When the mouse cursor disappears in Windows 10 , your PC goes out of action. You are unable to work on your computer as you normally do. You’ll find it very difficult to operate with the keyboard alone.
Cursor disappearing in Windows 10 is no big deal. You can get the cursor back easily. Before that, you need to figure out why the cursor disappeared on your computer in the first place.
Why Does the Cursor Disappear in Windows 10?
It is normal for the mouse to lag or the cursor to disappear when you’re typing a text document. If you keep typing for over a few seconds, the cursor disappears as the mouse becomes idle. You can get it back by moving the mouse again.
Similarly, when you’re computer goes to sleep after staying idle for too long, the cursor disappears. Now, these two instances are common in all Windows operating systems. The real problem comes when you’re actively using your mouse to operate Windows 10 and the cursor disappears out of a sudden.
Here are the top reasons why cursor disappears in Windows 10 –
- Newly-installed program – Some apps & programs interfere with Windows pointer devices. After installation, these programs can make the cursor disappear.
- Recent updates – When you upgrade your system from Windows 8 to Windows 10, the cursor disappears. The same happens when you install new updates on your Windows 10 PC.
- Outdated mouse drivers – Without proper updates, your mouse driver is unable to process the inputs. The cursor disappears when your Windows 10 isn’t loaded with latest drivers.
Other than that, changes in pointer device settings can also hide the cursor in Windows 10. On laptops, mechanical faults and tweaked settings can make the touchpad cursor disappear.
Get Back Your Missing Cursor in Windows 10
It starts when the cursor freezes on Windows 10. That’s the first sign that your pointer could disappear soon. To fix the disappearing cursor, take a look at all the fixes shown below.
1. Use the Function (Fn) Keys
If you’ve recently installed Windows 10 on your computer, the function of your mouse cursor could get disabled. Relax, you don’t need to uninstall Windows 10 for this but reset the cursor functions.
You’ll need to use the Function (Fn) keys on your keyboard to unhide the cursor. Try out pressing the following key combinations and see which makes the missing cursor visible.
- Fn + F11
- Fn + F9
- Fn + F5
- Fn + F3
Depending on your keyboard model, you’ll find all the function keys available for your use. If you don’t have them on your keyboard, get an external keyboard that has them. Plug in the keyboard in your PC and key in the above combinations.
If this helped you retrieve the hidden cursor in Windows 10, check your mouse drivers. There’s surely some issue with the pointer device drivers on your Windows 10 system.
3. Check and Update Mouse Driver
This is the best solution to fix a disappearing cursor on Windows 10. Get the driver updated and the latest software fixes the hidden cursor.
- Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box
- Type “ devmgmt. msc ” and press the Enter key
- Use the Tab key on your keyboard to switch lists in the Device Manager window
- Using the arrow keys, scroll down to Mice and other pointing devices
- Select the active mouse driver
- Press the Shift key and immediately hit the F10 key (Press Shift + Fn + F10 keys)
- Use the arrow keys to select ‘Update driver’ from the drop-down menu
- Hit the Enter key
The onscreen instructions guide you through the update process.
Here, make sure you select the option that says – Search automatically for updated driver software . You can also use driver updater tools to get the latest version of your pointer device software.
Once the driver is updated, your cursor becomes visible again and you can get back to your work.
2. Disable Hardware Acceleration for Your Browser
Before you move on to fixing the mouse driver, find out if the browser isn’t going away only when you’re on a web browser. Technical bugs in some web browser apps like Chrome can make the cursor disappear.
If the mouse cursor disappears in your Windows 10 computer whenever you’re on Chrome, turn off the browser’s hardware acceleration.
- Use your keyboard keys to open Google Chrome browser
- Go to Chrome Settings page (type “ chrome://settings/ ” in the address bar and press the Enter key)
- Use arrow keys to navigate to ‘ Advanced’ and press the Enter key to expand the it
- Scroll down to the System section
- Here, hit the toggle switch to disable – Use hardware acceleration when available
- Close the browser and restart your PC
When you disable the hardware acceleration on Chrome, the browser doesn’t use extra processing power. You can save up your computer’s resources (CPU, GPU, battery, etc.) and allow Windows to process your pointer device inputs smoothly.
This is how you fix your mouse when the cursor disappears on Google Chrome.
4. Scale Down Mouse Driver
In a few instances, advanced mouse drivers could make the cursor freeze or disappear in Windows 10. You’d have to uninstall these updated drivers to get your mouse work properly.
When you roll back your mouse driver, your cursor goes back to the earlier state when it was visible. This way, you can keep the cursor visible on your Windows 10 PC by choosing not to update the mouse driver.
- Open Run dialog (press Windows + R keys)
- Type ““ devmgmt. msc ”
- Press the Enter key
- The Device Manager window opens up, use the Tab key to navigate lists
- Scroll down the Mice and other pointing devices list, expand it with arrow keys
- Select the current mouse driver and press Enter
- Go to the Driver tab (use the Tab key)
- Use the arrow key to go to ‘ Uninstall ’ button and hit the Enter key
Follow the onscreen instructions and your mouse driver gets tuned down to the previous driver version.
It is the best way to fix disappearing mouse when the latest driver version is incompatible to your Windows OS.
5. Clean Boot your PC
Your last option is clean-booting Windows 10 computer. It is a good way to determine programs and apps that are interfering with pointer device settings.
- Open the Run dialog ( Windows + R)
- Type “ msconfig ” and hit the Enter key
- The System Configuration shows up
- Use the arrow and Tab keys to navigate to the General tab
- Go to the Selective startup section
- Deselect the Load startup items with the arrow keys
- Go back and use the Tab key to go to the Services tab
- Enable the option - Hide all Microsoft services
- Use the arrow keys to select ‘ Disable all ’
- Press the Enter key to select Ok
- Restart your PC
You can also boot your Windows 10 in Safe Mode. It restores your PC to factory default and your cursor works normally after restarting your computer in normal mode.
Mouse Cursor Disappears after Windows 10 Update (KB4074588)
Updating your Windows 10 computer can fix your disappearing cursor. When you check for updates on Windows 10, you see all the available updates for devices and programs.
You can select and choose which updates you want to install. Likewise, some updates can fix the disappearing cursor, while others can make things worse.
Yes, many Windows 10 users have reportedly lost their cursor after installing a particular update. The KB4074588 Windows 10 update can hide your cursor for some time.
Solution: You can roll back your Windows 10 to an earlier version by selectively uninstalling the KB4074588 update .
Besides all this, you can also check your mouse. See if any damage to the device is making the cursor disappear. If you can’t get your cursor back with our solutions, leave a comment and we’ll get right to it.