Mouse double click test
Click slowly, about once per second. Each press is timed; two presses closer together than the threshold are flagged in red, which is what a worn, bouncing switch produces.
Two presses of the same button closer than this are flagged. A bouncing switch is typically far faster than a deliberate double click.
Ready: click slowly inside the box, about once per second, 30 times or more.
| Button | Presses | Flagged | Shortest gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left | 0 | 0 | — |
| Right | 0 | 0 | — |
| Middle | 0 | 0 | — |
| Back (side 4) | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forward (side 5) | 0 | 0 | — |
Double clicks reported by the operating system: 0
Press log (last 80)
| ms | Button | since last press | released for |
|---|
How to run the test
- Point at the dashed box and click slowly with one finger, once per second, at least 30 times. Do not try to click fast.
- Watch the bars: each one is the time since the previous left click. Normal single clicks make tall green bars; a red bar is a press that arrived much sooner than you clicked.
- Repeat with the right and middle buttons if those misbehave too.
- If a press is flagged, run the test again. A worn switch keeps producing flags; a one-off flag is more likely an accidental double tap.
Reading the result
- No flags after 30–50 slow clicks: the switch reports single clicks correctly in this test.
- Repeated flags with very short intervals (often 10–60 ms) and a short released time just before them: the switch is bouncing — one physical click is reported as press, release, press. This is the classic “mouse double clicks by itself” fault.
- Operating-system double clicks counts how many times your system turned two presses into a double click. It is shown so you can compare, not as a fault count: two slow, deliberate clicks can also count as a double click if they are within your system's double-click speed.
The threshold (80 ms by default) is adjustable. Lower it if fast deliberate clicking gets flagged; raise it to be stricter. No threshold proves a switch is broken: the test shows a pattern worth acting on.
Before replacing the mouse
- Check the double-click speed setting in your operating system and the mouse software: a very slow setting makes ordinary clicks merge.
- Remove macros or “rapid fire” functions in gaming mouse software.
- Try a different USB port, receiver position or battery for wireless mice.
- If the fault persists, look up the warranty: bouncing switches are a common, documented failure. Many mice also allow the switch to be replaced by a repair service.
Questions
Why does my mouse double click when I click once?
Usually the metal contact in the switch is worn or oxidised, so it bounces and reports a second press within a few milliseconds. Software settings, macros and some wireless interference can cause similar symptoms, so rule those out first.
What threshold should I use?
Start with 80 ms and click slowly. Real bounce intervals are usually much shorter than any deliberate double click, so if flags appear only at very high thresholds, they are probably your own fast clicks.