How To Stop The Cursor From Moving Around By Itself In Windows 11?

The cursor frequently, spontaneously and unpredictably jumps from one place to another. This happens whether I'm typing or not, regardless of what app I'm in, so I guess it's a problem with Windows. It can't be a Bluetooth problem because I'm not using a wireless mouse; I'm using the touchpad on my laptop (and anyway Bluetooth is already toggled off). The touchpad driver is up to date. Maybe I should reset the touchpad settings to the defaults? There are no other pointing devices connected, and my laptop is not a touchscreen device. I ran a Quick Scan, but no threats were detected. I looked at Major Geeks' How To and Tutorials page, but didn't see anything relevant there.

Needless to say, this is maddening. Any ideas what to do about it? Thanks for any help.

 

Clicked here to suggest turning off the touchpad if it was a laptop, saw it was... so yeah turn the pad off, or change the sensitivity so it stops reacting to you 'pounding' the keyboard.

 

Thanks for responding. Well, I tried your suggestion – changing the touchpad sensitivity from medium to low – but it didn't work. Thanks anyway.

 

Take a look at this video to see if it helps: Fix cursor jumps or moves randomly while typing in Windows 11.

It could low-tech in that your sleeve or arm is brushing over the touchpad to access the keyboard.

Does the cursor movement still occur if the touchpad is turned off completely?

Run Hardware Troubleshooter:

Open Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter to detect and fix any issues.

 

Sounds reasonable. I'll try turning off the touchpad as soon as I dig out one of my old mouses. I'll let you know if that worked.

In the meantime:

I'm running Windows 11 Home version 21H2.

• In Settings, I see Privacy & Security, and Windows Update, but not Update & Security.

• In Settings > Privacy & Security, and in Settings > Windows Update, I don't see any troubleshooters.

• In Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters, I don't see anything to do with the touchpad.

• In Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Troubleshooting > Hardware and Sound, I don't see anything to do with the touchpad.

• In Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Device Manager > Human Interface Devices, ELAN PrecisionTouchpad Filter Driver says "This device is working properly."

 

For Windows 11 Troubleshooters see: How to Run Troubleshooters in Windows 11 - MajorGeeks and Video: Windows 10 & 11 Problems You Can Fix Yourself With Included Troubleshooters - MajorGeeks