Why Mouse Cursor Not Showing in Chrome?

Is your mouse cursor troubling you again?

It cannot be delightful to lose track of your mouse visually. 

Windows OS seems to get this problem once in a while. However, the frequency of mouse cursor disappearing is much higher in the Chrome browser, especially if you use a touch screen device like Microsoft Surface.

It can be challenging to troubleshoot and rectify the problem if you don’t know where to begin. 

Therefore, I have created this guide to demonstrate how to fix the mouse cursor disappearing issue in the Chrome browser.

So, without any further ado, let’s get started.

Is Disappearing Mouse Cursor Normal in Chrome?

The short answer would be “Yes.”

There are occasions when Chrome exclusively wants to hide the mouse cursor. The case is applicable when watching a video or streaming a movie on OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. 

Here, Chrome deliberately hides the mouse cursor to avoid any distraction while watching your favorite movie or series.

On the other hand, the issue frequently arises when you switch your device to touchscreen mode. Chrome might be confused about whether you want to see the cursor or not since a touchscreen would not require a cursor.

We also noticed that this problem never arises while using a desktop computer. The same is applicable if you are using a wired keyboard and mouse on your device.

Therefore, it is reasonable to assume the problem commonly occurs on a touchscreen device. It can be anything from a tablet to a 360-degree rotating laptop. 

Let us look into ways to bring back your cursor once it is lost.

How to Fix Disappearing Mouse Cursor in Chrome

The disappearing mouse cursor can be frustrating. Unfortunately, there is no permanent solution to this problem.

However, I was able to find out some working ways that would solve the problem temporarily. The issue can arise again in your next session. You might need to repeat the mentioned process, again and again, to keep your cursor intact.

Besides, we don’t know for sure if Google is going to fix this issue ever. The feature is helpful in some cases, and it appears as a bug in others.

Here are a few working ways that would bring back the mouse cursor in your Chrome browser.

1. Kill Chrome Using Task Manager

The most effective way is to close down Chrome entirely using the Windows Task Manager. It will stop any ongoing process, and you will lose your unsaved data.

Therefore, I recommend using this step only when you are not in the middle of something important. If you are okay with shutting down Chrome, follow the below steps.

If you are lucky, Chrome would ask you to restore the previously open pages. If not, you can still get back your work by restoring the closed tabs. This method will temporarily solve the cursor disappearing issue on your device.

2. Restart Using chrome://restart Command

Whether you can see your cursor or not, you can still navigate to Chrome’s Omnibox using the “Tab” key. Press it repeatedly until the URL bar is highlighted. Once there, follow the quick steps to restart Chrome using the Chrome command.

1. Type chrome://restart in the URL bar.

2. Press “Enter” and wait for Chrome to restart.

You won’t lose any active tabs when using this method. And, it will bring back your mouse cursor in no time.

3. Fixing the Disappearing Mouse Pointer Issue Through Chrome Settings

Chrome uses Hardware acceleration when your Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is better than your Central Processing Unit (CPU). We have a separate article that discusses everything you need to know about hardware acceleration in Google Chrome.

Although hardware acceleration is a nice feature provided by Chrome, it can sometimes be part of the problem. The case is often applicable if you have an older machine.

Therefore, I can’t guarantee that disabling the hardware acceleration will solve the problem. Still, it is worth trying.

Here’s how you can disable Chrome’s hardware acceleration quickly.

1. Enter “chrome://settings/system” in the URL bar.

2. Look for “use hardware acceleration when available.”

3. Toggle the switch to the left side to disable hardware acceleration.

4. Relaunch Chrome to take the change into effect.

That’s all. Turning off Chrome’s hardware acceleration can solve one too many problems associated with improper graphic loading. 

Our tests have shown that this method works for some and not for others. Whether the process works for you or not solely depends on your computer’s hardware units like GPU.

Therefore, I recommend keeping the hardware acceleration on default settings if it didn’t solve your graphics-related problem in Chrome.

4. Try Using Another Browser

I am confident that at least one of the tricks mentioned above should fix the mouse cursor not appearing issue on Chrome. However, if none of them worked, the best way to eliminate the problem is by switching to another browser.

In my opinion, the best alternative to Chrome is Firefox. Here is a detailed comparison between Firefox vs. Chrome for you. The article compares both products on all significant factors to consider for a good browser.

Bottom Line: Cursor Disappears in Chrome

Chrome does an extraordinary job at providing useful features to users. However, the continuous updates might bring in some bugs. Although Google has not made any statement on the mouse disappearing issue, the problem appears on a very selective number of devices.

The mouse cursor disappearing when watching the video is a charm. In contrast, it cannot be delightful if you are about to show a presentation or make an online transaction.

The solutions available at this point for this problem are temporary. We expect turning off hardware acceleration to be helpful. However, most often, it might create more problems than already existing ones.

Therefore, going with the temporary solutions is the best way to fix mouse cursor disappearance in Chrome. I recommend using Firefox if you have to take care of something essential.