Mouse test

What the mouse test checks

Click each button inside the box. The drawing lights copper while a button is held and stays marked once it has worked: left, right, middle (pressing the wheel down) and the two side buttons, back and forward. The list beside it counts presses for each one, so a button that never registers stands out.

Roll the wheel up and down to count each way, and tilt it left and right if your mouse has a tilting wheel. Inside the box the page doesn't scroll, the right-click menu stays closed and the side buttons don't send your browser back a page, so you can run this mouse button test freely. Outside the box, everything works as normal.

The double click test

Double click anywhere in the box and the test shows the gap between your two presses in milliseconds. Deliberate double clicks are rarely faster than a tenth of a second, and Windows treats anything under half a second as a double click by default.

Two presses of the same button less than 80 ms apart are flagged as an unintended double click. People don't click that fast on purpose, but a worn switch does: it sends a second press by itself. The test also flags a press that lands within 20 ms of letting go, which is the switch bouncing on release. That fault is behind drags that drop halfway and selections that let go on their own. Every flagged press adds to the suspected chatter count and shows in red in the events list.

The mouse wheel test

Scroll slowly in one direction, one notch at a time. Only that direction's counter should move. If the other one ticks now and then, the wheel is jumping: the sensor inside misreads the turn for a moment. A flip faster than a finger can reverse is counted as a jump against the scroll. Dust and wear in the wheel's encoder cause it, and blowing compressed air into the gap around the wheel while you roll it often helps for a while.

Smooth-scrolling wheels and touchpads send many small steps instead of notches, so their counts run higher. That is normal for this mouse scroll test.

Fixing a mouse that double clicks

1. Try another USB port or computer. If the problem follows the mouse, it is the mouse.
2. Check the double-click speed on Windows. Open Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, then Mouse, then Additional mouse settings. On the Buttons tab, a very slow double-click speed makes two separate clicks count as one double click. The middle of the slider is the default.
3. Raise the debounce time. Many gaming mice have a debounce or click-delay setting in their maker's app. It sets how long the mouse ignores a second signal after a press. A few milliseconds more often stops chatter, with a delay you won't notice.
4. Update the firmware through the same app. Makers sometimes fix double clicking this way.
5. Clean around the button. Blow compressed air into the gap at the front of the button and click it a few times.
6. Replace the switch, or the mouse. Chatter almost always means the switch is wearing out. If the mouse is under warranty, a screenshot of this test is clear evidence for support. Some mice have swappable switches; others need soldering.

When buttons don't register

Side buttons not working? Some mice need their app running to send back and forward, and some send keyboard shortcuts instead, which won't light up here. On a Mac, side buttons often do nothing in the browser unless the mouse's own app is installed. If left and right seem swapped, check the primary button setting in your mouse settings on Windows, or Secondary click on a Mac.

For speed, try the CPS test. To check that the sensor reports what the box promises, the DPI analyzer measures your real DPI. And if it is time for a new mouse, the mouse finder narrows it down by shape, weight and connection; our best wireless gaming mice are a good place to start.

Questions