This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Suddenly my mouse wheel does not scroll a page as before on various web pages, but on some pages it works fine; Why?

  • 7 replies
  • 40 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by omoto1

more options

Yesterday I noticed that my mouse wheel no longer scrolls from anywhere on a web page. On some pages it works well but not on others. It's almost as if it hits a blind spot and will no longer scroll. If I move the pointer onto the scroll bar, or near the margin, it usually works there. If I move to a different web page it may work differently. It seems as if the formatting of the page determines whether or not it will scroll. It was not like this two days ago. It's frustrating when you move the wheel and expect the page to scroll and it doesn't. If I restart FF in safe mode the mouse wheel scrolls properly.

Yesterday I noticed that my mouse wheel no longer scrolls from anywhere on a web page. On some pages it works well but not on others. It's almost as if it hits a blind spot and will no longer scroll. If I move the pointer onto the scroll bar, or near the margin, it usually works there. If I move to a different web page it may work differently. It seems as if the formatting of the page determines whether or not it will scroll. It was not like this two days ago. It's frustrating when you move the wheel and expect the page to scroll and it doesn't. If I restart FF in safe mode the mouse wheel scrolls properly.

Chosen solution

If it works in Safe Mode and in normal mode with all extensions (Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) disabled then try to find which extension is causing it by enabling one extension at a time until the problem reappears.

Close and restart Firefox after each change via "Firefox > Exit" (Windows: Firefox/File > Exit; Mac: Firefox > Quit Firefox; Linux: Firefox/File > Quit)

See also:

Read this answer in context 👍 2

All Replies (7)

more options

Update latest version of firefox

more options

Chosen Solution

If it works in Safe Mode and in normal mode with all extensions (Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) disabled then try to find which extension is causing it by enabling one extension at a time until the problem reappears.

Close and restart Firefox after each change via "Firefox > Exit" (Windows: Firefox/File > Exit; Mac: Firefox > Quit Firefox; Linux: Firefox/File > Quit)

See also:

more options

I am already at v21.0.

I will try the restarts tomorrow and see what happens.

grey

more options

Well, I found the add-on that caused the problem. Unfortunately it was the 24th out of 30 add-ons so I had a bit to go through. It's called 'smoothwheel' and it worked well but they must have ungraded it, or I messed up some option and it stopped working on anything of a graphic nature. It worked fine on text.

I really didn't want to go through those add-ons one at a time. I was hoping there might have been an easier way, but that's life... there isn't always an 'easier way'.

Thanks for the help.,

grey

more options

I have no extensions - none - and I still have this scroll problem. But only in the last few days.

This thread proposes a couple of solutions. I am not convinced that either of them solve my problem. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/948356

more options

Note that this can also happen if a plugin has or gets focus.
In such a case you need to click outside the plugin to make scrolling work once again.


Clear the cache and the cookies from websites that cause problems.

"Clear the Cache":

  • Firefox/Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"

"Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:

  • Firefox/Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window or otherwise make changes.

Modified by cor-el

more options

I was looking at this forum and found this thread. The scrolling problem isn't with just Firefox, it's with internet explorer and every thing on the computer. I can't even scroll on image viewer to make a picture bigger. My mouse stopped working as of two days ago without warning. It's either windows or an update or something like that.