB pins can be loosely connected or there could be damage to the USB port.

For cordless mice, you will have to make sure that the mouse is in the range of the dongle. Your solution to this situation is to get the USB port fixed or use a different mouse.

Damage To The Mouse

If the mouse is damaged, the device may not be functional. A broken mouse is not optimal for productivity. If the mouse sensor is broken, the mouse will be dysfunctional, leaving you with no option but to get a new one or get it fixed. Mice are generally made with plastic compounds, making them fragile and increasing the chances of damage.

Low Batteries

Wireless mice utilize either battery or charging to operate. After a period of use, the charge on the mouse and the replaceable batteries depletes and must be replenished.

The most obvious sign of a low battery is that the mouse cursor will become stuck at some locations on the screen and will not move smoothly or without interruption. If your mouse has a light beneath the motion sensor, it may dim as the energy drops.

Misconfigured Settings

There are some settings configurations that can cause your mouse pointer to stutter on the screen. Most of them are related to the display and audio drivers. Some enabled settings might use a lot of resources making it unable for the display drivers to accommodate the functioning of the mouse pointer. Thereby, the mouse stuttering is possible.

Uneven Surface

If the mouse is placed on a lumpy surface, there will not be a proper solid surface for the sensor to be dependent on. Even if you use a mouse pad there are chances for alien bodies to get underneath or over it.

Make sure that the surface is leveled and smooth. Even if you do not have a mousepad, do not use a bare tabletop or the floor to move your mouse on.

Workarounds And Solutions To Fix The Mouse Stuttering In Games Windows 10 Issue

These are the workaround and configurational fixes that we are going to be using, for resolving the mouse stuttering issue on your Windows 10 PC.

  1. Clean The Mouse
  2. Place The Mouse On A Smooth Surface
  3. Take A Look At The Mouse DPI
  4. Check The Batteries On Your Wireless Mouse
  5. Make Sure Your Wireless Mouse Is In Range
  6. Wipe The Mouse Sensor
  7. Verify The Functioning Of The USB Port
  8. Try Connecting The Mouse Or Dongle To A Better USB Port
  9. Check The Task Manager
  10. Connect The Mouse Through A USB Extender
  11. Change The Touchpad Sensitivity
  12. Enable No Delay For Your Touchpad
  13. Modify The Mouse Frequency
  14. Make Changes In The Clickpad Settings
  15. Change The Power Management Settings For The USB Port
  16. Disable Aero Settings
  17. Turn Off Windows Scaling
  18. Remove All Active Overlays
  19. Turn The Wallpaper Carousel Off
  20. Disable The Scroll Inactive Window
  21. Turn The Fast Startup Feature Off
  22. Adjust The Palm Check Threshold
  23. Put Cortana Out Of Action
  24. Turn Off The Nvidia High Definition Audio
  25. Deactivate The Realtek Audio Driver
  26. Disable The Overclocking Feature
  27. Update, Reinstall, Or Rollback The Mouse Driver Software
  28. Update, Reinstall, Or Rollback The Graphics Card Drivers

Fixing The Stuttering Mouse Issue On Windows 10

Clean The Mouse

The mouse sensor can stop working if it is covered by dust. You will also not be able to click on the buttons and expect them to respond if there is grit under them. It is advisable to keep your mouse and other components clean.

You can use a toothpick or a dry cotton bud to clean the nooks on your mouse. If you choose to use a toothpick to dislodge dirt particles, you will have to be very careful so as to not break it and let splinters lodge in the gaps on your mouse.

Place The Mouse On A Smooth Surface

The mouse has to be placed on a flat surface for the motion sensors to work. If you use a trackpad, you may not have any issues regarding the surfaces. It is also not advisable to use your mouse on a glass surface or on a soft fabric.

Most gaming mouses are really sensitive and require a nice mouse pad to work smoothly. Making an investment in a good mouse also includes getting a good mouse pad. Keeping the mousepad clean is equally important.

Take A Look At The Mouse DPI

Sometimes there could be no issue with the mouse but you may be uncomfortable with the speed the mouse pointer moves across your screen. You can try adjusting the DPI (Dots Per Inch) value to change the mouse sensitivity. There are four ways for you to make changes in the DPI value of your mouse pointer.

  • If you have a gaming mouse, there could be a button to change the DPI in preset values.
  • High-end gaming mouses have removable weights that can affect the rate at which you move the mouse across the surface.
mouse cleaner
  • There are third-party interfaces for your mouse, that can be used to make changes in the mouse configurations including the DPI and other driver-related fixes. These applications can be downloaded from the mouse manufacturer’s website.
  • Open Settings > Devices > Mouses > Additional mouse options > Pointer options > Enhance Pointer Precision.

Check The Batteries On Your Wireless Mouse

Wireless mice require batteries. Low charge on the batteries can be quite frustrating when you start noticing the first obvious symptoms – the stuttering mouse.

These types of mice have openable backs where you have to insert the batteries. Your mouse can either use one AA battery or two AAA batteries to make the mouse function smoothly.

Make Sure Your Wireless Mouse Is In Range

There is only a limit to the connection range between the wireless mouse and the computer that is hosting its dongle. This is highly unlikely but there are chances for the mouse to go over the range of connectivity.

Make sure that you are using the mouse in close proximity to the computer, on a mousepad. Most wireless mice can work from 20 – 30 feet.

Wipe The Mouse Sensor

Wipe The Mouse Sensor

Pick up your mouse and turn it around. You will see an LED light. This is the motion sensor. If it is dusty, the pointer may not move around smoothly. If you have a lens blower, use it to blow the dust off. Cotton buds can help you with this. Be careful not to push it hard as you may end up with a mouse that doesn’t work.

Verify The Functioning Of The USB Port

You have to make sure that the USB port is on your desktop’s CPU or the side of the laptop. The USB port can get damaged because of rust or dust accumulation. Physical trauma to this hardware component can also damage it. A bent or dysfunctional USB cannot be used to connect any USB drive or cable to connect a mouse.

Try Connecting The Mouse Or Dongle To A Better USB Port

Your mouse could be compatible with a more recent version of the USB port. Newer versions of the USB port offer faster transfer speeds and responses quicker than the previous ones.

You will need to take a look at your device’s motherboard specifications to learn the version of the USB drive. The box or the web page of your mouse model will help you know if the mouse is compatible with the USB version.

Note: USB version 3.0 is backward compatible, meaning that it can host devices with older USB versions (versions 2.0 and 1.1). However, this may not apply to all devices. The installed USB and the inserted device drivers are also factors that can influence this connection.

Check The Task Manager

If the CPU resources are preoccupied, you may face the mouse pointer stuttering issue. This may seem like a far-fetched reason but the graphics driver plays a considerable role in displaying content on your screen, including the movement of the cursor on your screen.

To power the graphics card and keep it functioning normally, an equally considerable amount of CPU resources is needed. If any application or service is spiking up the CPU usage, consider the mouse stutter a symptom. If this is your case, the Windows Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) will help you.

Connect The Mouse Through A USB Extender

A USB extender or a USB hub not only provides more slots for plugging devices into USB ports but also ensures a more stable connection to the computer. You can get the USB hub from an online store or a computer hardware dealer.

Choose a USB hub that best suits your needs. This solution will also be able to let you know if the issue is caused by the USB drivers or the port. 

Change The Touchpad Sensitivity

If you use a laptop, you will know that the touchpad is a very integral part of the portable computer. When you face this issue, you could be using the trackpad or a large-scale designing touchpad. This is what you should do if you want to adjust the touchpad’s sensitivity.

  1. Launch the Windows Settings with the help of the Start menu or by pressing the Windows and I keys together.
  2. Go into the Devices settings tile and click on the Touchpad tab in the left pane.
  3. Now, select the Touchpad sensitivity menu. Here, you will have standard options that can be used to set the cursor speed when triggered.
 select the Touchpad sensitivity menu.
  1. Choose from one of the options. If you do not wish to use it, you can always disable it with the Touchpad toggle switch on the same page.

Enable No Delay For Your Touchpad

The No Delay touchpad feature is very useful when it comes to keeping the mouse pointer from being an obstruction while typing. This does little to no change on your computer and simply, stops the cursor from being used fully, when disabled. So we are going to turn the no delay feature on, with these steps, on your Windows 10 PC.

  1. Press the Windows key and I together to open the Windows Settings.
  2. Open the Devices tile and go into the Touchpad option.
  3. Change the delay configuration to No delay (always on).
  4. Save these changes and reboot the system.
  5. Once the reboot is complete, move your mouse around to see if you’re comfortable with the speed of the newly configured cursor.

Modify The Mouse Frequency

The mouse frequency is a factor that can be adjusted for a better user experience on the Windows OS. Making changes in this mouse setting configuration may allow you to see a smoother cursor movement.

You can adjust these settings in the Windows Settings.

  1. Bring up the Settings window and click on the Devices option.
  2. Go into the Mouse tab.
  3. Locate the Mouse Frequency or Cursor Speed slider and click-drag it. As you adjust it, release your index finger from the mouse button and move the pointer around to see if you’re comfortable with the frequency.
Locate the Mouse Frequency or Cursor Speed slider and click-drag it

Make Changes In The Clickpad Settings

The clickpad is a touchpad but with right and left mouse buttons. Since these buttons are present, the settings for this hardware component, differ from the usual touchpad configurations slightly.

It has been proven that making changes in the Filter and Smart sense aspects for your clickpad has shown results in the mouse pointer movement. Why don’t we try that?

  1. Open the Control Panel (cpl) window. You will find it available in the start menu or the search results for this.
  2. Set the view type to large icons and go into the Mouse settings.
  3. Select the Clickpad Settings option and locate the Advanced section.
  4. Now, choose Smart Sense and set the Filter value to 0.

Change The Power Management Settings For The USB Port

If the power management settings have to be optimized for the hosting component. In this case, it is the USB port. When these settings are not applied, you can experience mouse lag. Therefore, we’ll have to adjust the power settings for the USB port.

  1. Open the Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) window through the Run tool (Windows key + R) or the search box in the taskbar.
  2. Expand the Universal Serial Bus Controllers section and locate your USB port device from the list.
Expand the Universal Serial Bus Controllers section and locate your USB port device from the list.
  1. Right-click on the device and choose the Properties option from the context menu.
  2. Move to the Power Management tab and click on the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power checkbox.
click on the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power checkbox.
  1. Now, click on the OK button to save changes.

Disable Aero Settings

We noticed that the Aero settings can take up too many resources when activated on older laptops. This factor will affect the performance of your wireless mouse. If you did not know what Aero is, it is the tiny column on the extreme right of the taskbar.

When this is clicked on, the entire desktop will be displayed after all the other windows are closed. This can be considered a fancy feature as it is not quite essential and can use more graphics resources than it is worth now.

If you wish to turn this off, this is what you have to do.

  1. Right-click on an empty area on your desktop.
  2. From the desktop context pop-up, choose the Personalize option.
  3. In the Personalization settings window that appears, go into the Themes section.
In the Personalization settings window that appears, go into the Themes section.
  1. Choose a theme that does not have a lot of colors.

Once this theme is applied, wait for a few seconds and you should be able to see a smoother mouse movement.

Turn Off Windows Scaling

Windows Scaling is the system feature that allows users to increase or decrease the text size and the sizes of icons and windows on the screen. The scaling feature is a very good friend for people with glasses as it lets you set a high-resolution output on a smaller display, like that of a laptop.

But this can hurt your mouse sensitivity, especially while gaming. There are two places on a Windows computer that allows you to adjust this feature on Windows 10.

  • Windows Settings
  1. Open your computer’s settings (Windows key + I).
  2. Go into the System settings tile.
  3. Here, unfold the Change the size of text, apps, and other items drop-down menu and choose 100%.
Go into the System settings tile.
  • Game Properties
  1. Go to the game’s directory. If there is a desktop icon, you can simply right-click on it and choose Open File location. For platform-based game launchers, you can find the option to go to the installation location on the game’s library page.
  2. Locate the application in the installation directory and open the context menu of the game application (.exe file).
  3. Choose the Properties option and the application properties window appears on your screen.
  4. Go into the Compatibility tab and select the Change high DPI settings option.
  5. Click on the Override high DPI scaling behavior checkbox.
  6. From the drop-down menu, choose the Application option.
From the drop-down menu, choose the Application option.
  1. Once you’re done, click on the OK button to save the changes

Try running the game and see if the crosshair or the camera moves around smoothly.

Remove All Active Overlays

If you are a gamer, you will know all about the in-game and other overlays that can occupy your screen. This feature can be of great help when you need a lot of elements on one screen.

These overlays, when placed on a single screen, can use a lot of computer resources. Your computer may have overlays to indicate frame rate, video capture, streaming, or active voice calls. These can be either disabled or hidden through the respective application settings.

If you are a gamer, these applications are highly likely to be displaying overlays on your screen.

  • NVIDIA GeForce Experience
  • AMD Radeon Adrenaline
  • Discord
  • OBS or any other broadcasting software
  • Dedicated screen recorders

Turn The Wallpaper Carousel Off

The Wallpaper carousel or the wallpaper slideshow is very attractive when enabled. You can see a set of chosen or preset pictures, transitioning across your screen. When this cycle of wallpapers is active, there are chances that the mouse stutters or becomes frozen.

This happens on a lot of computers, with varying sets of specifications. We will have to try disabling the wallpaper slideshow on your computer to see if it helps with the cursor movement.

  1. Right-click on the desktop and select the Personalize option.
  2. In the Personalize settings, go to the Background tab.
  3. Open the Change Picture every dialog box and choose the 1-day option.
In the Personalize settings, go to the Background tab.

Now, this is a really long time interval for your system to change wallpapers but it can help you get a smoother-moving cursor. Alternatively, if you do not mind stationary wallpapers, you can also set a single picture as the wallpaper. You just have to right-click on a picture and choose the Set as Desktop Background option.

Disable The Scroll Inactive Window

When the cursor is not focused on a certain window, a feature called ‘Scroll Inactive Windows’ must be enabled to allow users to scroll across it using the mouse wheel, especially when it is a document like an Excel sheet or a Word page. This function, whether activated or disabled, has the potential to cause mouse lag.

  1. Go to the Devices tile in the Windows Settings (Windows key + I) application.
  2. On the left side, select the Mouse tab.
  3. The toggle switch “Scroll inactive windows when I hover over them” should be visible here. Turn it off if it’s on, and enable it if it isn’t.
  4. Then move your mouse about to see if the problem has been resolved.

To see if this process works, repeat it several times until you get the desired mouse pointer speed.

Turn The Fast Startup Feature Off

The Fast Startup option is excellent for quickly powering up a computer. But we have a lot of articles regarding difficulties where removing this feature is a common remedy.

This means that interfering with Disabling the rapid startup feature can also help eliminate mouse pointer delay. If you are willing to let your PC boot up slowly, use these steps.

  1. Open your computer’s Control Panel. You can find it by searching for it in the Start menu or simply, searching for it in the search bar (Windows key + S).
  2. From the left panel, go to the Power options settings and select the Choose what the power button does link.
  3. Click the Change settings that are currently an unavailable option at the top of the Define power buttons page.
  4. Save your modifications after clicking on the Turn on fast startup checkbox.
clicking on the Turn on fast startup checkbox

Adjust The Palm Check Threshold

When the touchpad on your laptop is accidentally touched, the Palm Check feature prevents the pointer from moving on your screen. This function may obstruct the hardware, resulting in mouse lag on your computer.

  1. Open Windows Settings and select Devices from the main menu.
  2. Locate the Additional mouse options link under the Mouse & Touchpad tab which is on the left menu panel.
  3. Go to the Pointer Options tab in the Mouse Properties window that is displayed on your screen.
  4. Find the Palm Check Threshold slider and click on it. This is located under the Motion section. 
  5. Now, drag it all the way to the left, setting it all the way up to Slow.

Put Cortana Out Of Action

The Cortana Assistant might be a stumbling block for the mouse, resulting in mouse latency issues. This is an inexplicable factor Now let us try restricting it and see if it makes a difference.

  1. The Cortana window can be accessed via the taskbar Cortana icon. Open it by clicking on the icon.
  2. Bring down the three-dots menu and select Settings from the drop-down menu.
  3. Toggle all of the options off in the Hey Cortana section of the Talk to Cortana tab.

Turn Off The Nvidia High Definition Audio

The mouse movement on your screen is rather close to the Graphics Card. If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, you should be informed that the NVIDIA HD acoustic energy comes from the GPU’s HDMI port.

To help with the mouse stuttering issue, it’s worthwhile to try removing the NVIDIA HD audio driver on your Computer system.

  1. In the search bar, type in Add or Remove Programs and select the best result. You will be taken to the Add or Remove Programs page in Settings.
  2. Locate the GeForce Experience application and click it to reveal a small section with the Uninstall option.
  3. To uninstall this tool, click the Uninstall button and follow the uninstall wizard’s instructions.
  4. Then, go to Device Manager and click on it (devmgmt.msc). The most convenient way to open this window is to search for it.
  5. Find the NVIDIA High Definition Audio device in the Sound, Video, and Game Controllers area.
  6. Open the context menu and select Disable device from the pop-down menu.

Deactivate The Realtek Audio Driver

Turning off the Realtek audio management was suggested in some forums as a remedy to the mouse’s high latency problem. You may be surprised to learn that this is an audio driver rather than a mouse driver. This fix has shown to be effective for many users and is worth a shot.

  1. Pressing the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys will open the Task Manager window. You may also access it via the taskbar context menu or the Task Termination window (Ctrl + Alt + Del).
  2. Locate the Realtek audio management process under the Background processes tab.
  3. Select this process and press the End Task button.

You may also terminate the Realtek audio management process in the Task Manager’s Startup tab. Check if the problem persists once the audio process has been successfully killed.

Disable The Overclocking Feature

Overclocking is a very common term and process among gamers, streamers, and designers. Overclocking refers to the process of pushing the computer and its hardware components to a limit more than it is intended to run. This is done to extract more output, especially frames.

Except for the graphics drivers interface applications, there are no other easy ways for you to stop your system from overclocking. However, if the CPU is overclocking when you run a game, you will have to turn its graphics down.

High graphics resolution for your game can cause the processor to overclock. You will have to launch the game and manually, lower the output graphics.

Note: There is a reason overclocking is not advisable. Overclocking means overheating, which can lead to the circuits burning up inside your CPU cabinet. Even if it doesn’t, you could be looking at hardware component failure eventually.

Update, Reinstall, Or Rollback The Mouse Driver Software

An out-of-date or defective mouse driver software could be one of the causes of mouse latency. The mouse, like every other component of your computer, requires driver software to function.

It’s crucial to have the most recent driver software for all of your computer’s devices in order to get the best possible outcome. Apart from functionality, another reason to update the drivers is to resolve any existing device problems.

  1. The Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) window has to be opened at first. This window can be opened in one of three ways on your computer – The Quick Link/Power User menu (Ctrl + X), the Run utility (Windows + R), and the search field on the taskbar.
  2. Locate the Mice and other pointing devices section, once the Device Manager window is up. By clicking on the section’s title, you can expand it.
  3. You’ll have to pick between updating these drivers or uninstalling and reinstalling them from the Driver tab. To bring up the driver properties window, right-click on a device and choose the Properties option.
bring up the driver properties window, right-click on a device and choose the Properties option
  1. If you select Update, you will be presented with an Update wizard, where you must select Search automatically for drivers. Available updates will be checked for on your machine and the internet, and they will be downloaded. They will be installed automatically after a simple reboot of the operating system. This option is also available in the Device properties’ Driver tab.
  2. The device and its driver software will be removed if you select Uninstall. To reinstall it, right-click on this section again and select Scan for hardware changes from the menu. You will get a fresher copy of the same drivers.
  3. For rolling the driver version back, you can use the Roll back option. You will be taken back to the previous version of the mouse driver, that was installed on your computer. If you did not download mouse driver software updates before, well, you should.

Several versions of the mouse driver firmware upgrades should be available for download on the mouse manufacturer’s website, generally in the support or download web pages.

You can always use these sources/setups and their on-screen instructions to download and install the most recent or existing versions of a mouse or other updateable hardware device drivers.

Update, Reinstall, Or Rollback The Graphics Card Drivers

One may presume that upgrading your computer’s current graphics card driver to address a mouse problem is perplexing. Because the display adapters are responsible for what moves on your screen, this is the case.

Even if this method does not work for you, having an updated GPU driver is always a bonus as it allows you to achieve greater graphics rendering and frame output while playing games, editing, or streaming multimedia.

You might want to use a third-party software interface for your graphics cards to download and install updates, such as the GeForce Experience for NVIDIA and the Radeon Adrenalin engine for AMD graphics cards, with the only prerequisite being a reliable internet connection.

Another option for you to use is the driver setups that you can download from the GPU manufacturer’s website. You will be able to get the update in the form of a .exe file that can be run to install the updates for your video card driver software.

The steps to update, reinstall and roll back the graphics drivers, manually are the same as doing the same with the mouse drivers. We suggest going with the interface download method as it is less complicated and does not involve taking any risks.

This article has every solution that we managed to lay our eyes on. If you still cannot fix the issue, try sending the mouse in for repairs to a service center. You can also get the host device checked by a professional. If none of these work, get a new mouse. Happy Gaming!