What does one do when your mouse freezes?

Question

What does one do when your mouse freezes?

This is a response to a reply by "MrHoffman":

If your mouse freezes, you cannot use the keyboard as a mouse.

Choose Apple menu&nbsp;&nbsp;&gt; System Settings, click Accessibility&nbsp;&nbsp;in the sidebar, 
then click Pointer Control. (You may need to scroll down.)
Turn Mouse Keys on or off.
Note:&nbsp;When Mouse Keys is on, you can’t use the keyboard or numeric keypad to enter text.

It's really hard to "click Pointer Control" when your pointing device is non-functional.

In other words, Apple needs to accommodate the possibility that a device will fail, beit a hardware or software failure.

P.S. I haven't had an issue with the mouse for a while. Then again, I bypassed both of my USB switches and plugged the mouse directly into a port on the back of the computer. (The issue seems to arise without regard to which I'm using. USB disks and keyboards work fine -- it's just the mice. So, the USB driver is working, but the generic mouse driver is not. Or maybe the mouse driver doesn't like working with a USB switch driver, but I'm starting to get out past my knowledge of how UNIX-like (netBSD/Linux/NeXT/System5 UNIX,etc.) drivers work in a USB world.)

iMac 27″ 5K

Posted on Nov 11, 2025 11:55 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,126 points

Nov 11, 2025 1:21 PM in response to Youdonotneedauniqueusername

I've had a mouse fail when its cord failed. In the most recent case (a couple months ago), it was due to some driver flakiness. Physically: mouse -> USB switch -> computer port -> internal bus

After some OS updates months ago, the mouse would occasionally freeze. It was a firmware/software problem.

That's why I suggested an HID compliant input device. There are no drivers. They don't fail. Third-party drivers always fail. I haven't had a cord on an input device in over a decade, probably two.

Reply

Answer 2

Nov 11, 2025 12:22 PM in response to Barney-15E

I poke around the Apple site and wind up directed here. On the theory that some Apple folks might stumble across this, I posted here.

I've had a mouse fail when its cord failed. In the most recent case (a couple months ago), it was due to some driver flakiness. Physically: mouse -> USB switch -> computer port -> internal bus

After some OS updates months ago, the mouse would occasionally freeze. It was a firmware/software problem.

Oh, and the thread here is frozen and there's no DM here either. Maybe Hoffman sees this, maybe not.

Reply

Answer 3

Nov 11, 2025 3:46 PM in response to Barney-15E

RE: There are always drivers for every device. A standard HID compliant mouse will use the standard driver. The three button scroll wheel mice that Logitec produce are "standard" in so far as the three buttons and wheel. No driver should ever get into a wedged state just because it received an unrecognized code. It should just emit a system message and go on.

SO I was using the default mouse driver for a USB mouse that used standard codes for the buttons, scroll wheel and mouse motion.

That's why I suggested an HID compliant input device. There are no drivers.

Reply

Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,126 points

Nov 11, 2025 4:58 PM in response to Youdonotneedauniqueusername

Youdonotneedauniqueusername wrote:

RE: There are always drivers for every device. A standard HID compliant mouse will use the standard driver.

The standard driver doesn't break. It has worked flawlessly for over 40 years.

SO

I was using the default mouse driver for a USB mouse that used standard codes for the buttons, scroll wheel and mouse motion.

That's all irrelevant if you have the third-party software installed. When it goes down, it takes all of the functions with it.

Reply

Answer 5

Nov 11, 2025 12:10 PM in response to Youdonotneedauniqueusername

Send the feedback here:

Product Feedback - Apple

Reply

Answer 6

dialabrain

Level 10

135,815 points

Nov 11, 2025 3:57 PM in response to Youdonotneedauniqueusername

FWIW, I've had no issues with the Logitech M705 mouse and Tahoe. It uses the USB Unifying Receiver.

Reply

Answer 7

Nov 11, 2025 1:01 PM in response to Youdonotneedauniqueusername

Youdonotneedauniqueusername wrote:

I poke around the Apple site and wind up directed here. On the theory that some Apple folks might stumble across this, I posted here.

Unfortunately, they don't. Hence the feedback page.

Oh, and the thread here is frozen and there's no DM here either. Maybe Hoffman sees this, maybe not.

There's something funny going on with the forum software right now. Reply buttons are disappearing and reappearing. The powers that be are aware of this and are working on it.

Reply

Answer 8

Nov 11, 2025 4:06 PM in response to dialabrain

Maybe it's the really ancient 5-year-old Intel silicon? 😉

I'm switching to the M4 silicon anyway. Photoshop requires the new MacOS 15.xxx. and that won't run on Intel.

My hardware can handle the workload, but the OS can't handle my hardware. Forced obsolescence. </griping>

Reply

Answer 9

dialabrain

Level 10

135,815 points

Nov 11, 2025 4:15 PM in response to Youdonotneedauniqueusername

Youdonotneedauniqueusername wrote:

Maybe it's the really ancient 5-year-old Intel silicon? 😉

I couldn't say. I've only used it with my two year old M3 iMac. I have a 5 year old M1 MBA but I never bothered to check it on that.

Reply

Answer 10

Nov 11, 2025 12:24 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

Done. TY.

Reply

Answer 11

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,126 points

Nov 11, 2025 12:12 PM in response to Youdonotneedauniqueusername

You should send your feedback to Apple. Nobody here can do anything about your desires. Also, I have never seen a mouse fail or a trackpad. As long as it’s a standard compliant HID input device it’s just not something that happens.

I guess if I was afraid my mouse would die so I couldn’t use the accessibility keyboard. I’d keep a spare mouse sitting by.

also, Mr. Hoffman will have no idea that you responded to him here. You should respond on the thread where you’re responding to him.

Reply