Recently, my mouse started having a tantrum. Each time I swiped down, it jumped a little. Scrolling long pages was a real nuisance. It had become so annoying that he thought about buying a new mouse. Fortunately, I have tried a few solutions and these have helped me to fix the problem with the mouse wheel not scrolling the page.
I have written a list of solutions that will help you solve the problem of scrolling the mouse wheel. Some of them are as simple as cleaning the mouse while you will have to change some settings with others. Let's read the various solutions for when the mouse wheel doesn't work well.
- 2 solutions for when mouse and keyboard don't work on Windows 10
1. Clean the mouse
I know as obvious as it may seem, doing so could potentially fix the problem. No, it is not necessary to open the mouse. Just blow air a couple of times into the slots around the scroll wheel.
If blowing air doesn't work, turn the scroll wheel when blowing air. Keep blowing air out of your mouth until the problem is resolved. The puff of air works because, over time, dust begins to accumulate around the scroll wheel, causing gliding problems.
- How to use PC without a mouse
2. If the mouse wheel is spinning, change ports or batteries
If you have a wireless mouse, replace its battery. Alternatively, connect your wired mouse (or wireless mouse with a dongle) to a different USB port. Hopefully this fix solved the jerky mouse scrolling issues (as I go forward I go back).
- 5 best ergonomic mice of 2021
3. Update the mouse drivers
Many times, old or problematic drivers also cause mouse wheel skip problems on a computer. To fix, you should start by updating your driver. Here are the steps:
- Right-click the Start Menu icon on your Windows PC and select Device Manager.
- Expand Mice and Other Pointing Devices in Device Manager. Then, right-click and select Update Driver. Follow the onscreen instructions.
- If updating the drivers did not solve the problem, right-click and select Properties. Go to the Driver tab and press Roll Back Driver.
- If that still doesn't fix the problem, right-click the mouse name again and select Uninstall device. Restart your computer.
Suggestion: check out our guide on how to update drivers in Windows 10.
4. Change the mouse scroll settings
Several users have suggested that changing the number of scroll lines at a time fixed the mouse wheel problem. When scrolling, you won't notice many jumps. To change the setting, do the following:
- Open the Control Panel on your computer. Change the display of to Small icons. Select Mouse. Use Windows Search to search for Control Panel.
- Go to the Rotate tab. Change the number to "Number of lines at a time". Go with 5 or check with the different numbers and see what works for you. Click OK to save the changes.
You can reach the setting above from Windows 10 Settings> Devices> Mouse. If your mouse comes with its own software, check its settings as well.
5. Disable the pointer while typing
Another setting that could cause the mouse wheel not scrolling the page is the pointer. You need to disable “Hide pointer while typing” in the mouse settings.
In the control panel, open the mouse settings as we did above. Then go to Pointer Options in Mouse Properties. Uncheck the box next to Hide pointer when typing.
- How to disable the on-screen keyboard on Windows 10
6. Update the app
Sometimes, the mouse scrolling up and down problem only occurs in a particular third party app like Chrome. If the problem is limited to a particular app, update the problematic app.
7. Solve problems with the mouse wheel
Finally, use the Windows troubleshooter to identify any problems with the mouse. To do this, follow these steps:
- Open the control panel. With View by small icons, go to Devices and Printers or Hardware and Sound.
- Right-click and select Troubleshoot. Follow the onscreen instructions.
8. Disable Tablet mode
If the mouse scrolls very slowly over a web page or document, use tablet mode. It may have activated accidentally. When this happens, mouse scrolling sometimes works slowly. To deactivate tablet mode, open Action Center on your PC by clicking on the icon in the lower right corner. Click on tablet mode to disable it. If it is disabled, turn it on and off.
We conclude
The scroll button is one of the underrated buttons. If it stops working or doesn't work as expected, you won't be able to do your job properly. Fortunately, it's easy enough to fix. We hope that one of the solutions above helped you solve the problem with the wheel not scrolling or malfunctioning.
Further Reading:
- The computer cursor keeps jumping - what to do?
- How to fix: Touchpad scrolling doesn't work in Windows 7, 8, and 10
- How to adjust mouse sensitivity in Windows 10
- How to fix the double-click problem on Windows 10
- 3 solutions for when camera doesn't work on Windows 10 PC