It’s not uncommon for a mouse wheel to suddenly stop working or jump around indiscriminately. Before throwing away your faulty mouse, there are a few troubleshooting methods you can try that might get your mouse wheel working again.
Why is the mouse wheel not scrolling on PC?
The reasons why the mouse wheel does not work can be roughly divided into the following three categories:
- Software errors such as programs or drivers
- Physical failure, such as damaged accessories, something else stuck on the roller, etc.
- Insufficient battery
Here are 10 things to try, based on common reasons why your mouse wheel stops working.
1. Reconnect your mouse to the computer
The first thing you need to do is to reconnect your mouse to your computer. A loose or incorrect connection will affect the normal operation of the mouse.
If using a USB-connected mouse, try unplugging and replugging the USB plug to test. If that doesn’t work, try another USB port.
If it is a wireless bluetooth mouse, please delete the mouse device in the bluetooth device list, then restart your mouse and computer bluetooth, and re-pair the mouse.
2. Restart the computer or application
If your mouse wheel doesn’t work in a particular program, then close and restart that program. At the same time, restarting your computer is also a good idea.
3. Replace the new mouse battery
If your mouse has a replaceable battery, try replacing it with a new one. When the battery is low, the mouse will be delayed, the buttons will sometimes not respond, and the scroll wheel will not respond. Replacing the mouse battery is an easy and inexpensive solution
4. Clean the mouse wheel
There are narrow gaps on both sides of the mouse wheel, and dust, food residues and other impurities will continue to accumulate under long-term use. When these dirt accumulates to a certain extent, it may affect the normal scrolling of the mouse wheel. Use the hair dryer to turn on the cold air to the maximum gear, and blow it at the mouse wheel for 1-2 minutes. You can roll the wheel while blowing, which will remove the impurities between the gaps of the wheel to a certain extent.
5. Change the mouse wheel settings
If your mouse does not work properly in all applications, please go to [Mouse Settings] to change the mouse wheel settings. To change these settings, press the Win key, enter “Mouse Settings” in the search box, then click [Mouse Settings], and adjust the parameters in the [Scroll] field on the page that appears.
If your mouse has a standalone driver, try changing the mouse wheel setting in the standalone driver.
6. Enable/disable scrolling inactive windows option
If your mouse wheel doesn’t work only in a single program like Chrome, then enabling/disabling the option to scroll inactive windows may help you
- Windows 10
Click the Windows Start button or press the Windows key on your keyboard and select Settings in the window that appears.
Select Device Options.
Find and click the Mouse option in the left pane of the window that appears.
Now find the Scroll Inactive Windows option and disable/enable it.
Try disabling and enabling this option several times and check if the problem is resolved.
7. Disable browser extensions
If the mouse wheel does not work properly after installing the browser extension, you can try disabling the browser extension.
8. Update the mouse driver
Connect your mouse to another computer, if the mouse does not scroll properly on other computers, then the problem is with the mouse itself, please ignore this method. If the mouse scrolls normally on other computers, then the problem may be with your computer’s drivers. In this case, you can try updating the mouse driver to enable the mouse wheel. Do the following:
- Click the Windows icon or press the Windows button, go to Device Manager in the window that appears, and click Device Manager that appears
- Find the mouse and other pointing devices in the pop-up window and double-click
- Double-click the option that appears below
- In the window that appears, click on the driver in column 2
- Click Update Driver Below
Wait for the program update to finish, then test with the mouse. If the mouse returns to normal, the step ends. If the mouse wheel still doesn’t work, repeat the above steps, selecting the uninstall device below for the updated driver in step 5. After uninstalling, shut down and restart. The Windows system will automatically reinstall the mouse driver
Tip: Some brands of mice have proprietary mouse drivers. While the mouse driver that comes with Windows will work with most mice, there are occasional problems. Check whether the mouse brand has an official driver, if so, please download the latest brand driver.
9. Repair or re-install Windows/Mac system
If the problem is on the computer, not the mouse, you can try to use the system repair or restore function. Take Windows 10 as an example, the operation steps are as follows:
- Press the Win key to open the “Start” menu and find “Settings” in the menu
- Open the Settings interface and find “Update and Security” in it
- Open Update and Security, click “Recovery” on the left, and then click the “Restart Now” button in Advanced Startup
- The system will automatically enter the security operation interface at this time, select “Troubleshooting”
- Enter the troubleshooting, select “Advanced Options”, enter the advanced options
- Advanced options include System Restore, Startup Repair, Command Prompt, Startup Settings, etc., select “Startup Repair”
- Select an account to operate
- Enter the password, the default account has no password and click Continue directly, and other accounts enter the corresponding password
After completing the above steps, the Windows 10 system starts to repair automatically, and then try the mouse wheel after the repair. If it doesn’t work, you can try the system restore in step 6, but you need to pay attention to the system file backup.
10. Buy a new mouse
Buying a new mouse is the most straightforward and effective method, but it’s also often the most expensive. This is also the most feasible method if you have problems with your mouse hardware. For someone who doesn’t know much about mouse manufacturing, it would be very difficult to fix a mouse with hardware problems by yourself.
Do you want to buy or customize a gaming mouse? Check out our gaming mouse offerings and get in touch with us.
FAQ
How do you fix a stuck scrolling wheel?
If your scroll wheel is stuck, please have a Phillips screwdriver, a flat-blade screwdriver, an eraser and a soft paper, a powerful tool for repairing a mouse with a malfunctioning scroll wheel, and then perform the following steps:
- Use a screwdriver to disassemble the mouse. The screw holes on the mouse are generally under the label. If it is a snap-on mouse, use a flat-blade screwdriver to open it.
- After opening the mouse, take out the internal circuit board. You need to observe whether there is a buckle stuck on the circuit board. You cannot disassemble it by force. Note that some mouse circuit boards still have screws, which need to be removed first. take out the circuit board.
- After the circuit board is taken down, remove the roller and put it aside. It is the roller coordinate encoder that causes the roller to fail. The following focuses on repairing this part.
- Use a small blade to pry open and straighten the four contact tabs on the pulley coordinate encoder, remove the tabs, and then remove the rolling contacts.
- Finally, first use soft paper to wipe the metal positions of the fixed contacts and rolling contacts respectively, remove the accumulated dust or oil, and then use the sharp corner of the eraser to gently wipe the metal positions of the fixed contacts and rolling contacts , erase the oxidized part, if the eraser is too large, you can use a blade to cut a small part of the eraser, use tweezers to wipe it, after wiping, put the sliding contact into the fixed contact first, and then put the Install the pressing piece, install the pulley coordinate encoder, press down the four pressing pieces and fix it, install the pulley on the pulley coordinate encoder, put the circuit board back on the mouse base, cover the casing, and fasten the screws.
How do I unlock my mouse scroll lock?
If your keyboard has a Scroll Lock key, press the Fn+Scroll Lock function key to turn off or turn on Scroll Lock, and the third indicator light in the upper right corner of the keyboard will turn off or on accordingly.
If your keyboard does not have a Scroll Lock key, you can open on screen keyboard. click the Start button, then enter “On-Screen Keyboard”, click the [On-Screen Keyboard] application that appears, and click the ScrLk button on the right on the on-screen keyboard that appears.
Why my mouse scroll is not working Windows 10?
There are usually many reasons for the mouse wheel not working, such as low mouse battery, faulty mouse connection to the computer, faulty mouse driver, faulty system files, damaged mouse hardware, etc. If you want to try to fix your mouse glitch, try the 10 solutions above depending on your situation.
Which key is Scroll Lock?
On the external keyboard of the desktop computer, Scroll Lock is usually located above the function key area, that is, to the left of the indicator light, with the words “Scroll Lock” or “ScrLk” on the keys. If it is a laptop keyboard, many laptops have cancelled the Scroll Lock key, you can click the start button and enter the on-screen keyboard, which can be found on the right side of the on-screen keyboard.
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