If you are a Firefox user, you may know that the mouse middle click can be used for various purposes in Firefox, like opening links in new tabs, scrolling a web page at different speeds without using the scroll wheel, etc. Middle mouse click also performs the same functions in other popular browsers like Chrome, Edge, etc. For some users, the mouse middle click is not working in Firefox. According to them, the issue occurs only in Firefox. When they use other browsers, the mouse middle click works fine. In this article, we will explain what you should do if you experience this problem.
Why is my middle mouse click not working?
There could be many reasons why your middle mouse click is not working. The main cause is mouse hardware failure. It is possible that there is an accumulation of dust on your scroll wheel due to which the middle click is not working. Another cause is the corrupted mouse driver.
Mouse middle click is not working in Firefox on Windows 11/10
If your mouse middle click is not working in Firefox, use the following solutions to resolve the issue. Before you proceed, we suggest you see if the same problem is occurring in other browsers. If yes, your mouse may be faulty. We also suggest you clean your mouse properly.
- Check for Firefox updates
- Check Firefox Settings
- Modify Firefox configuration settings
- Start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode
- Reinstall your mouse driver
- Refresh Firefox.
Let’s see all these fixes in detail.
1] Check for Firefox updates
It is always recommended to keep your software up to date. Though Firefox automatically installs the updates whenever they are available, we suggest you check for Firefox updates manually. To do so, follow the steps written below:
- Open Firefox.
- Click on the three horizontal lines on the top right side.
- Go to “Help > About Firefox.”
After that, Firefox will check for updates. If you are using the latest version, you will see the following message:
Firefox is up to date
2] Check Firefox settings
When you click the middle mouse button on a web page in Firefox, your mouse cursor turns into an arrow icon. If both vertical and horizontal scrolling is available on the web page, you will see four arrow icons pointing towards the left, right, top, and bottom. If horizontal scrolling is not available on the web page, you will see only two arrow icons pointing toward the top and bottom. Now, you can move your mouse cursor in any of these four directions to scroll the page without using the scroll wheel.
This feature does not work if the Use autoscrolling option is disabled in Firefox. Check if this is the case with you or not. The following steps will help you:
- Click on the three horizontal lines on the top right side in Firefox and select Settings. Alternatively, you can type about:preferences in a new tab and hit Enter.
- Select the General tab on the left side.
- Scroll down and locate the Browsing section.
- Make sure that the Auto scrolling checkbox is selected. If not, select it.
3] Modify Firefox configuration settings
If the middle click is not opening links, modifying the configuration settings will fix the problem. The following steps will guide you on this:
- Open a new tab in Firefox.
- Type about:config and press Enter.
- Click Accept the Risk and Continue.
- Type browser.tabs.opentabfor.middleclick in the search bar. It should show the value as True.
If the value of browser.tabs.opentabfor.middleclick is set to false, double-click on it to change it to true. After that, Firefox will start opening links in new tabs when you use your mouse middle click.
Tip: You can also make the middle click of your mouse open the links in a new window instead of new tabs in Firefox. To do so, you have to create a new value in Firefox by using the Configuration Editor.
Open a new tab and type about:config, and hit Enter. Click on the Accept the Risk and Continue button. Now, type middlemouse.openNewWindow in the search bar. Select Boolean and click on the Plus icon next to it. Now, double-click on it to change its value to true. After setting its value to true, change the value of browser.tabs.opentabfor.middleclick to false.
4] Start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode
Sometimes, problems occur due to extensions in Firefox. We suggest you Start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode and see if the mouse middle click works. Troubleshoot Mode is a method to diagnose issues in Firefox. When you open Firefox in this mode, all the extensions, themes, and other custom settings will be disabled temporarily.
To start Firefox in Safe Mode or Troubleshoot Mode, follow the steps provided below:
- Click on the three horizontal lines on the top right side.
- Go to “Help > More troubleshooting information.”
- A new tab will open in Firefox. Click Troubleshoot Mode under the Diagnose issues section.
If the mouse middle click starts working in Troubleshoot Mode, you have to check your extensions. To do so, exit Firefox Troubleshoot Mode and relaunch it in normal mode. Now, disable any one extension and check if the problem disappears. If not, disable another extension and check the status of the issue again. Repeat these steps until you find the problematic extension. Once you find it, remove it and find its alternative.
5] Reinstall your mouse driver
One possible cause of the problem is the corrupted or outdated mouse driver. We suggest you reinstall your mouse driver. To do so, follow the steps provided below:
- Open the Device Manager.
- Expand the Mice and other pointing devices node.
- Right-click on your mouse driver and select Uninstall device.
- Restart your computer.
- On restart, connect your mouse and the driver will get reinstalled.
You can also try installing your mouse driver by downloading it from the manufacturer’s official website.
6] Refresh Firefox
If none of the above solutions fix the issue, refresh Firefox.
I hope this helps.
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