Mouse Tests

Which mouse test do you need?

If a button feels unreliable, begin with the mouse tester. It lights up left, right, middle, side and extra buttons as you press them and shows scroll wheel movement, so a button that does not register or that registers late is obvious. If one click sometimes opens two things, run the double click test: it counts clicks that arrive closer together than a human can click, which is the classic sign of a worn switch.

The scroll test looks at the wheel alone: skipped notches, double steps and wrong-way scrolls where the page jumps back a line while you scroll down. Those point to a dirty or worn encoder rather than a software setting.

Gaming mice get two more pages. The DPI analyzer measures the sensor's real DPI by moving the mouse a known distance, and the polling rate test reports how often the mouse sends its position, nearest to 125, 500, 1000 Hz or higher. The CPS test measures how fast you can click rather than the mouse itself, with a right click version for the other button and a jitter click test for the technique.

What the tests can find

• A button that does not register: dead switch or cable fault. If it works on another computer, it is a driver or software conflict instead.
• Phantom double clicks: switch bounce from a worn microswitch. Very common after a year or two of heavy use.
• Scroll wheel skipping or reversing: dirt or wear on the wheel encoder.
• DPI that does not match the setting: the sensor or the driver profile is wrong, which throws off game sensitivity.
• Polling rate lower than advertised: the mouse is in a power-saving mode, the software set a lower rate, or a USB hub is slowing it down.

Before you blame the mouse

Plug the mouse directly into the computer, not a hub or a monitor port. Check the double-click speed in your operating system, because a very fast setting can make normal clicks look like doubles. Turn off any mouse software profile and test again. Wireless mice often behave differently when the battery is low or the receiver is far away.

Clicking speed and auto clickers

The CPS test, right click CPS test and jitter click test measure your own clicking. The auto clicker test measures a clicking program instead: its real clicks per second, the gap between clicks and whether the rate it claims actually reaches the browser.

On a phone or tablet?

These tests need a physical mouse. For the screen itself, the touch screen test finds dead touch zones and tests multi-touch.