While all of the computer’s components are essential to the experience, there are no components that the user has more control over than the mouse and the keyboard. These devices help us navigate and operate the computer and without them, we’re kind of helpless and (probably) frustrated.
Having your keyboard move your mouse is probably not throwing you into a state of helplessness, but it’s probably got you wondering what’s causing it.
The most common issue and the one I’ve dealt with most when working as an IT consultant is that users can control their mouse cursor using the navigational keys all of a sudden. When the arrows are pressed, the cursor moves a few pixels in that direction.
This is an issue that Microsoft is well aware of and there are several posts about it on their support forum.
So why is your keyboard moving your mouse?
The keyboard’s direction arrows can all of a sudden make your mouse cursor move as a result of either a glitch in Microsoft Paint, the “Mouse Keys” feature, the in-built settings, or third-party applications that affect the cursor’s behavior. Try disabling the Mouse Keys feature and closing Microsoft Paint via the Task Manager to fix the problem.
These are the most common reasons why a keyboard starts taking control of the cursor, moving it with the help of the directional keys. There are other things too, I’ll show you all of them. Let’s go.
So…..
Why Are My Arrow Keys Moving My Cursor?
Here’s a more thorough look at the things that could be the cause of your issues and how to deal with them.
Microsoft Paint
We’ve talked about MS Paint being the villain, or at least the background process, which doesn’t seem to close when you exit the program. Instead, it lingers in the background, trying to take control of your mouse cursor. This is a known problem that Microsoft has talked about before and it’s a legitimate solution to the problem. However, with new updates come new problems, and with them come new solutions, eventually.
There seems to be a glitch in the Microsoft Paint software that can cause the directional keys to move the mouse cursor a few pixels. The cursor moves in the direction that the key is pointing. The issue will remain even with MS Paint closed, but that’s because MS Paint isn’t closed. It’s still running as a background process and must be ended through the Task Manager.
- Search for “Task Manager” in the search bar down in the left corner
- Go to the “Processes” tab and find Microsoft Paint under Background Processes
- Select the process and click “End Task”
- See if your directional keys work, if not, restart the computer and try them again
Note: Make sure to close all processes related to MS Paint.
This has solved the problems for a lot of users who have experienced the same thing. It’s been one of our go-to methods when people complain about this issue.
Mouse Keys
The Mouse Keys feature allows the numeric pad to control the cursor’s movement. Using the numeric keypad to control the mouse pointer can be quite difficult at first. Each number of the numeric keypad represents a direction for the cursor to move. This feature can, however, be frustrating when you don’t know that you’ve turned it on.
The Mouse Keys feature may be the cause of your frustration. Let’s turn it on to see if it gets better.
Mouse Keys can easily be turned off by searching for “Mouse Keys” in the Windows 10 search bar and clicking “Turn Mouse Keys on or off” then disabling the feature. Disabling the Numpad with “Num Lock” will also turn off the “Mouse Keys” feature.
If neither of these fixes have worked so far, then you’re in for a bit of troubleshooting.
Other third-party software
Certain third-party software can affect the way the keyboard and mouse works. Applications like Neat Mouse can allow the direction keys to control the cursor. To find out if any 3rd party applications are causing these discrepancies, do the following.
- Start Windows in Safe Mode
- See if the cursor still moves when the direction keys are pressed
- If both mouse and keyboard work as intended in Safe Mode, try shutting down all 3rd party applications one by one to find out which application is causing your keyboard to move your mouse.
- As soon as you find the application, open the Run window (Windows button + R) and type appwiz.cpl then hit Enter.
- In the application manager, search for the application and right-click then hit “Uninstall”
- Restart the computer.
Update BIOS Drivers
The computer’s BIOS drivers are capable of correcting issues with the computer’s hardware. Not physical damage, of course. Updating the BIOS drivers can cause the keyboard, speakers, mouse, touchpad, microphone, and fan to start working as intended.
It’s always worth a try.
You can find BIOS drivers on the manufacturer’s websites. If you don’t know the brand and model of your motherboard, search for “System Information” in the search bar and hit Enter.
In the System Information window – look for Baseboard Manufacturer and Baseboard Product to find out all the information you need in order to browse for the most recent BIOS drivers.
Unplug Your External Devices
If you haven’t unplugged all your peripherals from the computer already, then go ahead and do so. Unplugging devices and plugging them back in can cause them to start functioning normally again.