Cursor keeps moving to the left when typing [Fix]

If your cursor keeps moving to the left when typing, the solutions provided in this article will help you. According to the reports, this issue can occur with both the mouse cursor and the blinking text cursor on Windows computers.

There can be many causes of this issue. For example, if you are a laptop user and you are facing this issue, it is possible that your palm is touching the touchpad accidentally due to which the cursor is moving to the left. Apart from that, this may also be a specific software-related issue. We have explained some solutions that will help you.

Cursor keeps moving to the left when typing [Fix]

Use the solutions below if your cursor keeps moving to the left when typing. Before proceeding, we suggest you clean your mouse. If dirt is accumulated on the optical sensor of the mouse, it may cause uncontrolled movement of the mouse cursor.

1. Connect another mouse or keyboard
2. Check the keyboard Home button
3. Run appropriate troubleshooters
4. Uninstall and reinstall the required drivers
5. Install another available version of your keyboard or mouse driver
6. Change your mouse properties
7. Disable your laptop touchpad
8. Turn off the Auto Save feature
9. Launch the affected Office application in the Safe Mode
10. Scan your system for malware
11. Perform a System Restore
12. Perform an In-place Upgrade

Let’s see all these fixes in detail.

1] Connect another mouse or keyboard

The problem may also be associated with your keyboard or mouse. We suggest you connect another keyboard or mouse to your system and see what happens. This will let you know whether this is a hardware or a software fault.

2] Check the keyboard Home button

The keyboard Home button is used to take the cursor to the left side of the line. Check if the Home button on your keyboard is stuck or not.

2] Run appropriate troubleshooters

Windows computers have built-in troubleshooters that help fix many issues. Because the problem that you are facing is associated with the keyboard and mouse, we suggest you run the following troubleshooters:

• Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter
• Keyboard Troubleshooter

The Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter is not available in Windows 11/10 Settings. Therefore, you have to use the Command Prompt or the Run command box to launch it. Open any one of them and execute the following command:

msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic

3] Uninstall and reinstall the required drivers

One possible cause of this problem is the corrupted driver. We suggest you uninstall and reinstall the required drivers and see if it helps. You can use the Device Manager to uninstall your mouse or keyboard driver. After uninstalling the driver, restart your computer. Windows will automatically install the missing driver on restart.

If this does not work, we suggest you download the latest version of your mouse or keyboard driver from the official manufacturer’s website and then install it manually.

4] Install another available version of your keyboard or mouse driver

If the above method did not help you, try installing another available version of your mouse or keyboard driver. It may help.

1. Open the Device Manager.
2. Right-click on your keyboard or mouse driver and select Update driver.
3. Click Browse my computer for drivers.
4. Now, click Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
5. Make sure that the Show compatible drivers checkbox is selected.
6. Install all the compatible drivers one by one.

This should work.

5] Change your mouse properties

The Automatically move pointer option in Mouse Properties moves the mouse cursor automatically to the default button when a dialog box opens. This feature should not cause this type of problem. But you can try disabling it and see if it works. The steps to do this are as follows:

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. If the View by mode is selected to Category, go to Hardware and Sound > Mouse. Otherwise, the Mouse option is directly visible on the Control Panel Home page.
3. The Mouse Properties window will appear. Now, go to the Pointer Options tab.
4. Uncheck the Automatically move pointer to the default button in a dialog box checkbox.

6] Disable your laptop touchpad

This fix is for laptop users. It is possible that your palm is touching the touchpad due to which the pointer moves to the left. We suggest you disable your laptop touchpad.

7] Turn off the Auto Save feature

If you are experiencing this issue with Microsoft Office applications, like PowerPoint, Excel, Word, etc., this might occur due to the Auto Save feature. It is a useful feature, however, some users reported that the problem was occurring due to it. Hence, disabling it can help.

8] Launch the affected Office application in the Safe Mode

This issue might also occur due to an add-in installed in the Microsoft Office app. To check this, launch the affected Office app in Safe Mode and then see if the issue persists.

If the problem disappears in Safe Mode, one of the add-ins is the culprit. To identify the problematic add-in, exit from Safe Mode and restart the affected Office app in normal mode. Now, disable the add-ins one by one and then check the status of the problem. When the problem disappears, the add-in that you have just disabled is the culprit. Keep that add-in disabled or remove it and look for its alternative.

To view all installed add-ins, follow the steps provided below:

1. Open the affected Office application.
2. Go to “File > Options > Add-Ins.”
3. Select COM Add-ins in the drop-down and click Go.
4. Uncheck the checkbox to disable an add-in.

9] Scan your system for malware

If the problem is occurring in all apps, your system might have been infected. We suggest you run an antivirus and an antimalware scan. You can use free antivirus software to scan your system.

10] Perform a System Restore

If the problem still persists, we suggest you perform a System Restore. System Restore will take your system to the previous working state. By default, it remains active and keeps creating Restore Points automatically when it detects changes on your system. You can use these Restore Points to restore your system to the previous working state. Restore your system and select the restore point which was created before the problem started occurring on your system.

11] Perform an In-place Upgrade

An In-place Upgrade repairs the Windows operating system without uninstalling it. Hence, in this process, there is no risk of data loss. But from the safety point of view, we suggest you create a backup before proceeding.

That’s it. I hope this helps.

Why does my cursor keep jumping to the left?

There are multiple causes of this problem, like software issues, dirty mouse, jammed left arrow key, problematic add-in, virus or malware infection, etc.

How do I fix my cursor glitch?

The mouse cursor glitch, like no cursor movement can be caused due to the corrupted mouse driver. Update or reinstall your mouse driver and see if it helps. You can also run Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter to fix this problem. Also, connect your mouse to another USB port to check if the USB port is damaged or not.

Related: Mouse cursor is moving in the opposite direction.