How to Fix a Mouse That Double-Clicks on a Single Click in Windows?

Does your mouse double-click when you make a single click in Windows? This can cause many problems when simple actions like clicking to select, dragging files, and more do not behave as you intend.

Don’t worry as I will show you how to fix a mouse that is double-clicking on a single click. So, you can figure out what’s causing the problem, then resolve it.

1. Review the Double-Click Setting

A common reason for this double-clicking mouse problem arises because you have changed a simple setting in Windows. You might have enabled this unintentionally, so it is best to check first.

To see if this is the case, open a File Explorer window. If you are running Windows 11, click on the three-dot button, then click on Options from there. If you are running Windows 10, in the View tab, click on Options on the right side. 

In the resulting window, on the General tab, you will be able to see a header titled Click items as follows.

Under this, the default behavior is to Double-click to open an item and single-click to select. If you have the option to Single-click to open an item and point to select chosen, you do not need to double-click to select items in File Explorer. If the setting is enabled, you only have to click a folder once to open it, and simply moving your mouse over a folder or file will select it.

This option can help you reduce the number of clicks you make in a day, but also makes it confusing if you are used to the default behavior. If you didn’t observe that the option is flipped, you might assume your mouse is physically double-clicking, while it’s just a software option. Revert this to check if fixes your double-clicking mouse.

2. Change the Mouse Double-Click Speed

The click speed is one more Windows option that you can change to fix the double-clicking mouse issue. For the majority of people, the default double-click threshold is manageable, however, you could have changed it by mistake. Or, someone could have possibly set it to a level where Windows will not properly recognize the clicks.

To change the double-click speed if you’re running Windows 10, visit Settings > Devices > Mouse, then click on Additional mouse options in the right sidebar. If can’t find this, drag the Settings window horizontally to make it wider.

If you are running Windows 11, you can find this under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mouse > Additional mouse settings.

When you click on Additional mouse options, a new Mouse Properties Control Panel window appears. In the Buttons tab, you can find a Double-click speed option.

Slide the slider per your liking; you can double-click on the folder icon to the right to test the setting out. The closer to Fast the slider is placed; the less time Windows allows between clicks to register a double-click. If it is closer to Slow; Windows will likely register two single clicks as a double-click. 

Note – Make sure you don’t have the Turn on ClickLock box checked. This allows you to drag the cursor without holding down the mouse button, which also results in unwanted mouse behavior.

3. Clean the Mouse

You have tried both aforementioned options to no avail, the issue likely lies with your mouse hardware. You should take a look at the mouse, especially around the top buttons which you use to click to see if there is dirt or other grime built up.

Any excessive build-up will likely interfere with the mouse’s internals which might cause it to keep double-clicking or otherwise click incorrectly. You can clean it using cotton swabs, compressed air, and similar tools to remove any grime. 

After it’s clean, check if the double-clicking problem subsides.

4. Check Your Mouse Battery and Interference

One more cause of double-clicking on a single click could be poor communication between the mouse and the computer. This generally happens for one of two reasons: a dying battery or interference. Both of these problems apply to wireless mice.

If your mouse uses batteries, replace them, because any device can misbehave when the power is low, my mouse starts to drift left when it is low on power. If you use a rechargeable mouse: plug it in and give it some time to regain battery power.

If the batteries don’t seem to be an issue, the mouse might be having communication troubles with your computer. Bring your mouse closer to the computer if it is at a distance. If your mouse uses a USB dongle, make sure that the receiver is not connected close to metal or other materials which could be blocking the wireless signals.

Try to unpair the mouse from any other computers you might use it with; connect it to only one machine at a time for best results.

Wired mice mostly aren’t susceptible to wireless interference; however, there are still take a few steps you can take to improve the connection between a wired mouse and your PC. If your mouse is plugged into a USB extender or hub, unplug it and re-connect it directly to a USB port on your PC. Also, try several USB ports on your computer to ensure there is no dead USB port.

5. Try Another Mouse

If you have tried all the mentioned steps and your mouse is still double-clicking all the time, it could just be faulty. To make sure, try either plugging your current mouse into another computer or try connecting a different mouse to the current computer.

If your mouse continues to misbehave on a different computer, it is mostly defective. If you try another mouse on your PC and don’t have any issues, that is pretty much all evidence pointing towards your mouse being defective.

Say the original mouse works fine on the second computer, or a second mouse has the same problem on your original computer, there might be a piece of software or something else interfering with the mouse’s regular operation. Open any installed software from your mouse’s manufacturer, then check the mouse settings inside.

Try booting into Safe Mode, where third-party software will not run at startup. If your mouse works properly there, go through your installed software in Settings > Apps > Apps & features, then uninstall anything you do not recognize.

6. Reinstall Mouse Drivers

If all else fails, here is the final troubleshooting step, try to remove your current mouse driver and allow Windows to reinstall it. Right-click the Start button (or press Win + X) then click on Device Manager.

Expand the Mice as well as other pointing devices category, then right-click your mouse’s name. Click on Uninstall device, confirm the prompt, then allow your PC to restart. If you have multiple devices listed here, uninstall them one by one until the cursor stops.

Note – You will have to navigate your computer without a mouse to reach the restart command after you uninstall. To do so, first, tap the Windows key, then press Tab until the selection box focuses on the group of icons containing the power icon. Here, use the arrow keys to get down to the power icon, then hit the Enter key, then use the arrows and hit the Enter key again to select Restart.

If you have trouble navigating without a mouse, you can press Win + R to open the Run dialog, then enter shutdown /r into it to restart. After rebooting, Windows will reinstall your mouse driver which hopefully solves the double-click issue.

If you liked this article (or if it helped), leave a comment below or share it with friends so they can also know How to Fix a Mouse That Double-Clicks on a Single Click in Windows?