Why does my mouse move alone? [solution]

Today we continue with some of the support tutorials for those errors that you do not understand, but you are suffering. If your mouse moves only when you keep it still, keep reading, because we are going to give you some tips to fix it.

Similar to a tutorial we did recently, a mouse can malfunction for a huge number of things. Here we are going to recommend certain measures for you to detect why your mouse moves alone and how to solve it.

We hope it helps you, but we also encourage you to research and deduce from your own data.

The data that we are going to offer you is based on Windows 10 , so if you come from another Operating System we cannot assure you that it is the same, although perhaps it is similar.

Index of contents

Why does the mouse move by itself?

As we have already told you, there are a myriad of reasons why a mouse may be moving on its own. We will discard the possession of spirits, for the moment.

What to do if the mouse moves by itself?

The point is that you should investigate the symptoms and consequences yourself, that is, make arguments that help you deduce what is happening.

• Does it move by itself always or when two hours pass since the equipment was turned on? Does it happen after opening an app? Does it only happen when you change the DPIs?

As you can see, the situations that I have presented to you are very diverse and for each of them we have a different solution. So before starting the "tests", We recommend that you do a little research to find out what we are up to.

First of all, remember to check if you still have the product warranty, since it may come defective.

If it has started to malfunction after several months of use, it is definitely faulty. Make the checks that we recommend below and if the error is caused by the mouse, seek to claim an exchange.

First analysis

Before giving a verdict on who is to blame, we will take a closer look at where the real problem comes from. That is why we will do a series of "tests" to determine it.

First of all, unplug your mouse and plug it into another computer. Move it around the screen a little, and then hold it still. If the pointer starts to move on its own, it means the problem comes from the mouse. Otherwise, we discard that the mouse is the source. The problem must have been caused by another actor.

Disconnect and reconnect the peripheral

If the mouse is not the culprit, we should do the reverse, that is, connect another mouse on the affected computer. We do the same process and check if this auxiliary mouse suffers from the same problems or not. If the answer is yes, it is evident that the fault lies with the team, but if not, we have run out of suspects.

In the event that you have already done both steps with negative responses, reconnect the first mouse. If the device does not move again by itself, it means that everything is fixed and it was a point error. In the opposite case, we can deduce that the problem is the combination of that mouse with that specific equipment. The best thing to try in this case is to reinstall the mouse drivers that you can see in Operating System problems .

If everything works well, perhaps the USB cable was poorly connected, had suffered a jerk or the drivers had been installed incorrectly and when reconnecting the device everything was fixed.

However, if you have discovered that the error comes from one of the two sources, continue reading, because we will see ways to try to fix it.

Mouse moves alone

If you have determined that the mouse is the culprit, we can do several things. We could divide it between device status and device conditions, so let's take a look at what they are.

Device Conditions

When we talk about the conditions of the device, we do not mean its physical state, but what surrounds it. Here we will see the hygiene and maintenance of it and how we use them.

• Cleaning the device

Cleaning your device is something that we will always recommend. Performing maintenance to keep them in good condition is vital if you want them to last for more than a couple of years. In addition, it takes on greater relevance if we consider that dirt can end up spoiling your peripherals.

The residues can be lethal for a peripheral, reaching to clog and make it difficult to click or worsen the sliding of the mouse. Although when we talk about producing unidentified movements, in some cases, dirt is able to block the light from the sensor.

That is why the erratic movement of the mouse may come from something that is obstructing its base. Check that the base is clean and with nothing in its path and if you see any lint or similar, clean it immediately.

• Check the surface on which we use the device

The surfaces on which we use the devices are less and less relevant, but it is something that we cannot ignore. Older devices, especially optical and mechanical mice, have a problem tracking certain surfaces.

Surface on which an optical mouse does not work well without a mat

For example, optical sensors of yesteryear suffered if the surface was not smooth or had different colored patterns. Also, it did not work on glass, cardboard or wood, so it is common to see strange movements if we use them.

Today, many mice carry advanced optical sensors that allow the use of the mouse on most surfaces, but it was only two generations ago that we could not. The PMW 3360 sensor (widely used today) is capable of this, but its previous model, the PMW 3310, still has this handicap.

Device Status

• Check cable and USB status

As you can guess, the state of the peripheral is very important to determine how well it works. The first of the checks we will do will be to see the condition of the cable.

Damaged cable

If you have a cat, dog, or poorly groomed environment, your mouse may have suffered. If it is a wired mouse, check all the cable routing and the USB head. Make sure that no cables are exposed or broken, as this obviously affects their health.

In the best case, you will be able to patch a bitten cable, but if this is not the case, the fastest solution is to get another device. If the head or cable is badly damaged, you can always replace it, but you will need some knowledge of electronics and circuitry.

• Change batteries / battery

It is not uncommon to suffer ravings with the functionality of the devices when we run out of energy.

WE RECOMMEND YOU Share Network Printer Windows 10

You will have lived it once when a laptop has started to run out of power. To prevent an unannounced shutdown, the Operating System forces the computer to decrease performance. So the laptop starts to go very slow, slow to load and the like.

The same can happen with peripherals . If you have a wireless mouse, look to recharge your battery or change its batteries. Maybe the ghostly movement you suffered from came right from there.

• Check device life

Also note the life of the device. If you have been using it for several years, it may have been worn by intensive use.

For example, most common mice endure a couple of tens of millions of keystrokes, so their life expectancy is not short. However, long sessions of use over the years may have pushed you to your limit.

Also note that you have not suffered any blows, falls or others that have damaged it. In that case, the damage is almost irreversible and it is best to buy a replacement.

The Operating System moves only the mouse

It is possible that the culprit of these ghostly movements is not the mouse itself, but that the computer or the Operating System causes them. In this case, we will have to look at another series of problems.

Among them we can find:

• Reinstall mouse drivers

Similar to what we have done in other tutorials, we will have to access the Device Manager from the Start bar and select the mouse in use. You may find it a somewhat difficult task, but we have to prove it.

With a right click, we select to disable device and immediately we will have to restart the computer. Keep everything you want to keep well, such as a link to a website or a working Word .

Keep in mind that you will have to restart the computer with the keyboard, since we will not be able to use the mouse. Once the action is completed, the Operating System will take care of reinstalling the drivers. If it doesn't, disconnect and reconnect the USB cable or antenna.

• Scan your computer for viruses and malware

If you recently installed a suspicious program, it is possible that it was a covered virus or malware. There are remote, but possible, cases of it being malware dedicated to tracking your movements.

Therefore, we recommend that you carry out a complete analysis of your computer with an antivirus. If you don't have any program or find no trace in your trusted antivirus, you can turn to Windows Defender. By having the System's base data, you may be able to see more than your third-party program.

Final words

As you can see, the problems can come from almost any source, so do not be afraid and start analyzing what is happening. Once you have detected the problem, find out if any of these solutions can help you.

Remember to check if you still have a warranty and how to claim it, since a device is designed to work well for up to several years.

We hope this article has helped you and that you have been able to solve your problem with the mouse. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below. We will reply to you as soon as we can.

Alegsa Fountain