How to fix Flickering Cursor in Excel

Excel is a useful application for managing data through spreadsheets. While using Excel, some users have noticed something strange. According to them, the cursor keeps flashing between a white cross and an arrow in Excel. This issue is really distracting when working with a spreadsheet. In this article, we will see how to fix the flickering cursor in Excel.

How to fix Flickering Cursor in Excel

Below are some solutions you can try to fix this problem. But before you begin, we suggest you update Office manually and check for Windows Update. If the issue persists after these two general fixes, try the following solutions.

1. Update your graphics card driver
2. Disable HID-Compliant Pen
3. Change your default printer
4. Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration
5. Disable add-ins manually
6. Delete all temporary files
7. Disable Modern Authentication (solution for Microsoft 365 users)
8. Repair Office

Let’s see all these solutions in detail.

1] Update your graphics card driver

The issue may be related to your display. So, we suggest updating your display driver and seeing if it makes any difference. To update a driver, go to the Optional Updates page in Windows 11/10 Settings and check whether an update for your graphics card driver is available. If yes, install it.

2] Disable HID-Compliant Pen

Some of the users with touch screen display noticed that the issue gets fixed after disabling the HID-Compliant Pen in the Device Manager. You can also try this if you have a touch screen display. The steps for the same are written below:

1. Close Excel if it is opened.
2. Press the Win + X keys and select the Device Manager.
3. Expand the Human Interface Devices node.
4. Right-click on HID-Compliant Pen and select Disable device.

3] Change your default printer

Sometimes, Excel issues occur when it can’t detect the default printer. If this is the case with you, changing the default printer will fix your problem. If this trick works, you have to update your printer driver. Open the Windows Update page and click on the Check for updates button. Now, go to “Advanced options > Optional updates” and see if any update for your printer driver is available. If yes, install the latest printer driver.

Alternatively, you can also try this:

1. Open the Device Manager.
2. Expand the Print queues node.
3. Right-click on your printer driver and select Uninstall device.
4. After uninstalling your printer driver, visit the official website of your printer driver and download the latest driver manually.
5. Install the driver by running the executable file.

4] Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration

The Hardware Graphics Acceleration option in Office apps is meant to improve performance. But sometimes, it creates problems for the users. If you have enabled this feature. disable it and see if it helps. Follow the instructions below to disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration in Excel.

1. Open Excel and create a new blank spreadsheet.
2. Go to “File > Options.”
3. Select the Advanced category from the left side.
4. Scroll down and locate the Display section.
5. Enable the Disable hardware graphics acceleration checkbox.
6. Click OK to save the changes.
7. Restart Excel.

5] Disable add-ins manually

Sometimes, issues occur in Office applications due to a conflicting add-in. To check this, close Excel and start it in Safe Mode. If the issue does not occur in the Safe Mode, some of the add-in(s) is/are the culprit. Now, exit the Excel (Safe Mode) and start it in normal mode. Follow the following steps:

1. Open Excel and create a new blank spreadsheet in it.
2. Go to “File > options.”
3. Select the Add-Ins category from the left side.
4. Select COM Add-ins in the Manage drop-down at the bottom and click GO.
5. The COM Add-ins window will appear. Now, deselect the checkbox of any one add-in to disable it and click OK. Check if the issue persists.

Repeat the above steps until you find the culprit. Once you find the problematic add-in, consider removing it.

6] Delete all temporary files

You should delete the temporary files regularly in Windows to reduce the risk of errors, bugs, and crashes. Also, deleting temporary files frees up space on your disk. To do so, open the Run command box and type %temp%. Click OK. This command will open the Temp folder directly. Now, delete all the files inside the Temp folder.

7] Disable Modern Authentication (solution for Microsoft 365 users)

Modern Authentication in Microsoft 365 provides users with authentication features like MFA (Multi-factor Authentication), CBA (Certificate-based Authentication), Smart Cards, etc. Disabling Modern Authentication has helped some users. If you use Microsoft 365 365, you can try this and see if it helps.

You can disable Modern Authentication in Microsoft 365 via Microsoft 365 Admin Center. Log into the admin center and go to “Settings > Org Settings > Modern Authentication.”

8] Repair Office

Repairing Microsoft Office can also fix several problems in Office applications If the problem still persists, run an Online Repair. This should fix the issue.

Read: Arrows keys not working in Excel.

How do I stop the cursor from flashing in Excel?

Hardware Graphics Acceleration is a feature in Microsoft Office apps that improves performance. But sometimes, this feature creates trouble for users. If your cursor flashes in Excel, disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration and see if it helps. Also, problematic add-ins can cause issues. To confirm it, troubleshoot Excel in Safe Mode.

You can also try some other fixes, like updating the graphics card driver, deleting temporary files, repairing Office, etc.

How do I stop my cursor from flickering?

If your cursor is flickering in Windows, the issue might be associated with the mouse driver. Hence, update or reinstall your mouse driver. If that doesn’t help, a problematic startup app might be causing it. To identify it. troubleshoot in a Clean Boot state.

Hope this helps.

Read next: Excel not scrolling smoothly or properly.