What should you do if your mouse scroll has a lot of friction rolling down but less rolling up?

Answer 1

This can be caused by a blockage in the mouse or a software error.

Software:

Go to the Control Panel, then 'Hardware & Sound", click 'Mouse', then select the 'Wheel' tab.

Here you can adjust the sensitivity of the mouse scroll in both directions. Most mice have the default speed of 3 for both upwards and downwards scrolling.

Try adjusting the sensitivity here and seeing if it makes a difference.

Blockage:
Computer mice can easily be clogged with dust, skin, sweat and hairs.

When you hold a mouse, the sweat produced from your hand seeps into the mouse via the wheel or any other openings in the mouse. The sweat dries and becomes sticky allowing dust particles and skin cells to stick to it. This causes blockages in the mouse, affecting its performance.

You could try unplugging the mouse then inserting a paperclip, pin or thin metal wire into the holes around the mouse wheel to try and loosen any blockages.

If this doesn't work, most mice are easily taken apart and inspected. There may be one, two or three screws underneath your mouse. Unscrew them, then carefullydissemblethe mouse, being careful as to not stretch any wires or componentsinside, then clean out any dirt inside and re-assemble the mouse.

Mice can also be affected by overuse. So, if you have an ancient mouse, the chances are that the wheel components have worn down.

Neither:

If all fails, it's time to buy a new mouse. Mice are relatively cheap from any PC store, unless youpurposefully(unnecessarily) want to buy an expensive one.

If you have recently bought the mouse, return it to the store as a faulty item.

Personally I would suggest that you avoid buying a mouse made by Microsoft. Microsoft use very cheap and tacky componentsin their mice and use low-paid labour in Asia to assemble them. Microsoft mice may look nice but their performance and life is extremely poor.