Ever since Apple "borrowed" the concept of a graphical interface from Xerox and Microsoft also "borrowed" it in turn, the mouse arrow has been a central part of how nosotros interact with our computers. So imagine the shock of booting upwardly your PC to discover that there's no mouse pointer at all!

While it'south entirely possible to use a computer without a mouse, you probably want to get your pointer dorsum. So permit's walk through the things you lot can do when your mouse keeps disappearing.

Earlier you try anything, use some shortcut keys to see if you can become the cursor back. Try Fn + F3, Fn + F5, Fn + F9, or Fn + F11 and see if any of those work. This basically re-enables your mouse if it got disabled for some reason. If this didn't help, keep reading.

1. Restart Your Computer

Yep, we're starting off with the standard advice. Plough your reckoner off and and so on over again. Sometimes it's so obvious that people forget to exercise it at all. This eliminates any temporary glitches that may never happen once more.

2. Check the Connectedness & Batteries

USB engineering is very reliable these days, but it can still be finicky. So unplug your mouse, expect a 2d and then plug it in again. Y'all may also want to try a different port, which sometimes likewise solves the issue.

In addition, if your mouse is connected through a docking station or hub, try connecting it straight to the computer or unplug the hub and reconnect it.

Lastly, in terms of connections, try disconnecting all other devices except the mouse and see if that helps.

If you're using a wireless mouse, the issue could exist as simple as having to replace the batteries. On Apple products, it'll usually give yous a message stating that y'all need to replace the batteries, but this doesn't e'er happen in Windows.

3. Exam the Mouse on Something Else or Try Some other Mouse

If those 2 quick fixes don't do anything, information technology becomes of import to determine whether the problem is with the mouse or the computer itself. The easiest way to practise this is by either trying a different mouse with the computer in question, or plugging the problematic mouse into another mouse-supporting device.

If the mouse works elsewhere, you're probably looking at a software or computer hardware issue. If the mouse doesn't work anywhere else, well the mystery of the disappearing mouse has been solved.

4. On Laptops, Check for a Mouse Toggle Key

Most laptops have a big touchpad below the keyboard and many users who use an external mouse or blazon a lot find information technology distracting. It tin happen that you accidentally touch on information technology with your pollex while using the keyboard, causing the pointer to jump.

This is why nigh laptops accept a toggle to disable the touchpad. If you lot have no external mouse continued and the touchpad has been disabled, y'all may not run into your mouse arrow.

The practiced news is that this takes just a few seconds to set up. Refer to your manual for specific instructions, but in the vast majority of cases the toggle will be one of the office keys.

You'll run into a small pictographic of a touchpad or something similar on that key. To actuate the toggle, y'all usually have to hold down the Fn push offset, which changes the functions of the keys on the function primal row while depressed.

5. Disable "Hibernate Pointer While Typing"

Sometimes your mouse disappearing is the result of a setting somewhere that'south been accidentally activated, or switched on by another user. If you see your mouse pointer only going abroad while you type, at that place's a good chance the "Hibernate Pointer While Typing" choice has been turned on.

To bank check if this has happened:

  1. Open the Start Menu.
  2. Type Mouse Settings and select it when it appears.
  3. Select Additional Mouse Options.
  1. Select the Pointer Options tab.
  2. Uncheck Hide pointer while typing.

6. Roll Back Recent Changes

If your trouble happens right after something on your calculator changes, you should consider undoing those changes if at all possible. This includes recent Windows updates, mouse commuter updates or new software that yous've installed.

Correlation does of form not equate causation, but having a system change happen close to a problem does raise the odds of a connection somewhat. Hither's how to roll back a commuter in Windows 10.

7. Update Mouse Firmware or Software

Fifty-fifty without installing proprietary software, all USB and Bluetooth mice suit to generic interface standards for both types of connectedness. Well, that's supposed to be the case, simply sometimes your mouse will simply start working after installing the manufacturer's configuration utility.

With some wireless mice, such as those from Logitech that use their in-firm receiver, you may have to pair the receiver and mouse first using the utility.

8. Check if the Mouse Is Switchable

Some Bluetooth mice, such equally the MX Master serial, support multiple device profiles. Then you tin switch between dissimilar devices at the touch of a button. If your mouse has this feature, make sure it's set to the correct profile for the computer you want to employ information technology on.

9. Do Some Commuter Maintenance

While Windows commonly does a good job of keeping things up to date, you may want to manually cheque that your mouse drivers are up to date. Alternatively, perhaps y'all should ringlet back a new mouse commuter which may exist causing problems. It can also be that your GPU driver needs to be updated, so that it plays nicely with a newer mouse commuter.

10. If Your Pointer But Disappears in Sure Apps

Sometimes a mouse pointer disappears but when it moves over certain applications. Common examples include video histrion applications and spider web browsers such equally Chrome. This might happen considering that application is trying to utilise hardware acceleration to render things more quickly and smoothly.

Unfortunately, this sometimes means that the arrow disappears considering of compatibility bug. Updating the application and your GPU drivers should be your first action, but if that doesn't work check the software's documentation to see where you can toggle hardware acceleration off.

11. Utilize Alt+Tab or Task Director to Release a Captured Pointer

Sometimes your mouse pointer keeps disappearing because an off-screen awarding has captured it. This tin happen when certain applications don't close properly and don't requite the mouse back.

There are 2 quick means to rectify this. The start is to press Alt and Tab together on your keyboard. This will switch app focus to a dissimilar app and hopefully release the mouse. If that doesn't work, apply Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Chore Manager. And then select the suspected application and cease its process by right-clicking on it and selecting End Process.

If your mouse didn't release when switching to the Task Managing director, you can only press Alt + E to cease a highlighted application.

12. Bank check for Malware

The last potential cause of a missing pointer is a long shot, but if it does plough out to exist the case then it'southward a serious issue. Some malware can accept control of your system, which includes input devices such as the mouse and keyboard.

A missing pointer could be a symptom of this, then but be sure, disconnect your computer from the internet and then run anti-malware software on it. You may take to exercise this from a bootable flash drive, but in well-nigh cases you'll be fine with simply installing and running applications such as Malwarebytes.

Getting to the Point(er)

There are so many possible reasons why your mouse pointer may have gone AWOL, only the solutions we've listed here are the ones with the highest likelihood of success too as some of the fastest to try.

If after all of this you lot still don't accept a mouse arrow on screen, you may accept to consider installing or repairing Windows itself. You tin can try to boot upwards a live version of Linux from a wink drive or DVD to 100% confirm that Windows is the consequence, simply once you are certain Windows needs a fresh chance, head over to 3 Ways to Wipe & Reinstall Windows ten.