TenSecondCheck

Mouse test

Move, click and scroll inside the test area below.

Runs in your browser only

Move, click and scroll inside this box

Buttons

Left
Right
Middle
Side (back)
Side (forward)

Double click

Double-click inside the box the way you normally would.

Interval between clicks — ms

Scroll wheel

Up 0
Down 0
Direction jumps 0

Polling rate

Polling rate — Hz
Movements measured 0

Approximate. Browsers limit how often they report pointer movement, so a gaming mouse will often read lower here than its real rate.

How to use the mouse test

Move the pointer inside the box, click each button and roll the wheel. Every button that has registered turns green; the one you are holding right now is filled in red. The right button’s menu and the side buttons’ back-and-forward actions are blocked inside the box, so you can press everything without leaving the page.

The small trail follows the pointer. It is there to show whether movement is continuous or jumps from place to place.

Double clicks and worn buttons

The most common mouse fault is a button that double-clicks on its own. You press once, but files open, folders close again, or text selection jumps. The cause is almost always the tiny switch under the button: as its contacts wear, they bounce when they meet and send two clicks instead of one.

The test measures the time between two presses of the same button:

  • A deliberate double click from a person takes a clearly noticeable moment, and the interval shows as normal.
  • When the interval is shorter than the threshold in the site settings — 70 milliseconds by default — you get a warning. Human double clicks are rarely that fast.

To test for the fault, click once, slowly, many times — twenty or thirty single clicks. If warnings appear even though you never meant to double-click, the switch is going. Do the same with the right button: it wears too, just more slowly.

The scroll wheel

Roll the wheel slowly in one direction and watch the counters. Up or Down should rise, and direction jumps should stay at zero. A worn or dusty wheel sensor sometimes reports a step the wrong way, which you notice as a page that twitches back while you scroll. A few jumps when you change direction yourself are normal; jumps while you roll steadily one way are the fault.

Polling rate

Polling rate is how often the mouse reports its position to the computer. Office mice commonly use 125 times per second, gaming mice 500 or 1000, and some go higher. Move the mouse in quick circles inside the box to take a reading.

Treat the result as approximate. Browsers do not hand every report to a web page the moment it arrives; they group them in step with the screen refresh. The test collects the grouped reports where the browser allows it, which gets closer to the real rate, but a high-end mouse will often still read lower than advertised. A reading stuck near 125 on a mouse sold as 1000 Hz is worth checking in the mouse’s own software, where the rate is usually a setting.

Common problems and what they mean

The pointer jumps or stutters

Look at the surface first. Optical sensors struggle on glass, mirrors and very glossy desks. A hair or a speck of dust over the sensor underneath causes the same symptom. A mouse pad fixes most of these cases at once.

A wireless mouse lags or skips

Replace or charge the battery before anything else — weak batteries cause lag long before the mouse stops working. Then move the receiver closer: a short USB extension cable helps. USB 3 ports and the cables plugged into them are known to interfere with 2.4 GHz receivers, so a USB 2 port or a port on the other side of the computer can make a real difference.

A button does nothing at all

Check whether the mouse software has reassigned it. If the button has no light in the test and the software shows no reassignment, the switch has failed.

The pointer moves too fast or too slow

That is sensitivity, set in the system mouse settings or the mouse software, not a fault. The test shows movement the same way whatever the speed.

For the other half of the desk, try the keyboard test. If you want to see how fast your clicks really are, the reaction time test measures it and lets you challenge a friend. Checking a second-hand laptop? The used device check covers the touchpad as one of its steps.

If it does not work

On your system

  1. Try another USB port, and a wired mouse in place of a wireless one, to narrow down the cause.
  2. For a wireless mouse, replace the battery before anything else — a weak battery causes skipping and missed clicks.
  3. Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Mouse to check the double-click speed and button settings.
  4. If the pointer jumps, clean the sensor underneath and try a different surface.
  1. Open System Settings → Mouse to check tracking and double-click speed.
  2. For a Bluetooth mouse, check the battery and try turning it off and on again.
  3. If the right button does nothing, check that secondary click is switched on for that device.
  1. This test is meant for a mouse. A touch screen reports taps, not mouse buttons, so most of it will stay empty.
  2. With an external mouse connected, check it is paired and that the pointer moves.
  1. This test is meant for a mouse or trackpad connected to an iPad or a Mac.
  2. Check Settings → Accessibility → Touch → AssistiveTouch → Devices, where a connected pointer appears.

Questions and answers

My mouse double-clicks by itself. Can it be fixed?
Sometimes. The switch under the button is the usual culprit: its contacts wear or collect dust and bounce when they close. Short bursts of compressed air around the button can help for a while. A lasting fix is replacing the switch, or a warranty claim if the mouse is new.
Why is my polling rate lower than the box says?
Browsers do not pass on every movement report as it arrives. They group them and deliver them in step with the screen, so a 1000 Hz gaming mouse often reads much lower here. The number is useful for spotting a mouse stuck at a low rate, not for confirming the exact figure on the box.
Does the test work with a touchpad?
Yes. Taps and clicks count as buttons, two-finger scrolling counts as the wheel, and the movement trail shows whether the pointer tracks smoothly. Touchpads usually report movement less often than mice, so their polling reading is lower.
Why do the side buttons do nothing outside the test area?
In most browsers the side buttons go back and forward in history, which would take you off this page. Inside the box that behaviour is blocked so you can test them safely. If they do not light up there, check the mouse software, which can reassign them.
Is 70 milliseconds a hard rule for a worn button?
No, it is a threshold chosen to catch clicks faster than people make on purpose. One warning means little. Repeated warnings when you meant to click once are the real sign of a worn switch.