Trying to start writing your essay, which is due tomorrow, and suddenly your mouse starts lagging? Or playing the video game your friends gifted you on your birthday, and suddenly your mouse is not accurately responding to the movements? Mouse lag can be extremely irritating when trying to do something on your computer.
One of the main reasons for mouse lag is hardware-related issues, which you can solve by replacing the batteries or the wire, and software-related issues, usually solved by toggling different settings in your operating system.
At times, some updates sent by the operating system interfere with the correct functioning of the mouse, causing it to start lagging and stuttering. In such cases, troubleshooting and often trial and error fixes the problem. But at times, due to prolonged use, the mouse’s hardware starts to fail itself, which causes the mouse to lag.
Read on ahead to learn more about fixing your mouse lag so you can complete your essay on time!
Fixing the Mouse Lag
Mouse lag is a real productivity killer and ruins the entire user experience. The definition of mouse lag is when you move your mouse on your mousepad, and instead of the cursor responding on the screen right away, it takes a couple of seconds or even more to register your movement and move the cursor.
Below are the steps you can follow to fix your mouse lag.
Troubleshoot Hardware Issues
Since the mouse is a piece of hardware, it is not unusual for your mouse to start malfunctioning. Normal wear and tear sometimes weaken the sensor in your mouse, which starts to register movements late, causing the mouse to lag.
In such cases, you usually cannot do much except take it to a technician to try and get it fixed. Unfortunately, the technician will most likely replace your sensor; if they cannot do it, you must buy a new mouse.
But before you move to such drastic conclusions, it’s better to check for some trivial issues which mice usually face and fix them to check if the mouse lag stops.
Replace the Batteries
This might be one reason your mouse lags if you have a wireless mouse. As the mouse is powered completely by a battery, if the battery weakens, so does the mouse’s ability to transfer information over to the system.
Weak batteries even result in the sensor not working properly as it does not receive enough power to track movements accurately.
A solution for this is to change your batteries. You can easily do this by checking where the batteries are in the mouse and replacing the batteries. Often you can find such instruction in the mouse’s instruction manual.
Fix Connection Issues
Connection issues are one of the biggest reasons why mouse lag seems to happen. If you have a wireless mouse, this problem occurs due to the Bluetooth capability in the mouse malfunctioning or the dongle device being used to connect the mouse not working properly.
If a dongle is malfunctioning, the best solution is to buy a new dongle and connect your mouse to check if it’s working correctly. Some wireless mice can connect to your PC using a wired connection. If the issue persists, then you need to check the mouse settings.
You need to check the mouse’s cable to see if the mouse is wired. If it’s frayed and damaged, connect another mouse to check if it’s an issue from the system’s side. If the lagging stops, your mouse’s cable needs to be fixed.
Fix Software Issues
Often, a mouse can lag due to system settings that interfere with the mouse functioning correctly. Other times users do not install the appropriate drivers for their device and try to follow the plug-and-play route, which also causes lagging issues.
Install Appropriate Device Software
One of the most common ways lagging issues are fixed is by installing the appropriate device software or drivers. Without these drivers, the device does not know how to interact properly with the system causing the mouse to lag.
One way to fix this is to Google your device’s drivers. It’ll take you to a webpage that either installs the software with which the device is controlled or helps you install the drivers directly. Software such as Logitech G Hub and Corsair iCue install their device’s drivers themselves without you having to worry about it.
Update the Drivers
You can update your drivers to check if the issue gets fixed. Here’s how you can do that.
- Right-click the Windows icon.
- Click “Device Manager”.
- Scroll to the “Mice and Other Pointing Devices” section and click the drop-down icon.
- In the list of available devices, click your device.
If you cannot see your device in the list, try disconnecting and reconnecting the device. For wired mice, you just need to unplug and plug in the device. For wireless mice, you need to disconnect the device, remove it from the list of paired devices, and go through the entire connecting process again.
- Click “Update Driver”.
- Select “Search automatically for drivers”.
If the drivers are outdated and Windows can find the updated version, it’ll automatically be installed. If this is not the case, it’ll tell you that the drivers are up-to-date. For this case, you can continue with the steps below. - Click “Search for updated drivers on Windows Update”.
- Select “View optional updates”.
- Click the drop-down button of “Driver Updates”. If an update is available, you can install it.
Disable Fast Startup
You can also fix mouse lagging by disabling fast startup. You can do this by following these steps.
- Go to the Windows search bar and type “Control Panel”.
- Select “Power Options”.
- On the screen’s right side, click “Choose what the power button does”.
- Click “Change settings that are currently unavailable”.
- In “Shutdown Settings”, uncheck “Turn on fast startup”.
- Select “Save Changes”.
Conclusion
With the steps explained above, you can fix your mouse lag and identify the problem behind it, getting back to your tasks in no time!
