Most rubber-base mousepads slip on carpet. Get one with a textured or spiked bottom.

Yes, you probably need a different base if you’re on carpet.

Standard rubber-bottomed mousepads are designed for hard, flat desks. Carpet is squishy and uneven, so that rubber grip doesn’t have much to grab onto. The pad shifts, your aim is off, and you end up adjusting it every few minutes.

What works: mousepads with a spiked, honeycomb, or aggressive textured underside. Those little bumps dig into the carpet fibers and hold the pad in place. Another option is a hard mousepad (plastic, glass, or aluminum) – it’s heavy enough not to slide, and the base doesn’t matter as much because it’s rigid.

If you already have a rubber pad, try putting a thin, non-slip shelf liner (the grippy mesh stuff) underneath. It’s a cheap hack.

Don’t spend much: a decent carpet-friendly pad is $10-15. The fancy “gaming” ones with RGB and built-in wrist rests are overkill.

A few extra bucks now saves you from chasing your mousepad around all day.