File Explorer window randomly stops responding to mouse clicks

Question

File Explorer window randomly stops responding to mouse clicks

Shadmehr Vadoodi 85

Hello everyone,

Lately, File Explorer will randomly stop responding to mouse clicks, and I have to close it and open a new window. I first thought it was just my PC, but several others are seeing the same issue.

Is there a known fix or patch for this?

Best regards,

Fred Spataro 15 Reputation points

2025-09-19T16:17:27.76+00:00

Same here... Haven't figured out any pattern yet ... but doesn't seem to happen while using the window. It's only when I switch away then back.... maybe switching between virtual desktops?

Definitely not a frozen window (can move and resize the window), just the mouse click events inside the left and main panel... oddly i can mouse click on both the address bar and tool bar.... keyboard navigation works once you tab into the correct panel.

Windows 11 Enterprise, version 24H2, no updates available in the 'check for updates panel'

In terms of 'third party context extensions' see screen shot... Adobe (but was happening before I installed Acrobat Reader), Beyond Compare, Notepad++, PowerToys, 7zip...
Andrew Doherty 5 Reputation points

2025-09-24T15:40:36.7+00:00

Also experiencing the same problem - have to close the unresponsive Explorer tab to clear. Can copy the address into a new Explorer tab and carry on without problem but original tab never becomes responsive again.
Bruno Leite 5 Reputation points

2025-10-06T21:30:00.37+00:00

Same issue here. You described exactly the same problem that has been happening on my computer. I’ve already tried uninstalling some programs and changing a few Explorer settings, all to no avail. The issue occurs on different devices, which leads me to believe it’s not a configuration on my end, but rather something more widespread.

2 answers

Your answer

Fred Spataro 15 Reputation points

2025-09-19T16:17:27.76+00:00

Same here... Haven't figured out any pattern yet ... but doesn't seem to happen while using the window. It's only when I switch away then back.... maybe switching between virtual desktops?

Definitely not a frozen window (can move and resize the window), just the mouse click events inside the left and main panel... oddly i can mouse click on both the address bar and tool bar.... keyboard navigation works once you tab into the correct panel.

Windows 11 Enterprise, version 24H2, no updates available in the 'check for updates panel'

In terms of 'third party context extensions' see screen shot... Adobe (but was happening before I installed Acrobat Reader), Beyond Compare, Notepad++, PowerToys, 7zip...
Andrew Doherty 5 Reputation points

2025-09-24T15:40:36.7+00:00

Also experiencing the same problem - have to close the unresponsive Explorer tab to clear. Can copy the address into a new Explorer tab and carry on without problem but original tab never becomes responsive again.
Bruno Leite 5 Reputation points

2025-10-06T21:30:00.37+00:00

Same issue here. You described exactly the same problem that has been happening on my computer. I’ve already tried uninstalling some programs and changing a few Explorer settings, all to no avail. The issue occurs on different devices, which leads me to believe it’s not a configuration on my end, but rather something more widespread.

Answer 1

Gothyk 0

I will state this has been an ongoing issue on multiple machines that have completely different setups. It's annoying enough as it will typically happen 1x a day, and sometimes multiple times. It's gotten to the point I have ended up testing replacements for file explorer.

To note the issue seems to be windows 11 related. I don't recall having this issue on windows 10, but i have not used windows 10 for quite a while. The window does not quit responding, it will instead just not except clicks (left or right) on a file. I can even navigate different folders in the address bar or quick access. Closing and relaunching the program is the only way to fix this. I may have 8 or 9 tabs open at times, so this is very frustrating as I have to reopen all my tabs. As much as I don't want to pay for a replacement, I'm much considering it using Directory Opus. The prices look high, but it's in AU pricing (currently about .65 to 1 AUD). I hope Microsoft can eventually fix this.

Also, this issue persists on clean installs of windows as well.

Wolf 0 Reputation points

2025-11-22T17:41:07.9366667+00:00

I have the same experience. I manage about 10 test machines for certification of our software, they all have clean installs. We used to test on Windows 10 and 11 and only Windows 11 had this issue (in addition with plenty more issues for File Explorer).
I am also seeing the same issue with Remote Desktop, when RD stops accepting input. If close RD and reopen the connection i can resume my work where i left off.
Wolf 0 Reputation points

2025-11-22T17:43:18.9766667+00:00

I just noticed that sometimes i can still edit the address bar on the top of the explorer window, but nothing else will respond to mouse clicks or keyboard

Answer 2

Randy Baroja 20,705 Independent Advisor

Hey there!

Nice to meet you! I'm Randy, an Independent Advisor.

Hi Shadmehr, You can try this steps to fix it. first install the latest Windows updates since Microsoft has released patches for Explorer issues. If that doesn’t help, restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc > right-click Windows Explorer > Restart). Lastly, check for conflicts by disabling third-party context menu extensions.

Kind regards,

Shadmehr Vadoodi 85 Reputation points

2025-08-21T20:37:41.9366667+00:00

It does not freeze, it just stops accepting mouse operations. the same window can be navigated by Keyboard.

I am not sure, but it may be related to Microsoft Teams because majority of this issue happened during video calls.
Matt B 20 Reputation points

2025-08-25T19:16:45.8266667+00:00

I have been seeing this recently as well (as of Aug 25, 2025). But I don't use Teams, so it must be unrelated to that. And yes, navigation via keyboard works fine. And the address/path bar area responds to mouse input as well, but not the Navigation Pane or main explorer content area. Simply closing the File Explorer window and reopening fixes the issue, but it is inconvenient.

My windows is "Up to date" as of today.
(Last updates: 2025-08 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 24H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5063878) (26100.4946))
Anne 5 Reputation points

2025-08-26T17:00:58.5966667+00:00

I'm experiencing the same as Matt B and Shadmehr (Aug 2025).
Tam Bui 0 Reputation points

2025-09-29T20:09:40.3566667+00:00

Same for me and my colleagues. Version 23H2 Build 22631.5768. File Explorer will randomly stop responding to mouse clicks in the main view, but it works fine in the left-hand navigation tree, the address bar, and the search text box. The only workaround for now is to annoyingly close the File Explorer window and open it again. This happens > 20 times per week, which makes the problem extra frustrating when you're a power user.
T 0 Reputation points

2025-10-28T03:15:08.0266667+00:00

Experiencing the same issue. W11 up to date. No issues reported what so ever. Event viewer does not log this in any way. Windows simply stops responding to commands, right clicks, left clicks. I can easily press the + to open a new window which works normally. This issue has been a part of my Windows 11 experience and I tried formats, reinstalls, in place in what-ever-manner you want. Changing drivers etc. Issue remains.
Patch 21 Reputation points

2025-12-15T04:43:45.3033333+00:00

Also experiencing this issue, it has been ongoing for some time. I must note that I too see this occur on multiple machines, both at home and at work. It doesn't seem to be limited to File Explorer.

As others have said, in File explorer, the lower frames of the window with the directories and files cannot be clicked on. But you can click on anything from the toolbar and up. By clicking on one of the menus and then tabbing you can still navigate folders. I can still click things like the menu key and open up context menus. If I click anywhere in the lower half of the window, it will lose focus and remain unclickable.

If I open another explorer window while the first one is open, I can click on it without issue. My explorer is currently configured to open each window in the same window.

I know some people mentioned August, but I've been having this problem a lot long er than that.

I tried to use procmon to analyze what was happening, and I noticed explorer reaching out to several entries where ikeeps checking TabletPostureTaskbar and Microsoft.UI.Input.GestureReconizer.

Could the window be going into some sort of tablet mode?

8:41:03.7769856 PM Explorer.EXE 6944 RegOpenKey \REGISTRY\A{5B1D52FB-ADAA-425C-ADA9-10B35C9E2FA4}\ActivatableClassId\Microsoft.UI.Input.GestureRecognizer NAME NOT FOUND Desired Access: Read

8:41:03.7770199 PM Explorer.EXE 6944 RegCloseKey \REGISTRY\A{5B1D52FB-ADAA-425C-ADA9-10B35C9E2FA4}\ActivatableClassId SUCCESS

8:41:03.7770645 PM Explorer.EXE 6944 RegOpenKey \REGISTRY\A{7AC32957-BD48-4D57-9D8D-19C6053130CE}\ActivatableClassId SUCCESS Desired Access: Read

8:41:06.9674576 PM Explorer.EXE 6944 RegOpenKey HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer SUCCESS Desired Access: Query Value

8:41:06.9674996 PM Explorer.EXE 6944 RegQueryValue HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\TabletPostureTaskbar NAME NOT FOUND Length: 16

8:41:06.9675336 PM Explorer.EXE 6944 RegCloseKey HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer SUCCESS

8:41:06.9675777 PM Explorer.EXE 6944 RegQueryKey HKCU SUCCESS Query: HandleTags, HandleTags: 0x0

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File Explorer window randomly stops responding to mouse clicks

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