When the cursor gets erratic, it's the mouse's nano-receiver at fault

It's common nowadays for wireless mice to be packaged with a nano-receiver, a tiny receiver the size of a small finger nail, that plugs into a USB port.

On two systems, I've experienced erratic cursor behavior as I move the mouse. The cursor jumps or sometimes doesn't react at all. 

The problem is due to the receiver being too close to the USB port. It picks up electronic noise generated by the computer's parts, interfering with the signals passing from the mouse. In addition, I found the problem specific to Logitech's Unifying receiver, which handles up to six devices. I suspect that there is just too much tiny electronics crammed  into the tiny chunk of plastic and metal.

The solution is to install an extender, a male-female USB cord. It moves the receiver away from the computer. Even a couple of inches helps, but in severe cases, you may need to use a longer cord.

Comments

[H.R.Puffenstuff]

This solution worked for me.

Unfortunately I discovered this same solution by trial and error and many frustrating hours.

I had a Logitech MX Master mouse with unifying receiver mated to a desktop USB port.
Suddenly out of the blue.. the mouse was not tracking properly anymore.. then it failed to track at all.
Windows 10 reported no problems with the device in Device Manager.

I plugged the Unifying receiver into a different computer and got the same erratic behavior in just a few minutes time.
I had switched ports on both computers, avoided USB 3.0 ports, made sure no other USB devices were plugged in, yet the problem persisted. Even with a different Logitech mouse, confirming it was the receiver and not the mouse.

Upon disconnecting other USB devices I decided to use the USB extender for my WIFI Dongle with the Logitech Unifying receiver. The mouse started working properly again. I tried it with the MX Master mouse and that also worked fine so long as the receiver was not plugged directly into the USB port.

I admit that having to use a USB extender cord defeats the clean look of a hidden nano device, but if a simple cord breaths new life into $100 mouse that is only 3 months old, then I can live with the slight inconvenience.

[Ralph Grabowski]

I wonder if laptops have more shielding than desktops, and so the nano-receiver works well with laptops, fooling us into thinking that it should work just as well as desktop computers.

[David]

Thanks ... so much
It worked for me with an MX logitec that was making me waste my time keeping the cursor going where I wanted....

[Stanley]

Unfortunately that didn't work out for me. A simple trick by disabling trackpad while mouse is connected actually works. Thanks to Andreas who wrote in this article: http://www.anysoftwaretools.com/fix-mac-cursor-trackpad-problem/

By the way, I'm on a Mac.

[Jarrett]

This worked for me. The mouse had problems whether using the front or rear USB port on the tower. As soon as I moved it to a USB extender cable, the problem was solved.

[Marlon]

It worked! Thanks!!

[Vidmon]

I've been using the MX mouse for about 2 years without any problems. Then all of a sudden the Sh-- hit the fan while trying to edit photos in PS and moving files in Explorer became a copy and paste adventure often wondering where they would end up. Click & Drag became a nightmare and the simple task of cropping photos in Photoshop became an editors nightmare. I moved the receiver from one USB port to another one and it helped with certain tasks but not the critical ones like adjusting the photo levels in PS. I switched out the battery that came with the MX to a higher amp battery and that didn't help either. I uninstalled and reinstalled the MX drivers and that didn't help either. Finally I went back to my wired mouse and everything got back to normal. I paid a lot for the MX mouse and expected a lot in return. I own several Logitech products and they all work great so I'm guessing I got a lemon but for now my wired mouse is working great.

[Ralph Grabowski]

I continue to use the MX mouse, replacing it as it wears out every couple of years. I use a short USB cable extender to keep the receiver away from my desktop computer's case. Ironically, I keep it tethered to a thin USB cable, to keep the wireless mouse charged.

[dave]

Did the trick on a small barebones cube build...thanks much!!

[roy]

oh it worked for me! Been annoyed with this for months.

[William]

If wireless try moving it further away and maybe trying a different mouse pad underlay.

[Polyrus]

Many thanx for the original post. I don't have a cordless rodent and use a wired G500s but had the same symptoms. as soon as I connected it via a USB extender cord my problem was solved!

[David]

logitech wireless mouse works fine when plugged directly into my laptop hp250g4 using win 10 64bit os when moved to a add on 4 usb device it will not work using seagate 2tb hard drive working ok

[Steve]

My best solution was to ditch wireless mice and return to a good quality gaming mouse with a cord - PERFECT

[Paul]

This has been driving me crazy for months.I had an old USB extension cord lying around and ran across your post. So far so good. Thanks!

[Terry L Mundy]

Worked for me! Like Paul said, it's been driving me nutty. Thanks for explaining why it works instead of that "it just works".

[steve]

I had the same issue with a Bluetooth dongle.a slight turn of the head and my blutooth headphones would lose connection.i plugged the dongle into a usb extension cable(after reading this post)and bingo.its perfect.saved me a few quid as I was going to but a Bluetooth pci card.thanks