Q: Mouse cursor lags with external monitor

I changed my display sleep from "Never" to 3 minutes and it took care of the issue.  Mid 2012 MBPr.

Hi, seems I know the reason and have working solution. I had same problem on my Macbook Pro 13, and seems the reason is a HDMI conflict with USB mouse radio transmitter.

The solution helped to is is just to use USB on the other side from HDMI port.

Anyone can confirm this works? Interesting is it cable related or port related problem?

So happy to stumble upon your message, and couldn't believe it was so simple (and dumb ) !

Mouse lag stopped instantly.

You're the best.

this works... thanks much, its a big problem to work with this nonsense happening.

The proposed solution by @nakrill and @alxdw worked for me as well.  I moved my wireless mouse USB dongle from the right side (where it was next to the HDMI port) to the left and the mouse drag/skip went away.

My setup:

15" Macbook Pro Retina mid 2015

El Capitan

Logitech wireless mouse

HDMI port connecting to a Samsung monitor

Just a quick update to this...while moving the mouse USB dongle to the right side did help significantly with the mouse lag, it didn't eliminate it completely.  I hope Apple fixes this with an OS update soon, as this is really annoying and frustrating.

Same problem. Late 2013 Retina MBP. Dell UZ2215H external monitor connected through Thunderbolt hub.

Problem does not occur when using the magic trackpad directly with the laptop.

Apple just replaced the wireless card on my laptop -- and it made no difference.

I had the same issue where after every 5 - 7 seconds the mouse cursor will freeze for a second before continuing. I am using Apple Magic mouse so no external mouse dongle. The only thing plugged into my USB port of the other side (Left side) is a 128GB flash drive. I have an Early 2015 13" Macbook Pro. The external monitor is Samsung SyncMaster S24B300 connected via HDMI.

The way I resolved this issue was to Change the refresh rate of external monitor from 60 Hertz (NTSC) which was selected as default to 50 Hertz (PAL) which it should be for EU region. The rest of the settings are Scaled to 1080p and standard Rotation with under-scan off.

Hope this helps.

Hi all,

I have had the exactly the same issue and I have changed the mouse usb to the other side of my lap top and the problem has gone!

same here, every 5-7 seconds, the mouse (or more or less whole OS) hangs for a couple of seconds. My set up:

2015 13inch rMBP, El Capitan 10.11.3

Dell U2414H on HDMI, NTSC

The thing is it only hangs if the monitor is switched to an input other than the macbook...

I had the exact same issue with f.flux. Basically having f.lux opened and a second monitor connected caused regular short (few seconds) lags/freezes. Disabling f.lux or disconnecting the monitor fixes the issue. I haven't fiddled with refresh rate though.

I upgraded to the Apple Magic Mouse 2 & have not noticed the problem since. I have 2010 MBP w/El Cap & 2010 NEC 24" external display.

Im just wondering are you guys using a thunderbolt adapter? I realized when I was using a thunderbolt to DVI adapter i would have the lag problems with the mouse and anything I did on the laptop would lag. I was using some cheap adapter I found on amazon and ended up replacing it to apples adapters and the lag went away. I have 2 external 27'' monitors connected to my mac book 2013 late model and no more lag. So im thinking if you guys are using some cheap thunderbolt to hdmi or thunderbolt to dvi adapter

Yes I am using and when I changed the usb for the opposite side of HDMI port it worked perfectly.

I always use usb port on the opposite side of HDMI port and still have this issue from Mavericks. I have this issue with bluetooth mice, wireless mice, and also wired mice. I'm struggling with this issue since the moment I bought a monitor for my macbook. I have reported this issue several time, no response received. And also have no fix for it in these years. I'm really tired of these issues

PS. macbook 13 Retina (mid 2014)