The most common cause is a focus or window-mode conflict—especially when using fullscreen—along with temporary bugs in the overlay’s input handling, while other causes include problems from anti-cheat systems such as EasyAntiCheat. Now that you know what might be causing the issue, let’s look at some effective solutions to fix it.
1. Restart Your Game
When troubleshooting any software issue, your first step should be to clear out minor glitches or temporary bugs. The quickest way to do that is to restart your game.
2. Reset In-Game Overlay
If the mouse stops moving inside the NVIDIA Overlay, you can’t interact with its features. Restarting the overlay can refresh its settings and restore normal behavior. This involves turning the In-Game Overlay off and back on to clear temporary glitches that might be causing the issue.
3. Enable Borderless Window
Many users who can’t move the mouse in NVIDIA Overlay fix it by leaving Fullscreen mode and switching to a borderless window. This lets the game cover the whole screen without the borders and title bar you see in traditional windowed mode. Besides restoring mouse movement, borderless windowed mode often makes switching between apps smoother and can reduce hiccups. Note: The steps to enable borderless windowed mode can vary by game.
4. Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Switch Between Programs
The Alt + Tab keyboard shortcut lets you switch between apps without using the mouse. This is especially useful here, since a stuck mouse cursor prevents you from trying anything else. This method lets you switch to another open program while the game is still running. Using the shortcut again returns you to the game, which can reset focus and help restore mouse control in the NVIDIA Overlay. While this may not be a permanent fix, it’s a handy temporary workaround while you try other solutions.
5. Update or Reinstall NVIDIA Graphics Drivers
Graphics drivers connect your NVIDIA graphics card (the hardware) with the apps that use it (like the NVIDIA Overlay). If your graphics drivers are outdated or incompatible with the game, that can be why you can’t move the mouse in NVIDIA Overlay. Updating the drivers is an important step when troubleshooting this problem. Before you start, identify your NVIDIA graphics card model. You can find this in the NVIDIA Control Panel or in Windows Device Manager.
