How to use this mouse tester
Point at the test area
Move your pointer into the grid above. Nothing to install, nothing uploaded.
Press every button
Left, right, the wheel (middle click) and both side buttons if you have them.
Scroll both ways
Roll the wheel up, then down. The arrows light up as each direction arrives.
It works with wired, wireless and Bluetooth mice on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS. Use it as a quick mouse button test before you buy a used mouse, or as a mouse checker when a button or the wheel starts acting up. If your mouse side buttons are not working here, check that your mouse software has not remapped them.
What your mouse test results mean
All buttons work
Every button and both scroll directions reached the browser, and no press came too soon after another. If the mouse still feels off, check the polling rate reading.
Grey zone
Two presses of one button landed 50–80 ms apart. Fast jitter or butterfly clicking can do that, so retest with slow, deliberate clicks before blaming the mouse.
Suspected switch fault
Two presses less than 50 ms apart, or a press right after a release. That is a bouncing switch, the classic double-click fault. Confirm it with the double click test.
Not detected
You pressed a button but the browser never received it. That is not always a broken button: work through the checklist below first.
The bar under the test area places your latest click gap on this same scale, so you can see which zone each press falls in.
Common mouse problems and how to fix them
One click opens things twice
- Likely cause
- The metal contact in the switch has worn or oxidised and bounces, so one press is read as two.
- What to do
- Raise the debounce time in your mouse software if it has one. Otherwise claim the warranty, replace the switch or replace the mouse.
The page jumps back while you scroll
- Likely cause
- Dust in the wheel encoder sends an occasional step in the wrong direction.
- What to do
- Blow compressed air into the gap around the wheel. If it keeps happening, the encoder is worn.
Side buttons do nothing
- Likely cause
- Mouse software has remapped them (to DPI switching or macros), so the browser never sees Back or Forward. Safari does not report side buttons at all.
- What to do
- Reset the side buttons to their default Back and Forward actions in your mouse software, then test again in Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
Middle click does not register
- Likely cause
- The middle click is assigned to another function, or the switch under the wheel is worn.
- What to do
- Press straight down without scrolling. Check your mouse software. A middle button that only works when pressed very hard is usually a worn switch.
A button is not detected at all
- Likely cause
- The press never reaches the browser: an old browser, a remapped button, a weak connection or a dead switch.
- What to do
- Work through these in order: (1) try Chrome, Edge or Firefox; (2) reset the button to its default in your mouse software; (3) use another USB port, re-pair the dongle or Bluetooth, or fit a fresh battery; (4) test on another computer. If it fails everywhere, the hardware is faulty.
The pointer stutters or skips
- Likely cause
- Usually tracking, not buttons: a dirty sensor, a weak wireless signal or a low polling rate.
- What to do
- Clean the sensor window, move the receiver closer, avoid USB hubs and check the polling rate.