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Mouse input stutters in games on Windows 11

Last verified October 2026Tested against Windows 11 version 26H2 - fixed in OS build 26300.9711, Windows 11 version 25H2 - fixed in OS build 26200.9711, Windows 11 version 24H2 - fixed in OS build 26100.9711, KB5127648, released 13 October 2026, Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro - KB5127648 is the final update for these editionsGood evidence

Microsoft fixed an OS-level bug that could make mouse input stutter in some games in the 13 October 2026 update, KB5127648. Install it and confirm winver reports build 26100.9711 (24H2), 26200.9711 (25H2) or 26300.9711 (26H2) or later. Microsoft did not say what caused the bug, which games it hit, or which earlier update introduced it, so there is no way to confirm in advance that your stutter is this defect rather than one of the other causes. If stutter continues on a fixed build, it is not this bug.

Start here

  1. Install the 13 October 2026 update and confirm your build
  2. Close background apps that listen to raw mouse input while you play

Stutter that appears only while you are moving the mouse, and smooths out when you let go, has been blamed on mice, DPI settings, GPU drivers and polling rates for years. As of 13 October 2026 at least one cause of it was a defect in Windows itself: Microsoft's own release notes for KB5127648 list, under Gaming, a fix for 'an issue that could cause mouse input to stutter in some games'. That entry is one sentence long and Microsoft has published nothing further, so this page is deliberately specific about what is confirmed and what is not.

Symptoms

  • Frame time spikes or hitching that occur only while the mouse is physically moving
  • The camera stutters or judders when you swing the view, but the game is smooth when the mouse is still
  • Stutter is present in some games and absent in others on the same PC
  • Frame rate counters look normal while the game still feels like it is skipping
  • Swapping the mouse, lowering DPI or reinstalling GPU drivers made no difference

Why this happens

A Windows defect fixed in the October 2026 update

Microsoft's release notes for KB5127648 (13 October 2026) list a fix, under the Gaming heading, for an issue that could cause mouse input to stutter in some games. Microsoft published no detail beyond that single sentence: it does not describe the mechanism, name the affected games, give a number of affected users, or identify which earlier update introduced the problem. What the entry does establish is that at least one cause of mouse-movement stutter was in Windows rather than in mouse hardware or graphics drivers, and that it was present in 24H2, 25H2 and 26H2 up to the builds this update ships. Because Microsoft never named the originating update, do not assume any particular patch caused your stutter.

Install the 13 October 2026 update and confirm your build

Background apps listening to raw mouse input

This is a separate, older and better-documented cause. Microsoft's Windows developer blog explains that 'the Windows input stack was being pushed to its limits with high report rate mice', because mouse input is 'being delivered to not just the game, but also multiple background processes' - it names voice chat, streaming and configuration apps as examples. Microsoft mitigated this in July 2023 by throttling and coalescing background raw mouse listeners and capping their message rate, which shipped in KB5028185. The mitigation has been in Windows for years, so this is not an unpatched bug. The mechanism still explains why a machine running several overlays, a capture tool and a mouse configuration utility can stutter on mouse movement where a clean machine does not, which makes closing those processes a reasonable thing to test.

Close background apps that listen to raw mouse input while you play

Fixes

Install the 13 October 2026 update and confirm your build

about 20 min

Microsoft's release notes for KB5127648 list a fix for mouse input stuttering in some games, so this is the only change confirmed by the vendor to address this symptom.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2, 25H2 and 26H2 on a build earlier than .9711

  1. Check which build you are on first, so you know whether the fix is already installed. Press Windows+R, type winver and press Enter.
    winver
  2. Read the build number in the dialog. The fix is present in build 26100.9711 (24H2), 26200.9711 (25H2) and 26300.9711 (26H2) and anything later. If your build number is lower than the one for your version, you do not have the fix yet.
  3. Open Settings, go to Windows Update and choose Check for updates. Install the October 2026 cumulative update (KB5127648) if it is offered, then restart when prompted.
  4. Run winver again after the restart and confirm the build number has moved to .9711 or higher.
  5. Test the game that was stuttering. If the stutter is gone, this was the bug. If it is unchanged on a .9711 or later build, this is not the bug and the rest of this page applies.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft, Windows Latest

Close background apps that listen to raw mouse input while you play

about 10 min

Microsoft documents that mouse input is delivered to background processes as well as the game, and that this pushed the Windows input stack to its limits with high report rate mice.

Applies to: Any Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC running overlay, capture or peripheral configuration software

  1. Fully exit the background apps that read mouse input rather than just closing their windows: voice chat and overlay apps, streaming and capture tools, and mouse or keyboard configuration utilities. Microsoft's post names voice chat, streaming and configuration apps as the kinds of process involved.
  2. Check the notification area and quit anything still resident there, then confirm in Task Manager that the processes have actually ended.
  3. Launch the game and test the same movement that stuttered before.
  4. If the stutter is gone, bring the apps back one at a time to find which one is responsible, rather than leaving them all off permanently.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft, Microsoft

Known issues

  • Mouse input could stutter in some games on Windows 11 24H2, 25H2 and 26H2. Microsoft fixed it in KB5127648 on 13 October 2026 without describing the cause, naming the affected games, or identifying which earlier update introduced it.

    Affects Windows 11 24H2 before build 26100.9711, Windows 11 25H2 before build 26200.9711, Windows 11 26H2 before build 26300.9711 · Status: fixed

  • High report rate mice could cause game stutter because mouse input was delivered to background processes as well as the game. Microsoft mitigated this by throttling background raw mouse listeners in KB5028185, July 2023.

    Affects Windows 11 22H2 before OS build 22621.1992 · Status: fixed

If none of this worked

If you are on build .9711 or later with background apps closed and the stutter is unchanged, stop treating it as an input problem. Stutter that happens whether or not the mouse is moving is a different fault: check memory integrity (HVCI), the graphics driver, and whether the game is running borderless windowed with variable refresh rate. Each has its own page on this site. Be careful with lookalike reports, too. A February 2025 Microsoft Q&A thread titled 'Windows 11 24H2 mouse stuttering issue' is about pointer lag on the desktop when clicking between windows, and one participant found it happened on a Bluetooth mouse but not a wired one. That is desktop pointer lag, and the wireless-versus-wired split points somewhere other than the bug on this page. A June 2026 thread about camera spin in Star Wars: The Old Republic turned out to centre on pressing the Windows key in borderless windowed mode.

Common questions

Which build number contains the fix?
Build 26100.9711 on Windows 11 24H2, 26200.9711 on 25H2 and 26300.9711 on 26H2, all shipped by KB5127648 on 13 October 2026, and any later build. Press Windows+R and run winver to see yours. The fix was not in the 22 September 2026 optional preview update, so a September preview build does not have it.
Should I lower my mouse's polling rate to 1000 Hz?
Not as a first move, and not permanently on the strength of what is published. It is the most repeated advice on this symptom but we found no verified report of it resolving in-game stutter, and one user on Microsoft Q&A reported dropping to 800 DPI and 125 Hz without any improvement. Microsoft's own documented mitigation for high report rate mice was to throttle background listeners inside Windows, not to ask users to turn their mice down, and that mitigation shipped in 2023. Treat a polling-rate change as a diagnostic test you undo afterwards, not a fix.
I am on Windows 11 24H2 Home or Pro. Do I still get this fix?
Yes, and it is the last one you will get. Microsoft's notes for KB5127648 state that Windows 11 version 24H2 Home and Pro has reached end of updates and that the October 2026 monthly security update is the final update available for those editions. Install it for this fix, then plan a move to a supported version, because no further monthly updates are coming for 24H2 Home and Pro.
Which Windows update caused this bug?
Microsoft never said. The release note records only that the issue is fixed, with no originating update, no affected game list and no user count. Reports of stutter tied to mouse movement predate the versions this fix covers, so any specific patch named online as the cause is someone's inference rather than a vendor statement.
Was it really a Windows bug and not my mouse or GPU driver?
For whatever cases this fix covers, yes: the correction shipped in a Windows cumulative update, which places the defect in Windows rather than in mouse firmware or a graphics driver. That does not make every instance of stutter on this machine the same bug. Microsoft scoped it to 'some games', and stutter has several unrelated causes that a Windows patch will not touch.

Did this fix work?

If a step is wrong, outdated, or did not help, telling us is the fastest way to get it corrected. Reports are reviewed before new articles.

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Related problems

Sources

  • October 13, 2026-KB5127648 (OS Builds 26300.9711, 26200.9711 and 26100.9711)Official

    Microsoft · Support page · checked Oct 14, 2026

    • Under Gaming, the update notes read: 'This update fixes an issue that could cause mouse input to stutter in some games.'
    • KB5127648 was released on 13 October 2026 and raises Windows 11 to OS builds 26300.9711 (26H2), 26200.9711 (25H2) and 26100.9711 (24H2)
    • The notes give no cause for the stutter, name no affected games, and name no originating update that introduced it
    • The page states that 'Windows 11, version 24H2 Home and Pro has reached end of updates' and that the October 2026 monthly security update is the last update available for those editions
    • Known issues listed with this update are the Remote Desktop 0xC000000D failure for non-admin users and USB Audio Class 1.0 devices failing to start, neither of which involves mouse input
  • Delivering Delightful Performance for More Than One Billion Users WorldwideOfficial

    Microsoft · Documentation · checked Oct 14, 2026

    • In the section 'Reduced game stutter with high report rate mice', Microsoft states 'The Windows input stack was being pushed to its limits with high report rate mice'
    • Microsoft attributes the load to mouse input 'being delivered to not just the game, but also multiple background processes', giving voice chat, streaming and configuration apps as examples
    • Microsoft's change was 'throttling and coalescing background raw mouse listeners and capping their message rate'; the post does not give the cap value
    • The only report rate named is the 1000 Hz mouse used in Microsoft's own test setup on a Surface Laptop Studio
    • The post is dated 26 May 2023 and written by Sharif Farag
  • July 11, 2023-KB5028185 (OS Build 22621.1992)Official

    Microsoft · Support page · checked Oct 14, 2026

    • The highlights state: 'This update improves your computer's performance when you use a mouse that has a high report rate for gaming'
    • The page links that improvement to the section 'Reduced game stutter with high report rate mice' in Microsoft's Windows developer blog post
    • The background raw-mouse-listener throttling shipped to Windows 11 22H2 in this July 2023 update, so it has been present in Windows for years before the October 2026 fix
  • Microsoft admits a Windows 11 bug is causing stutter in games, and it's not your mouse or drivers' faultReputable

    Windows Latest · News · checked Oct 14, 2026

    • Reported 14 October 2026 by Abhijith M B, noting the fix appeared in KB5127648 and was not in the 22 September 2026 optional preview update
    • Confirms Microsoft does not explain the cause, name the affected games, or give a number of affected users, and that the only Microsoft statement is the KB5127648 release note
    • Notes that the fix landing on the Windows side indicates the defect was in Windows rather than in mouse hardware or GPU drivers
  • Window 11 update ruin my mouse - Microsoft Q&ACommunity report

    Microsoft Q&A · Forum · checked Oct 14, 2026

    • A single user, posting 10 June 2026, reports mouse and camera misbehaviour in Star Wars: The Old Republic and Final Fantasy XIV on a Logitech G600 after a Windows update
    • The user reports already having lowered DPI to 800 and the polling rate to 125 Hz without resolving the problem, which is one report against lowering polling rate as a fix
    • The symptoms are tied to pressing the Windows key and to running borderless windowed, and the thread closes on 25 June 2026 with no confirmed cause or fix
    • A Microsoft moderator suggested disabling fullscreen optimizations and switching between DirectInput and Raw Input; the user indicates these were already tried with no reported outcome
  • Windows 11 24H2 mouse stuttering issue - Microsoft Q&ACommunity report

    Microsoft Q&A · Forum · checked Oct 14, 2026

    • A thread opened 7 February 2025 on Windows 11 Enterprise 24H2, OS build 26100.2894, describes mouse lag and stutter on the desktop when clicking between windows, not in games
    • One participant reports on 28 February 2025 that stuttering occurs on a PC with a Bluetooth mouse but not on a PC with a wired mouse
    • Participants report that updating the mouse driver, disabling pointer trails, turning off Enhance pointer precision and disabling fast startup did not resolve it
    • This illustrates that similar-sounding mouse stutter reports are often a different problem from in-game input stutter