Apple mouse selection and copy/paste not working on iMac

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Level 1

4 points

Apple mouse selection and copy/paste not working on iMac

Hello everyone, I am hoping I can get some help with my apple mouse. I have been on Macs over the last 25 years, and I have used an apple mouse for many years. I am not a novice when it comes to computers and I work extensively with computer models because I am a Meteorologist in the media and use a mouse as you can imagine with everything I do. Out of nowhere last night, the selection part of my mouse (on my IMAC) completely quit working. I can no longer select any amount of words and then copy/paste. This is devastating considering the work I am doing day and night putting a forecast together. It may not sound like much unless you use this feature extensively like I do. To let you all know, I tried the mouse on my mac laptop, and the mouse worked perfectly, selection, copying and pasting with no issues. I went through every mouse feature through apple settings. Nothing worked. I also tried a third party mouse, and it didn't work on my iMac but did work on my Apple laptop just fine. I would so appreciate it if anyone out there can give me some advice on how to solve this strange problem. Thanks to anyone that can help solve this.

iMac 24″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Nov 29, 2025 2:35 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mountains1 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 29, 2025 6:04 PM in response to Mountains1

Hi, problem solved! I just found another App, Brackets Editor Code, where the mouse allowed me to highlight text to copy and cut or paste. I decided to try one more thing. I went into Apple Settings, Appearance, highlight and for whatever reason the color was on "white." I simply changed the white to blue, and all works fine now. Thanks for trying to help on your end. To say the least, I am very happy! 🌞

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

215,196 points

Nov 29, 2025 3:16 PM in response to Mountains1

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac? If you have uninstall them according to the developer's instructions.

Which app are you experiencing this problem? A specific app or all of them?

After completing any of the above that's necessary bboot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following;

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

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Answer 3

Mountains1 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 29, 2025 5:34 PM in response to Mountains1

Thank you so much for the reply! I just found out that the mouse works in the Imac Messages App but nowhere else so this tells me it can click and highlight to copy. The question is why does it only work when I am typing out a message and won't work with any other program. And I should also share with you I have not done any installing for many months including cleaning or optimizing. Thanks for any insights you can share with me!

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

215,196 points

Nov 30, 2025 9:24 AM in response to Mountains1

Good sleuthing! 👍

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