Dissapearing Cursor

Question

Windows 11. The cursor disappears after a few seconds after clicking in the typing space or the cursor goes away while typing in a document if there is a pause during typing, also, cursor will go away after a few seconds when hovering over a drop down menu. I have disabled hide cursor when typing, deleted the mouse drivers, and restarted the computer. Still same issue.

Answer 1

Hi! Let me help you.

Does the cursor disappear in all apps (e.g., browser, Word, File Explorer), or only in specific ones?

When the cursor disappears, does it come back if you move the mouse or press a key?

Does the issue also happen on the login screen or BIOS/UEFI (before Windows loads)?

Are you using a laptop touchpad, an external mouse, or both?

If both, does the issue happen with both devices?

Have you tried a different mouse (or unplugging the external mouse and using only the touchpad)?

Answer 2

The behavior matches Windows’ auto-hiding cursor features rather than a driver fault.

Try these steps in order:

1. Disable “Hide pointer while typing” (already done, but confirm)
   • Open Settings > search for Mouse settings.
   • Select Additional mouse settings.
   • In Mouse Properties, go to Pointer Options.
   • Make sure Hide pointer while typing is unchecked.
   • Click Apply and OK.
   • Sign out and back in, or restart Windows Terminal or any affected apps if they were open.
2. Check for app-specific behavior (Windows Terminal / Git Bash) Some apps (for example, Windows Terminal with Git Bash) can visually flash or hide the cursor by design.
   • If the disappearing cursor happens mainly in Windows Terminal with Git Bash, open the Git Bash ~/.inputrc file and change:

          set bell-style visible
     

     to:

          set bell-style none
     

     then save and restart the terminal. This removes visible flashes that can look like the cursor disappearing.
3. Verify no custom code or tools are hiding the cursor If any utilities or custom software are installed that modify mouse behavior (accessibility tools, cursor enhancers, game overlays), temporarily disable or uninstall them and test again. Windows exposes APIs like ShowCursor and SystemParametersInfo (SPI_SETMOUSEVANISH) that such tools can use to auto-hide the pointer; misconfigured tools can cause the symptoms described.
4. Hardware and driver sanity check
   • Test the mouse on another PC to confirm it behaves normally.
   • On the Windows 11 PC, unplug the mouse, wait a few seconds, and plug it into a different USB port.
   • If using a USB hub, connect the mouse directly to the PC.
   • Run Windows Update to check for driver updates, or update the mouse driver via Device Manager.

If the cursor still disappears in all apps after these steps, test in a new local user profile. If the issue does not occur there, it is likely caused by a per-user setting or software in the original profile.

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References:

• Troubleshooting in Windows Terminal
• Mouse Input Overview
• About Cursors
• Mouse and keyboard problems in Windows