Mouse Randomly Clicks (Causes, Fixes)

 

A mouse that starts to click or double-click on its own randomly could make things pretty complicated and annoying.

It’s not something you can get used to, so you have to solve it.

The issue could be with the mouse, the PC, the software, and so on.

In this article, we have gathered more than 15 fixes for this issue.

Troubleshoot your way through them, and hopefully, you won’t have to spend money on a new mouse.

 

Mouse Randomly Clicks (Causes, Fixes)

 

 

1. Clean Your Mouse

 

If you’ve had your mouse for quite some time, dust and dirt buildup might be interfering with the switches and causing the mouse to click or double-click on its own.

That happens especially when you tend to leave your mouse in a dust-prone area like your desk.

If you’ve spilled something on your mouse, the stickiness and residue left behind might be causing the issue.

To get rid of dust and particles, blow some compressed air around and under the mouse buttons.

If you’ve spilled a sticky liquid, you might have to open it up and clean it that way.

Be careful not to damage the internal parts.

 

2. Connect Your Mouse To A Different Port

 

Maybe the port you’re using is damaged, or it just doesn’t work with the mouse.

Try plugging the mouse into a different port and see if that solves the problem.

 

3. Update/Disable/Roll Back The Mouse Driver

 

Outdated and corrupted drivers might cause the mouse to click on its own.

Follow these steps to troubleshoot the drivers:

 

A. Update The Driver

1. In the Windows search box, type “Device Manager” and open the app.
2. Look through the list of devices and locate Mice and other pointing devices.
3. Click to expand it and then right-click on the name of your mouse.
4. Select Update Driver from the drop-down menu, and then choose Search automatically for updated driver software in the window that pops open.
5. Wait for the update to complete and restart your PC.

 

If Windows wasn’t able to update the driver, head on to the official website of the mouse manufacturer and look for the latest drivers:

1. Download the driver and extract the files.
2. Head back to the Device Manager and repeat steps one through three.
3. This time, select Browse my computer for device software and then navigate to where you keep the driver.
4. Choose the file you’ve downloaded, wait for the installation to complete, and restart the system.

 

If this method didn’t work out for any reason, try out third-party utilities that help take care of your drivers.

Bit Driver Updater has a free version which is enough for what you want to do:

1. Download the Bit Driver Updater.
2. Install and open the app.
3. Wait for the automatic scan to finish.
4. Once it shows the scan results, find the mouse driver in the list of available driver updates, and hit the Update Now button.
5. To solve the issue for all of your outdated drivers, click on the Update All button.
6. Restart your computer and re-plug the mouse.

 

There’s another utility named Driver Easy.

The free version will find and download the drivers you need, and you’ll have to install them manually.

The Pro version automatically installs them on your system, as well.

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Open the app and click the Scan Now button.
3. If you have the Pro version, you can click the Update All button.
4. If not, click on the button next to the outdated drivers that say Update.
5. Once the download is over, install the drivers.
6. Restart your PC and reconnect the controllers.

 

B. Roll The Driver Back

If the clicking issue occurs after you’ve performed a Windows update or if the system had an automatic update, rolling back the drivers would probably solve it:

1. Open Device Manager through the Windows search box.
2. Click on Mice and other pointing devices, and then right-click the mouse.
3. Choose Properties, and head to the Driver tab.
4. Hit the Roll Back Driver button and wait for the process to complete.
5. Reboot your PC.

 

C. Uninstall The Driver

If the button is greyed out, your computer either hasn’t installed a driver previously or didn’t retain the original version of the driver files.

Instead, perform the following:

1. While in the Device Manager, right-click on the mouse and choose Uninstall Driver.
2. Disconnect the mouse and restart your PC.
3. Once the system boots, plug the mouse back in, let Windows recognize it, and install the default mouse driver.

 

4. Disable The Touchpad Or Adjust Its Sensibility

 

Sometimes, while you’re using your mouse, you might touch the touchpad of your laptop accidentally, causing the mouse to click randomly.

You can either adjust the touchpad’s sensitivity to low or disable it completely when you’re using a mouse:

1. Type “Settings” in the Windows search box.
2. Once in the Settings, click on Devices.
3. Locate the Touchpad section in the left menu bar and click on it.
4. Under Taps switch the Touchpad Sensitivity to Low Sensitivity.
5. If that didn’t help, uncheck the box next to Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected.

 

5. Disable The Click Lock Feature

The Click Lock feature could be helpful for many people, but it sometimes causes the mouse to click on its own.

1. Go to Settings and select the Devices section.
2. Select Mouse from the left menu.
3. Under Related Settings, click on Additional Mouse Options.
4. Uncheck the box next to Turn on Click-Lock and hit OK.

 

6. Adjust The Double Click Speed

 

If the Double Click speed is too high or too low, the system might recognize two separate clicks as a double-click, or one long click as a double-click, causing issues.

1. Go to Settings, Devices, then Mouse.
2. Click on Additional Mouse Options under Related Settings.
3. Go to the Buttons tab and locate the Double-click Speed section.
4. There’s a slider you can move from the Low end to the High end.
5. Play with it until you find a speed you’re comfortable with.
6. Click on OK.

 

7. Disable The Auto-Enhance Pointer

 

The clicking or double-clicking might be due to high sensitivity, and here’s how you fix it:

1. Type “Mouse settings” in the Windows search bar and click on the first result.
2. Look for Additional Mouse Options under Related settings at the right side of the page.
3. Once the Mouse Properties pop open, head on to the Pointer Options tab.
4. Under Motion, there’s a box next to Enhance Pointer Precision.

 

Uncheck the box to make sure the system doesn’t turn up the sensitivity without your permission.

 

8. Check The Explorer Options

 

Commonly, people mistake a mouse randomly clicking with a functionality issue.

It means that, for instance, you click once on a folder icon, the mouse clicks once, but the folder opens up as if you’ve double-clicked.

This issue happens due to the command for folder opening options, and here’s how you solve it:

1. Open the Control Panel app through the Windows search box and open the app.
2. Click on File Explorer Options.
3. In the new window that pops open, head onto the General tab.
4. Under the header, Click Items as Follows, check the box next to Double-click to Open a File.
5. Hit the OK button.

 

9. Adjust USB Hub Properties

 

There’s an option in the Power Management settings to suspend the USB ports in the power-saving mode to save energy.

This feature might cause mouse-clicking issues.

1. Open Device Manager through the Windows search bar.
2. Locate the Universal Serial Bus section and click it to expand.
3. Right-click on the Mice and Other Pointing Devices and choose Properties.
4. Head on to the Power Management tab and uncheck the box next to Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
5. Hit OK to save the changes.

 

10. Scan For Viruses Or Broken System Files

 

Firstly, you should know that corrupt system files can be impacting your software and hardware, including the mouse, causing random clicks.

Follow this guide to check for and repair corrupt or missing system files using Windows utilities.

You can also restore your system to a date when there was no problem with the mouse to fix the corrupted files or settings.

Additionally, viruses and malware that entered your system via an app, the web, an external drive, and so on could be hijacking your system resources.

Windows security can protect your system against most threats, but some advanced viruses can get past it.

Download and run a trusted third-party antivirus suite to see if it finds anything.

It’s necessary to note that sometimes antiviruses can interfere with the mouse functionality, especially those with an anti-keylogger.

Try uninstalling the antivirus and restart your PC.

If you figure out the antivirus wasn’t at fault, install it again.

 

11. Check For Remote Control Software

 

At first, you might think that the clicks are random, but look closer and check if there’s a pattern or it’s as if someone else is controlling the mouse.

If you suspect such a thing, disconnect the Internet.

If the problem stops, it means that someone is controlling your computer through remote control software or a dangerous virus.

1. The first thing you should do is start your PC in safe mode and run a full scan for viruses and malware.
2. If you find any, stop and remove them.
3. Secondly, check your installed programs for unusual names such as TeamViewer, Chrome Remote Desktop, or X2GO.
4. If you haven’t downloaded them yourself, uninstall them immediately.
5. Type “Remote Desktop Settings” in the Windows search box and click on the first result.
6. Make sure the Enable Remote Desktop switch is toggled to Off.

 

12. Disable The Touchscreen

 

If you own a touchscreen display, it might be the culprit for your mouse problems.

Many users experienced this issue and solved it by disabling the touch screen when they were working with the mouse:

1. Open the Device Manager app through the Windows search bar.
2. Locate and expand the Human Interface Devices to locate the touchscreen list.
3. Right-click on the Touchscreen and select Disable.
4. If you figured out the touchscreen wasn’t causing the issue, go back and Enable it.

 

13. Check The Batteries

 

If you’re using a wireless mouse, its batteries might be dying, causing it to send wrong signals and generate random clicks.

You might rule this possibility out simply because you’ve just put new batteries in!

Well, some wireless mouse models tend to use up the batteries faster than you might think.

Replace the batteries or recharge them if possible and try again.

 

14. Check For Wireless Signal Interference

 

Again, if you have a wireless mouse connected to your PC, electromagnetic or radiofrequency waves could be interfering with it, causing the computer to receive incorrect signals or misinterpret the mouse signals and click randomly.

The speakers and computer monitor can cause EMI interference.

Move them away as far as you can.

Even a few inches can make a difference.

A wireless router or a cordless phone could be causing radio frequency interference.

Make sure the mouse isn’t located directly between the computer and router.

If you can move the router and cordless phone away, do it!

Remove any hard or metal objects from in between the mouse and its USB receiver.

Also, keep an eye for the microwave.

 

15. Check The Switches On Your Mouse

 

This solution sits at the bottom of this list, and you can consider it a last resort.

Since it’s a risky job and you might damage your mouse permanently, consider this method only if all the other mentioned ones have failed you, and you’re thinking of getting rid of the mouse altogether.

Sometimes, the automatic clicks might be because of worn-out switches inside your mouse.

You might be able to revive it by adding a bit of oil.

Disconnect your mouse and open it up.

If you haven’t done that before, be sure to get help from instructive videos on YouTube to guide you through the process.

Just search “how to open up <YourMouseModel>,” and surely, a couple of videos will pop up.

Then, locate the switches and add a drop of oil on the switch.

Press the switch, so all the oil gets inside it.

If any excess oil reaches the other parts, remove it gently, or else it might damage the mouse.

Put the mouse together and connect it to your computer for a test run.

 

16. Get A New Mouse!

 

No matter how much you’ve spent on the mouse, each of its buttons has a predetermined number of clicks before it wears out and breaks.

Maybe a defective circuit board has made the mouse defective.

To determine the case, do the following:

1. Type “Mouse Settings” in the Windows search bar and open the app.
2. Under Select Your Primary Button, choose right.
3. If the problem stops with the right button, it means that the left one has worn out and it’s time to get a new mouse.