Mouse Jitter Test
Check whether your mouse reports movement while sitting still.
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Rest the mouse on its normal surface, start the test, then let go of it entirely.
Watching for
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Spurious events
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Total drift
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Largest jump
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Give it at least thirty seconds. A few pixels of total drift on a high-DPI sensor is normal; a steady stream of events with your hand off the mouse is not. Glass, gloss and very dark surfaces confuse optical sensors badly, so try a proper mat before blaming the mouse — and a sensor set far above its native DPI amplifies every bit of noise it produces.
Your test runs locally in your browser. No device data is uploaded.
How to use the jitter test
Rest the mouse on the surface you normally use, start the test, then take your hand off it completely and leave it alone for at least thirty seconds. Every movement counted from that point is one the sensor reported without you moving anything.
What causes spurious movement
The surface is the first thing to check, and it fixes this more often than a new mouse does. Glass, high-gloss desks and very dark surfaces all confuse optical sensors, and some sensors struggle on strongly patterned mats. A plain cloth mat is the reliable baseline.
DPI is the second. Sensitivity multiplies everything the sensor reports, noise included, and running a sensor above its native resolution amplifies it further. Dropping to a native step such as 800 or 1600 often cleans up a jittery cursor entirely.
After that comes hardware: dust or a hair across the sensor window, a failing sensor, or on a wireless mouse a weak battery or a congested 2.4 GHz band causing erratic reports.
How much is acceptable
Ideally none at all. A healthy sensor reports nothing when nothing moves. A handful of pixels of accumulated drift over thirty seconds at a very high DPI is tolerable and will never be noticeable; a steady stream of events with your hand off the mouse is a real problem and will show up as a creeping or shimmering cursor.
Frequently asked questions
- My cursor moves on its own. Is the mouse faulty?
- Check the surface first. Glass, high-gloss and very dark surfaces confuse optical sensors badly, and a proper mat fixes it more often than a new mouse does. If it still reports movement on a mat with your hand off it, the sensor is at fault.
- How much drift is acceptable?
- Ideally none. A healthy sensor reports nothing at all when the mouse is not moving. A few pixels over thirty seconds on a very high DPI setting is tolerable; a steady stream of events is not.
- Does a high DPI setting make jitter worse?
- Yes. DPI multiplies everything the sensor reports, including noise, and pushing a sensor above its native resolution amplifies it further. Dropping to a native step such as 800 or 1600 often cleans it up.