Mouse Test: Clicks, Double Click & Polling Rate

How to test your mouse

Move the pointer into the box and press each button: left, right, the wheel as a button, and the two side buttons if your mouse has them. Each one lights up while held and turns green once it has worked. Roll the wheel both ways and watch the scroll counters. Right-click menus and the back and forward actions are blocked inside the box, so nothing leaves the page.

Double click test

A mouse that double clicks when you click once has a worn switch. Inside the switch a small metal leaf bounces as it wears, and each bounce can count as a second click. Click one button at a normal pace about 20 times. If two presses arrive less than 80 milliseconds apart, the page counts a fault in red; nobody clicks that fast on purpose. One fault in a long session can be chance; several in 20 clicks means the switch is failing. Under warranty, ask for a replacement. Otherwise the switch can be replaced with a soldering iron, or a cleaning spray sometimes helps for a while.

Polling rate

The polling rate is how many times a second the mouse reports its position. Office mice usually report 125 Hz, many gaming mice 500 or 1000 Hz, and some new ones 4000 or 8000 Hz. Move the mouse quickly in circles inside the box and read the Highest seen value. It reads a little under the true rate, so 960 means 1000 Hz. Wireless mice may report less when the battery is low or the receiver is far away; plug the receiver into a front port or an extension close to the mouse. Safari only reports one movement per screen frame, so it cannot show rates above the screen's refresh rate; use Chrome, Edge or Firefox.

Scroll wheel jumps or scrolls the wrong way

Roll the wheel slowly in one direction and watch both counters. If the opposite counter goes up now and then, the wheel's sensor is dirty or worn; blowing compressed air into the gap around the wheel often fixes it. If scrolling is reversed everywhere, check the natural scrolling setting in macOS or the scroll direction in Windows touchpad and mouse settings.

Side buttons do nothing

If the back and forward buttons light up here but do nothing in a game or app, the mouse is fine and the app needs them assigned. If they do not light up at all, some mice only send them after installing the maker's software, or they are set to another action in it. Gaming mice often have a button that switches profiles or DPI and sends nothing to the computer; that is normal.