Mouse Keeps Freezing on Windows? How to Fix it

By Nishant Aryal Updated November 28, 2022

Mouse cursor freezing indicates a problem with the driver or the software side of the peripheral. This problem affects not only the mouse but also the touchpads on laptops.

This problem could be caused by connectivity issues, such as a faulty wire or a dead battery. If the mouse settings are misconfigured, this can also cause the mouse to freeze. This is very likely if you are using a mouse control software.

The causes of mouse freezes can be numerous and difficult to identify at first glance. Today, we will discuss those causes as well as their relevant fixes.

Why Does Mouse Keeps Freezing on Windows

Aside from connectivity issues, the most common causes of mouse freezing on Windows are the following.

Misconfiguration of Pointer Speed
Slow Computer
Issues with the Mouse Drivers
System Files Corruption
Malware and Virus Infection

How to Fix Mouse Keeps Freezing on Windows?

Here are some preliminary troubleshooting measures that you can take to resolve this issue:

Check the connectivity and batteries: Remove the mouse’s USB cable and reconnect it. If you have a wireless mouse, ensure that the USB dongle is properly connected. Try switching the USB ports and check if that work.

Also, make sure your wireless mouse’s battery isn’t dead. Even if you don’t use and leave the mouse unattended for an extended period of time, its batteries tend to drain.

Use a smooth surface to operate, ideally a mouse pad, and also clean the mouse.
Connect a spare mouse and see if it also freezes. This also helps to identify if the problem is with the mouse or the system itself.
Restart the computer to ensure that the problem is not caused by temporary glitches in the Operating system.
Signal interference can affect how a wireless mouse functions. Maintain close proximity to your computer to combat this.

If these troubleshooting measures do not work for you, follow these fixes to get your mouse functioning normally. While attempting these fixes, you can navigate through the Windows Settings using the Keyboard.

End Resource Consuming Processes

The majority of the time, Mouse freeze does not occur due to issues with the mouse or its drivers. Background processes that consume resources contribute to system slowdown and can cause the mouse to freeze.

Follow these steps to end such background processes.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
In the Processes section, search for the processes or applications with High CPU usage.
Navigate to the process and press the Menu key on your Keyboard.
Select the End Task and close the Task Manager.
Now, use the mouse to see if it is working normally.

Disable Precision Pointer Feature

This feature enhances the mouse acceleration by adjusting the DPI. It automatically changes the DPI when the mouse cursor is moved. If the system does not handle this adjustment correctly, this might slow down the mouse cursor, which may look like a mouse freeze.

Here’s how to disable this feature.

Press Windows Key + I to open Settings.
Go to Bluetooth & devices > Mouse > Additional mouse Settings.
Go to the Pointer Options tab.
Under the Motion section, uncheck the Enhance pointer precision option.
Select Apply to save changes.

Reset Mouse Control Software

If you use mouse control software to customize the controls of your mouse, try resetting the mouse settings to default. Control misconfigurations also can cause the mouse to freeze.

There are varieties of mouse control software available online. For your reference, we will guide you on how to reset the Logitech’s software.

Open the Logitech Options Software.
Go to the Mouse Section.
Click on the Restore Defaults button. Give the confirmation to reset the settings.
Close the software and then check if the mouse is working fine.

Update Drivers

Most of the time, the fault is with the mouse drivers. If the mouse drivers are outdated or have some underlying issues with it, it can cause a mouse malfunction such as this. To overcome this, users can update the mouse drivers and see if this solves the issue.

Press the Windows key + R, type devmgmt.msc, and hit enter to open the Device Manager.
Navigate to Mice and other pointing devices to expand the list of devices under it.
Select the device and press enter.
Go to the Driver tab and select Update Driver.
Select Search automatically for drivers and follow the prompts to update the mouse drivers.

Uninstall/ Reinstall drivers

If updating the driver gives you no resolution, sometimes reinstalling can work as well. If the drivers are corrupted, this method can fix them and make the mouse function normally.

Go to Device Manager.
Use your keyboard to navigate to the Mice and other pointing devices, and press the right-arrow key to expand the list.
Select the mouse driver you want to reinstall and hit enter.
Go to the Driver tab and select Uninstall Device.
Give you a confirmation to uninstall the device driver.
Restart the computer. When the computer boots up, it will automatically install the generic mouse driver.
Finally, check if the mouse is working as intended.

If you see any conflicting drivers that might be affecting the mouse’s performance, you can uninstall those too, using this method. For the mouse that uses third-party OEM drivers, you can download them from the manufacturer’s respective website and install them manually.

Perform System Scans

There is a possibility of system file corruption or similar issues that migh be contributing to this mouse issue. The SFC and DISM scans diagnose and recover such files to bring stability to the system.

Press Windows Key + X.
Select Terminal (Admin) to launch the command prompt with elevated privileges.
Now, use these commands one by one to run the SFC and DISM scans.
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc/ scannow

Run Virus and Malware Scan

Viruses and Malware can cause serious problems for your system. They are well-known for causing system malfunctions (including mouse freezes) and even stealing your data. To get rid of these and even prevent future infections, install antivirus software and perform manual scans on a regular basis.

For your reference, here is how you can run such scans on Windows defender.

Press Windows Key + R, type windowsdefender://threat/, and hit enter.
Navigate using your Keyboard and go to Scan options.
Choose the Full Scan option and click on Scan now button.

Adjust the Pointer Speed

Mouse freezes are obvious if you have set the Pointer speed to low. Technically, the mouse does not freeze in this case, but it does slow down the overall acceleration of the mouse cursor, making it appear stuck.

In this case, you can easily change the pointer speed on windows using these steps.

Press Windows Key + I to open up Settings.
Go to Bluetooth & devices > Mouse.
Check if the slider for the Mouse pointer speed is set to low. If such is the case, change the slider to a medium speed or any speed you are comfortable with.

Uninstall the Latest Windows Update

Many users have reported experiencing this problem after the Windows updates. Users can resolve this by uninstalling the most recent updates and reverting to the previous working state.

Press Windows + I to open the Windows Settings.
Go to Windows Update > Update History.
Under the related settings, click on Uninstall updates.
Find the recently installed update and click on Uninstall.