Is My Mouse Broken? How to Diagnose Common Mouse Problems (2026)

Intro

Is your mouse broken, or is something else going on? Before you replace it, find out exactly what is wrong. A mouse that double-clicks on its own, drops inputs, skips across the screen, or loses wireless connection is not always dead. Most mouse problems have a clear cause and a straightforward fix.

This guide diagnoses every common mouse hardware failure, including buttons, scroll wheel, sensor, and wireless connection, and tells you what to do about each one. To run the actual tests, use our free Mouse Tester tool no download required.

Why Your Mouse Buttons Stop Working

Mouse buttons fail in three distinct ways. Each one has a different cause and a different fix.

Inconsistent clicks happen when a button registers sometimes, but not every time. This is the first warning sign that a switch is wearing out. Press your left button 20 times fast. If even one click fails to register, your switch is degrading. Confirm it with the Mouse Tester.

Double clicks on a single press happen because of switch bounce. The metal contacts inside the switch wear down and briefly make contact twice instead of once. Your computer reads that as two separate clicks. You try to select a file it opens instead. You click a link, and two tabs appear. A debounce setting in your mouse software can delay the symptom, but the switch itself is failing.

Mushy or delayed button feel points to uneven wear on the switch contacts. A healthy button click feels snappy and registers the instant you press down. If yours feels soft or takes extra pressure to fire, the switch is near the end of its life.

Side buttons failing silently are easy to miss. The button still makes a clicking sound, but stops sending a signal. If a command bound to a side button stops firing in-game, test each side button individually on the Mouse Tester before assuming it is a software or game issue.

Middle-click triggering a scroll means the scroll wheel mechanism is worn. Pressing the scroll wheel down should register a clean click with no scroll movement. If the page shifts slightly when you middle-click a link, the wheel assembly needs replacing.

The Double Click Problem (Most Common Mouse Failure)

This is the number one mouse complaint. By a wide margin.

You click once. The mouse registers twice. It ruins drag-and-drop, text selection, and file management. It happens because the microswitch inside the button wears down after millions of presses. The metal contacts start to bounce, making contact, separating, and making contact again in milliseconds. Your computer reads both contacts as separate clicks.

How to confirm it: Run the single click test on the Mouse Tester. Click your left button once. If the tool registers two clicks, you have a switch bounce.

How to fix it:

• Set a debounce time of 10–20ms in your mouse software. This tells the mouse to ignore any second click that fires within that window.
• If the software does not fix it, the switch needs physical replacement. Mouse switches cost under $2 and are swappable with a soldering iron.
• If neither option works for you, plan for a new mouse. This problem gets worse over time, not better.

Clicks Not Registering

The opposite problem you press the button, nothing happens.

This failure has three main causes.

Worn switch contacts no longer make reliable electrical contact. The button works sometimes and fails randomly. Click 50 times and count how many the Mouse Tester registers. Anything below 50 out of 50 confirms the problem.

Debris inside the switch blocks the metal contacts from touching. Crumbs, dust, and skin oils work their way into the switch mechanism over time. Try blowing compressed air into the button gap. This fixes the problem more often than you would expect.

A cracked solder joint causes an intermittent connection between the switch and the circuit board. Drops, temperature changes, and age all crack solder joints over time. This is harder to diagnose at home if the above two fixes do not work; a cracked joint is likely the cause.

Click and Hold Breaking

You drag a file across your screen, and it drops halfway. You select a paragraph of text, and the selection snaps back randomly. You aim down sights in a shooter, and your aim releases mid-fight.

These are all symptoms of a hold failure; the switch loses electrical contact for a fraction of a second during a sustained press and then reconnects.

How to confirm it: Hold your left button down for 30 seconds on the Mouse Tester. The tool shows a continuous active state. Any flicker, gap, or reset during those 30 seconds confirms a hold problem.

This issue starts subtle one brief drop every 30 seconds. Within weeks, it becomes constant. If your hold test shows even a single interruption, start planning for a replacement.

Scroll Wheel Problems

The scroll wheel works fine until it does not. Then it makes everything painful.

Scroll reversal is the most common scroll problem. You scroll up, and the page briefly jumps down before correcting itself. A dirty or worn encoder causes this — the tiny sensor inside the wheel that reads scroll direction picks up interference. Try compressed air into the scroll wheel gap first. If the reversal continues, the encoder needs to be replaced.

Skipped scroll steps mean the encoder misses inputs. You scroll one notch, and nothing registers. Then the next notch jumps two steps at once. This is common in mice over two years old and gets worse gradually.

Ghost scrolls when clicking and pressing the scroll wheel button also trigger a tiny scroll movement. The wheel mechanism is worn the downward clicking force physically disturbs the directional sensor. You will notice this most when middle-clicking links, as the page shifts slightly on every click.

Fast scroll reversal only appears when you flick the wheel hard. Slow scrolling looks fine. A fast spin produces random direction changes mixed into the stream of inputs. This is a clear sign that the encoder is at the end of its life and no longer processing high-speed input reliably.

Mouse Cursor Skipping and Jumping

Your cursor teleports to a random spot on screen. Or it freezes for a split second and snaps forward. Or it moves in small jerky steps instead of one smooth motion.

These are sensor or surface problems. Here is how to isolate the cause.

Clean the sensor lens first. Flip the mouse over and look at the small lens on the bottom. A single speck of dust or a strand of hair causes all the symptoms above. Clean it gently with a dry cotton swab or a short blast of compressed air. Test again before doing anything else.

Try a different surface. Highly reflective surfaces, worn-out mousepads, glass desks, and uneven textures all interfere with optical sensors. Move to a plain matte surface and test. If the skipping stops, your mousepad is the problem, not your mouse.

Check for wireless interference. WiFi routers, Bluetooth devices, wireless keyboards, and even nearby phones all compete on the 2.4GHz frequency. Move your USB dongle closer to the mouse using a short USB extension cable. Keep it away from your router and other wireless devices.

If none of the above works, the sensor itself is failing. Run the cursor movement test on the Mouse Tester. If the path remains choppy and erratic on every surface and every USB port, the sensor is the source.

Gaming Mouse Failures That Only Appear Under Pressure

A mouse can pass every basic test and still fail during actual gameplay. Gaming puts stress on mouse hardware that casual use never creates.

Sensor spinout happens when you flick the mouse fast across your pad, and the cursor flies to a random corner of the screen. The sensor maxed out its tracking speed and lost position entirely. This is a dealbreaker for FPS players and only appears at high movement speeds.

Input drops during fast clicking mean you click 10 times but only 8 register. The switch is not resetting fast enough to keep up with your click rate. Check your CPS count here; if the registered clicks are consistently lower than your actual clicks, the switch is the bottleneck.

Angle snapping ruins precision forces your cursor onto perfectly straight horizontal or vertical lines, even when you move at a slight diagonal. Some mice enable this by default in firmware. It feels helpful for drawing straight lines,s but destroys aim precision in competitive play. Disable it in your mouse software if the option exists.

Jitter at high speed makes your cursor path look shaky and erratic when you move fast, even though it looks clean at slow speeds. Budget sensors exhibit this at high DPI settings. If lowering your DPI removes the jitter, the sensor is hitting its limits.

Not sure which polling rate setting gives you the best gaming performance? Read our guide on the best keyboard polling rate for gaming.

Wireless Mouse Losing Connection

A wireless mouse that freezes, stutters, or disconnects temporarily has one of three problems.

Low battery is the first thing to check. Wireless mice behave erratically well before the battery dies completely. Replace or recharge the battery and test again.

Dongle interference is the most common cause. Your USB dongle sits three feet away from your mouse, behind your PC tower, surrounded by USB 3.0 ports that emit interference on the 2.4GHz band. Use a USB extension cable to move the dongle to the front of your desk, within 30cm of your mouse.

Bluetooth instability adds 5–30ms of variable latency and drops inputs more frequently than a dedicated 2.4GHz dongle. If your mouse supports both connection types, always use the dongle, not Bluetooth.

Quick Diagnosis Checklist

Run through this before deciding whether to repair or replace your mouse.

Symptom	Likely Cause	First Fix
Single click registers twice	Switch bounce	Debounce software setting
Clicks miss randomly	Worn contacts or debris	Compressed air, then switch swap
Hold breaks during drag	Intermittent switch contact	Replace the switch or the mouse
Scroll reverses direction	Dirty encoder	Compressed air
Scroll skips steps	Worn encoder	Replace encoder
Cursor jumps randomly	Dirty sensor or bad surface	Clean lens, change surface
Sensor spinout on fast flicks	Sensor speed limit reached	Lower DPI, or upgrade mouse
Wireless freezing	Dongle interference	Lower DPI, or upgrade the mouse

Frequently Asked Questions

My mouse works on another computer. What does that mean?

The mouse hardware is fine. The problem is your drivers, USB port, or system settings on your original machine. Reinstall the mouse drivers, try a different USB port, and test again.

Can a mouse be repaired instead of replaced?

Yes, in most cases. Double-click bugs caused by switch bounce are fixable. Mouse switches cost under $2 on sites like Amazon or AliExpress and can be swapped out with basic soldering. Worn encoders are also replaceable. Dead sensors are usually not worth repairing; a new mouse makes more sense at that point.

How long should a gaming mouse last?

Quality gaming mouse switches carry ratings of 20 to 50 million clicks. A casual user clicking 500 times a day reaches 20 million clicks in over 100 years. A competitive gamer clicking 10,000 times per session wears through the same switch in two to three years.

Does polling rate affect how my mouse feels?

Yes. At 125Hz, your mouse sends a position update every 8ms. At 1000Hz, it sends one every 1ms. The difference is noticeable during fast gaming. Test your current polling rate here.

How do I know if my mousepad is causing cursor problems?

Test your mouse on a plain sheet of white paper. If the skipping and jumping disappear, your mousepad surface is incompatible with your sensor or is worn out.