Synthetic mousepads can mess with ungrounded mice.

Yes, it’s a real thing. If your mouse has a capacitive touch sensor (like touch-sensitive scroll wheels or buttons) and your mousepad is made of synthetic fibers (nylon, polyester, etc.), you can get erratic behavior from static buildup. Without a ground connection (e.g., if your PC isn’t grounded or you’re on a laptop battery), that static discharge has nowhere to go, so it messes with the capacitive sensing.

The fix? Either get a grounded mouse (some have a metal plate or USB grounding) or switch to a cloth pad that doesn’t generate static. Or just touch a metal part of your desk before using the mouse. I’ve seen this with Razer and Logitech touch scroll wheels—swapping to a simple cloth pad fixed it instantly.