Troubleshoot Your Wireless Keyboard and/or Mouse

Is there power?

If you are having trouble with your wireless keyboard or mouse, make sure the batteries are not worn out and are installed properly.

On some mouse models, you should see a red light emitting from the bottom when it is powered on when you lift it slightly off its surface. On others, there might be a power indicator light on it somewhere to let you know the power status.

On many wireless keyboard models, hitting the Caps Lock, Num Lock or Scroll Lock keys will cause a light to go on if the unit has power. If your wireless keyboard came with a charging station or wireless receiver, the light might be there instead of on the keyboard itself.

Of course, the simplest way to test your batteries is to just replace them with brand new ones to see if that fixes your problem.

Check your surface type.

If you're having intermittent trouble with your mouse, make sure you're using it on a smooth, flat surface that is not shiny or reflective. We recommend using a mousepad to create a consistent work surface.

Resync your devices with the USB receiver.

Your keyboard and mouse work by sending wireless signals to a USB receiver that came with your setup. This might be a small hub that plugs into a USB port with a wire, a small dongle similar in size and shape to a thumb drive, or a very tiny unit that is barely visible once you slide it into a USB port. Sometimes the receiver gets out of sync with the wireless devices, causing them to stop working.

Resyncing the setup is fairly easy. There is usually a Connect button somewhere on the USB receiver. Press that, and a light on the receiver should start flashing. Then press the Connect button on the keyboard and/or mouse and the flashing light on the USB receiver should stop. Your receiver is now synced with the keyboard and/or mouse.

If your receiver does not have a Connect button, refer to the directions that came with your mouse or keyboard to find more specific instructions for reconnecting your devices.

If you continue to have trouble with your devices, you may want to try connecting the receiver to another USB port on your computer. It might take a minute or two for your computer to recognize a device plugged into a USB port.

Test your devices on another computer.

It's possible there's an issue with one of your devices. To find out if this is the case, connect your devices to a different computer to see if you encounter the same issues.

Update your drivers.

If you are working on a Windows machine, make sure you are using the latest drivers and software for your device. Device drivers and software should be available from the manufacturer's website.

If you need help finding the manufacturer's website for your specific device, we've created a list to guide you.