10 Proven Ways On How To Fix A Frozen Mouse

First and foremost, check if the mouse connection isn’t loose and inserted properly. Similarly, make sure you have inserted the USB receiver dongle for the wireless mouse. Also, don’t forget to turn it on.

On the other hand, connect the mouse to another system and check if it’s working so that it is easier to diagnose the root of the problem.

Now, you can move on and try out the following fixes.

Move Closer to the USB Receiver

If you face freezing issues while using a wireless or Bluetooth mouse, distance can be one of the major reasons behind it. When you use the mouse from a far distance, your mouse is unable to receive the signals transmitted by the USB receiver. Thus, use the mouse as close to the USB receiver as possible.

Switch the Batteries

A wireless mouse runs on batteries. So if the battery doesn’t have enough charge left or its charge is finished, you can face freezing issues. So, replace the old batteries with the fresh ones. Also, Furthermore, check if you are using the right USB receiver for the wireless mouse. 

Change the USB Port

Sometimes there is no issue with the mouse. It’s rather the USB port to which the mouse is connected. Therefore, connect the mouse to a different USB. Also, clean any dirt stuck inside the USB port.

Check if You Have Disabled Trackpad

If you use the trackpad on your laptop and it doesn’t work, it could be disabled. Many laptops have a dedicated button for disabling the trackpad which you might have pressed accidentally. Enable it to use the trackpad.

Clean the Mouse

Every mouse has a sensor located at its bottom which is used to detect and navigate the cursor on your screen. When it’s blocked, your mouse cursor can freeze or even fail to work completely. Therefore, check if there’s any dust or hair that’s blocking the sensor and remove any.

If your fixes don’t get fixed with the above preliminary fixes, you can try out all the solutions mentioned in the article until your problem is resolved.

Update the Device Driver

You can face mouse issues if you are using an outdated device driver for it. Updating it can resolve your problem. Here’s how you can do it.

1. Press the Windows + R key, type the command devmgmt.msc, and press Enter.
2. Click to expand the Mice and other pointing devices dropdown.
3. Right-click on your device and select the “Update driver” option.
4. Then, choose Search automatically for drivers to search and install the latest device drivers from the Internet.
5. After updating the device driver, check if the mouse is working as expected.

Additionally, you can also reinstall the mouse from your system. First, select the Uninstall device while right-clicking the device. Then, click on Scan for hardware changes under the Action menu from the top.

Disable the Mouse Pointer Precision

The “Enhance pointer precision” option is enabled by default on Windows. It basically tries to automatically calculate how far your cursor should move on the screen based on how fast you move the mouse physically. But sometimes it can lag your mouse pointer. To disable it,

1. Press the Windows + R key and type control to open the Control Panel.
2. Choose the Large icons option next to View by and click on Mouse.
3. Now, under the Pointer Options tab, uncheck the Enhance pointer precision checkbox.
   
4. Next, click on Apply and OK to take effects.

Check if the Mouse Is Turned off by the System

There’s an option in the Windows system which puts off devices into sleep to conserve energy/battery. However, this can sometimes cause issues. So, to disable it,

1. Press the Windows + R key and type devmgmt.msc to open Device Manager.
2. Expand the Universal Serial Bus controller dropdown and double-click on the USB Root Hub option.
3. Then, under the Power Management tab, uncheck the “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” checkbox.
4. Click on OK and see if the cursor is moving.

Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter

If you are using a Windows 10/11 system, you can run their built-in troubleshooter to automatically detect and fix your issues. To run it,

1. Press the Windows + R key, type the command msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic, and press Enter.
2. Upon the Hardware and Devices window prompt, click on Next to continue the troubleshooting process.
   
3. Now, wait for the troubleshooter to detect problems in your system.
4. Finally, follow the on-screen instructions and apply the recommended fixes.

Restart the File Explorer

Sometimes your system can get unresponsive which in turn can cause mouse freezing issues. In this case, you can simply restart the File Explorer. Here’s how you can do it.

1. Press the shortcut key Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
2. Under the Processes tab, select Windows Explorer.
3. Then click the Restart button on the bottom-right corner of the window.
4. Check if the mouse is working now.

Additionally, if you are facing this issue only when playing a game or running a certain application, select it in the Task Manager and force-close it by clicking the End task button.

If none of the above methods worked for you, the mouse hardware is probably broken or malfunctioning. So, you can either repair it or get a new one. More often than not buying a new mouse is more convenient and easier than trying to repair it.