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

[Speedmaster]

If you have a cell phone near to your wireless receiver move it far from the receiver. I had two cells near it and it was a nightmare...not only the mx mouse was horrible but also the keyboard. Moving the cell solved all the issues... As we can deprehend the problem is related to interference....

[Brian]

Moving the nano receiver worked for me.

Thanks very much for the hint

[Tahlskog]

well usually people plug their unifying receiver in at the back of the computer, and your mouse is usually in front of the computer. and most often people have their computers under their desk. Your computer case being usually one large piece of metal which is hopefully grounded too, this causes radio signals to not pass through at all. and as such it is impossible for the wireless signal to get a clear path to your mouse, your mouse essentially stays in radio shadow. radio signals don't really bounce around much in your average house/apartment.

So putting an extender cord on the unifying receiver and extending it outside of the case so it gets a clear path to the mouse, should indeed help alot. Most non-metallic surfaces do not interfere, only if they are very thick, or contain a lot of water.

[Tom Keffer]

Plugging my receiver into an external USB hub worked for me.

Thanks for the tip!

[Bill Brown]

Thank you! Extending the receiver (Microsoft wireless mouse) away from the USB connections worked. This has been driving me crazy!

[Michael Rossiter]

Brilliant! Worked for me also. Use a HP laptop but in the home office it is connected to a Logitech K800 keyboard and Performance MX mouse with a single Unifying receiver; all was well until I had to replace the Samsung monitor and that's when the problem started! Searched all over various forums; updated drivers, changed the USB port the receiver was plugged in to, etc., etc., then came across this post and once the receiver was moved away from the laptop (just by a few inches) all was well. Not sure why changing the monitor lead to the problem; perhaps because it is now connected via a display port not HDMI but following the advice above the problem has been resolved. Thanks for the tip.

[Janet Hudgins]

I have a Mac and tried most of these comments without success. It doesn't seem to be a brand, just Wireless Mouse, made in China and I've used it for about a year with no problems until recently. I'm using an old wireless mouse and keyboard now with no problems. But I prefer the one that's gone wild as it's smaller and the mouse turns itself off. I tried changing from the USB extension directly to the MacMini but it didn't help. And the Trackpad is not connected, I've set the Mouse at a little slower and I'm not using the Natural direction.

[Ralph Grabowski]

Today's mice from Logitech last a long time on a battery.

I recommend against the ones with rechargeable batteries:

They do not run as long as chargeable ones
They need to be plugged in, so you are back to have a corded mouse
You have to hunt down replacement rechargeable batteries, which cost
a lot more than regular batterers bought in buld.

[Garry Jackson]

Worked for me. Thanks a lot.

[Tracy]

I thought I was going to lose my mind trying to find a solution. I gave up hope of fixing my wireless mouse lag/freeze after trying all the troubleshooting suggestions I could find. I plugged in a wired mouse and it worked. I then gave trying to fix the wireless mouse issue one more try, and came across this post. Using a USB extender cord really works!!!

[Brandon]

Wow - Every 2 years I been just buying a new nano receiver assuming that was the life expectancy.

Moved receiver from rear to front and appears I might get just a little more life out of it...

[Julian]

Someone comments that usually USB ports are at the back of computers and computers are sometimes under the desk. I had problems with my mouse that were solved moving the nano receiver to the USB ports at the monitor. Nowadays many monitors have USB ports. Maybe the ones who want a clean desktop can try it.

[Ed]

I had the same problem when the receiver was directly inserted into a docking port (on a cord) where it became hot. It didn't get hot when directly connected to the laptop. So I connected it to an extension cord to the docking station, now it works OK, so far.

[Robert]

I had to install a USB 3.0 to Ethernet Adapter after a Lightning storm took out my regular network adapter. Afterwards my mouse started acting up. At first I didn't relate the two. I then just moved the mouse receiver about 12 inches away from the USB to Ethernet adapter and it fixed my mouse problem

[Whitney Dodman]

This totally worked for me. I used an extension for USB and the stuttering cleared up right away.

[sean]

i just tried one of the comments that mentioned using a different mouse pad... i took the black mouse pad away.. my logitech mx anywhere mouse is working much better now.. jeez... not perfect.. it was so glitchy removed the pad now its working better.. lol

[silversurfer60]

I have been going nuts with this problem since I upgraded to Windows 10, having bought a new laptop. I often wished I could go back to good old Windows 7. I am going to try my mouse with the seemingly problematic Unifying Nano Receiver in an extension, which I'll get from Ebay so hopefully, I won't be untangling half a sentence I type in 'Word'. I write a lot of fanfiction and it takes twice as long when the stupid cursor jumps back halfway up the page or worse still, decides to minimise the program or do something stupid. Fingers crossed it works when I get the extension.

[Ralph Grabowski]

I have updated computers that are not critical to my business to Windows 10, so get the "free" operating system.

But computers critical to my business stay on Windows 7, for the simple reason that some of the softeare I use to make me efficient at my work do not work on Windows 10 (or even on Windows 8). It makes no sense to "update" when the result is a downgrade..

[Danny Crawford]

Wow!! I was preparing to have to re-install drivers or even purchase a new mouse. I tried this fix and so far it is working great!! Thanks for sharing this!

[Andrew Crowe]

Perfect thanks.

Worked a treat on a new Macbook pro with Mojave and external logitech mouse

[Heather M]

Thank you so much! This article and the fix recommended worked like a charm and saved me from the insanity of trying to figure out why my brand new Logitech M525 mouse suddenly stopped working correctly. Thankfully I already had one of those extender cables and fixed the problem seconds after reading the article.

[A Evans]

I've run into lag/stutter issues even with an extender, if my nano-receiver is touching the monitor cable. Luckily the fix is simple, move the monitor cable away from the receiver+extender.

[bob]

Ahhh!! you solved a very frustrating issue I've had with both mouse and keyboard!!! it would work fine for months then mysteriously drop keys and mouse clicks. A 6" extension resolved it. THANK YOU!

[ahart]

Great post Thanks! After reading I Added a 4 port USB extender with it's 6 inch pigtail going to the PC. Problem solved! Also verified, as others noted, that a cellphone near the wireless mouse can cause jumpy mouse behavior.

[Pete]

Had exactly the same issue with a Logitech MX Performance mouse that is around 5 years or so old. The receiver was plugged into a USB 2 port on the back of the computer. All of a sudden, it stopped tracking properly causing huge frustration. I reinstalled the Logitech drivers but the issue persisted. I plugged in a standard USB mouse and that worked correctly. I have a 7-port USB 3 hub on my desk so unplugged the receiver and put it into the hub; the mouse is tracking perfectly again so this is a great post for the solution to the problem.

[EdL.]

My MX Ergo worked flawlessly for the last 3 months inserted front panel Desktop. Only recently has MX Ergo become erratic. SOLUTION : Is there additional devices attached to the Nano receiver such as a keyboard? My keyboard has difficulty maintaining a charge; thus when it goes low charge - it must be affecting the reception on the Nano. Charge up the Keyboard & everything is working fine! Shut down the keyboard - does it affect the mouse operation?

[Tony G Meyer]

I cannot believe this fix. It worked perfectly. I never would have thought of this and I've been an IT professional for 20 years. Kudos for figuring this out.

[Ralph Grabowski]

It happened to me last week, and I wrote this tip!

My cordless keyboard's trackpad was acting up, just could not control the cursor. Then I realized that the nanoreceiver, which I had attached to the end of a USB extension cable, had gotten behind the DVD player. The player is made of metal, so it block the transmission of data between keyboard and receiver.

[Anne Francis Scott]

I just bought a new MAC and have spent a lot of time searching for answers on how to fix a jumpy cursor/mouse pointer. Tried all of the recommended settings changes in the System Preferences (Mouse & Accessibility), and nothing worked. Until I found this post. I'd already purchased the multi-port adapter from Apple, so I plugged my mouse's usb receiver into that and no more jumping around the page! Now I can get to work. Thank you!

[twotinears]

The problem with my mice was erratic. But, this extender solution seems to be working! Thanks!

[Dixie J. Elder]

But I bought the wireless mouse in order to cut down on all the wires. Now we're told to plug in a cord to stop the erratic mouse movements. How Annoying!

[Ian]

I wish I'd found this weeks ago, it's been driving me crazy. I upgraded my monitor a while back and moved the receiver from the monitor USB port to the back of the PC. I've just moved it back to the new monitor and it's working perfectly again.

[ROBERT EARLY]

The longer extension cord worked for me, about 8 feet. My laptop PC is an HP Mini101, running Win 10 version 1903. Nice to know older solutions still work. btw my Mouse is a Logitech M305. FWIW, this pc has only 3 USB Ports, 2 on one side, and the other on the other side.