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Erratic Mouse Movement in Windows 10: How to Fix it

If your mouse is not smooth, the cause is often a faulty driver

5 min. read

Updated onJuly 4, 2024

updated onJuly 4, 2024

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Key notes

To fix various driver issues on your PC, you will need a dedicated tool to find the freshest and the original drivers. You can use PC HelpSoft Driver Updater to do it in 3 easy steps:

Computer users complain about one of the most annoying experiences: erratic mouse movement in Windows 10.

Some of the four common issues that almost always come up include mouse or touchpad freezing,mouse cursor disappearing, slow or no cursor movement, and overall not smooth mouse movement.

While there is no doubt that a glitching mouse can seriously impact productivity and cause a lot of frustration to any user, gamers tend to suffer the most from mouse stuttering.

Why is my mouse behaving erratically?

Here are the most common reasons behind erratic mouse movement in Windows 10:

How do I fix the glitchy mouse on Windows 10?

Before we walk you through the software-based solutions, here are a few quick checks that may help:

In case of these solutions work, it’s likely a problem with the mouse and, too, a software-based one, and the following methods should help.

1. Update your drivers

Updating the driver should do the trick if mouse movement is not smooth. However, the manual method is not as effective when fixing erratic mouse movement in Windows 10.

We also strongly recommend a dedicated tool, Outbyte Driver Updater which will automatically find and download all the outdated drivers you need to actualize on your PC.

Outbyte Driver Updater

2. Perform a clean boot

Certain services and background apps are often found to be responsible for an uncontrollable cursor in Windows 10, and disabling it through a Clean Boot worked for many.

3. Turn off mouse acceleration

It’s very likely to fix mouse issues and erratic movement by changing the right mouse settings, as displayed in the following steps.

TypeMouse settingsin theSearchbar, and click on the relevant search result.
Click onAdditional mouse optionson the right.
Navigate to thePointer Optionstab, uncheck theEnhance pointer precisionoption, and clickOKto save the changes.

Mouse acceleration is often the reason behind erratic mouse movement in Windows 10, and disabling it should fix things.

4. Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter

If the mouse cursor is shaking on its own, running the dedicated built-in troubleshooter should help.

5. Adjust the cursor speed

Adjust the cursor speed as per the problem at hand. For instance, if the mouse cursor moves too slowly, increase the pace here.

How do you get smooth mouse movement in games?

Mouse movement that is not smooth in games can mean more than a simple delay. It can cost you the victory. Unfortunately, gaming-dedicated peripherals such asRazer mice can face issueslike stuttering, jiggering, or latency issues.

When a gaming mouse is not smooth, it’s usually because it struggles to run the game. FPS games, in particular, tend to strain CPU and GPU levels to the max. Thus,COD (Modern Warfare) aficionados are frequently affected by mouse lags.

We hope these solutions helped fix erratic mouse movement in Windows 10. Also, these were found to eliminate the underlying cause in the case of the HP touchpad’s erratic cursor movement.

If the problem persists, there’s probably a hardware problem with your device, and it will need replacement. Luckily, we also have a list of thebest mice for Windows 10 PCsfor you to choose from.

If you have other suggestions, kindly share more information in the Comments section below.

Erratic Mouse Movement in Windows 10: How to Fix it#

Why is my mouse behaving erratically?#

How do I fix the glitchy mouse on Windows 10?#

1. Update your drivers#

Outbyte Driver Updater#

2. Perform a clean boot#

3. Turn off mouse acceleration#

4. Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter#

5. Adjust the cursor speed#

How do you get smooth mouse movement in games?#