Fix: Sea of Thieves Keyboard / Mouse Not Working or Lagging

2018’s Sea of Thieves is one of the popular action-adventure video games that offer an open-world multiplayer pirates kind of gaming experience by sailing ships, fighting, looting, & exploring everything you need in a so-called pirate life to make it legendary. Rare and Microsoft Studios have done a great job with this title. However, this title has some bugs or issues, just like other video games. Sea of Thieves Keyboard and Mouse not working or lagging issue is one of them.

Though the Sea of Thieves PC edition game has received 9/10 stars on Steam overall, some unfortunate players are encountering multiple issues on the PC. It eventually ruins the gameplay experience and nothing else. As per several reports on the Sea of Thieves steam forum, the connected mouse or keyboard becomes laggy enough while playing Sea of Thieves. Sometimes these USB peripherals don’t even work or get recognized unexpectedly.

Fix: Sea of Thieves Keyboard/Mouse Not Working or Lagging

Most affected players say the same thing: the mouse performance seems good enough at the start of the game. But after a couple of seconds, it becomes wild and lagging so much that players cannot move characters or perform any actions at the right moment whenever required. So, it’s needless to say that the battle royale title is all about faster actions and movements in the gameplay in real-time straight away.

Keyboard doesn’t work on PC from Seaofthieves

There seem to be some server-side conflicts troubling the in-game mouse/keyboard lags. Luckily, here we’ve shared a couple of possible workarounds for you that should come in handy. Multiple reports and suggestions are floating around several forums where advanced players and affected players have mentioned some troubleshooting methods that can work in most cases. So, without wasting any more time, let’s jump into it.

3. Check for the Mouse and Keyboard Software Update

Nowadays, most keyboard and mouse manufacturers offer dedicated software where the connected mouse or keyboard device can be configured. Some popular brands like Logitech, Dell, SteelSeries, Cooler Master, etc manufacturers offer peripheral software on the PC. To do so, just head over to the respective website of the device and download the latest software on the PC, depending on your specific model number.

4. Try Using Other Peripherals

It’s also worth recommending using other peripheral devices instead of the existing one because it may also be possible that somehow the currently used keyboard or mouse has some issues.

5. Update Windows

If in case, you’re running the outdated Windows OS version or outdated build, then make sure to follow the steps below to check and install updates.

Press Windows + I keys to open up the Windows Settings menu.
Click on Windows Update from the left pane > Check for updates.
If there is an update available, you should select Download and Install.
Wait for the update process to be completed.
Once done, reboot your PC to apply changes.

You should also check for the optional updates by following the steps below because some device driver updates and security patch updates may appear in a separate section.

Press Windows + I keys to open up the Windows Settings menu.
Click on Windows Update from the left pane > Click on Advanced Options.
Now, scroll down a bit and find the Additional options section.
Click on Optional updates > If there is an update available, make sure to select the update.
Click on Download & install > Reopen the system once the update is installed.

6. Disable Mouse Acceleration

It seems that the mouse acceleration option is enabled by default which can trigger several issues with the gameplay. So, you can try disabling the mouse acceleration feature in both the game menu and Windows settings to check for the issue. To do that:

Click on the Windows icon on the taskbar to open the Start menu.
Now, search for Control Panel and open it.
Click on Hardware and Sound > Click on the Mouse under Devices and Printers.
Under the Mouse Properties section, head over to the Pointer Options tab.
From the Motion section, make sure to uncheck the Enhance pointer precision checkbox to disable it.
Click on Apply and then click on OK to save changes.

Also, open the game settings menu and turn off the mouse acceleration option to make it work seamlessly. To do so:

Open Sea of Thieves > Go to Settings > Click on the Mouse/Keyboard tab.
Select Mouse Acceleration Off > Press the Esc (Escape) key to go back and start playing the game again.

7. Update Sea of Thieves

The chances are high that an outdated game version greatly troubling the players. It becomes buggy and unstable with the latest system. It’s highly recommended to check for the game update and install it as early as possible. To do so:

Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
Click on Sea of Thieves from the list of installed games on the left pane.
Now, the client will automatically search for the available update.
You’ll see the Update option > Just click on it if an update is available.
Wait for a couple of minutes or so until the game update completes. [Depends on the storage space and internet connectivity]
Once done, make sure to close the Steam client.
Finally, reboot your PC to apply changes, and launch the Sea of Thieves game again.

8. Enable Mouse Trails on Windows

You should also turn on the mouse trails option on Windows PC to check if the problem has been fixed for you or not. To do this:

Close Sea of Thieves from launcher and taskbar.
Now, press Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
Select Devices > Click on Mouse > Select Additional Mouse Options.
Select Display Pointer Trails under the Pointer Options tab.
Click on Apply and then reboot the game.

9. Try Changing Mouse DPI to 500Hz

You should try reducing the mouse DPI or refresh rate to 500Hz if you’re using a higher value because it may get laggy in the gameplay sessions. Multiple players have found this trick helpful. You can check it out. Whereas if you’re already using the low DPI on your mice, like 100Hz or 125Hz, you may perform better than others in terms of the lag.

10. Try Changing the Keyboard Repeat Rate

By following the steps below, you can try changing the keyboard repeat rate to the slower side.

Click on the Windows icon on the taskbar to open the Start menu.
Now, search for Control Panel and open it.
Search for Keyboard and open it > Head to the Keyboard Properties section.
Make sure to Change the Repeat Rate to Slow and the Repeat Delay option to Short under the Speed tab.
Once done, click on Apply and then OK to save changes.

11. Adjust Power Management for USB HUB Devices

It’s also possible that the connected USB HUB devices are going into sleep mode if not used for a while and then don’t wake up properly. You can adjust the power management option for the USB Root HUB Properties by following the steps below:

Press the Windows + X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
Click on Device Manager > Double-click on Universal Serial Bus Controllers to expand it.
Now, right-click on the USB Root Hub device > Select Properties.
Click on the Power Management tab > Make sure to uncheck the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power option.
Finally, you should reboot the PC to apply changes.

12. Turn OFF Windows Scaling

Windows Scaling is a feature that increases or decreases the on-screen texts, programs, and other visual elements for users to easily see and use. You can try turning it off because it can reduce mouse cursor or pointer lag to some extent.

Press the Windows + I keys to open the Windows Settings menu.
Now, click on System from the left pane > Select Display.
Go to Scale and Layout > Select Change the size of text, apps, and other items.
Make sure to choose 125% or 150% to re-size the display items according to your preference. [100% is recommended]

However, if the mouse lagging problem is still bothering you, turn off scaling by following the steps below.

Right-click the Sea of Thieves exe application > Select Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.
Now, tickmark the Disable display scaling on the high DPI settings checkbox to disable it.
Click on Apply and then OK to save changes.

13. Disable Overlay Apps

Sometimes a couple of applications may come with an additional overlay app that greatly helps the streamers or gamers. However, these overlay apps can eventually conflict with the game files to run smoothly and may cause several issues like FPS drops, black screen issues, lags, glitches, etc. You should try disabling the overlay apps manually before launching the game again to cross-check whether the crashing issue has been fixed or not. To do so:

Disable Discord Overlay:

Launch the Discord app > Click on the gear icon at the bottom.
Select Overlay under App Settings > Turn on the Enable in-game overlay.
Click on the Games tab > Select Matchpoint – Tennis Championships.
Finally, turn off the Enable in-game overlay toggle.
Make sure to reboot your PC to apply changes.

Disable Xbox Game Bar:

Press Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
Click on Gaming > Go to Game Bar > Turn off Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using the Game bar option.

Disable Nvidia GeForce Experience Overlay:

Launch the Nvidia GeForce Experience app > Head over to Settings.
Click on the General tab > Disable the In-Game Overlay option.
Finally, restart the PC to apply changes, and launch the game again.

Disable Steam Overlay:

Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
Now, right-click on Sea of Thieves > Select Properties.
Head over to the General section > Here, just uncheck the Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game checkbox.
Go back to Library > Launch Sea of Thieves to check if the mouse/keyboard lag is bothering you or not.

Some other overlay apps can cause trouble for your something as MSI Afterburner, Rivatuner, RGB software, etc. You should turn them off as well.

14. Set Launch Options with 100 FPS

Some players fixed the mouse/keyboard lagging issue by restricting the maximum FPS count to 100 for the Sea of Thieves title. You can also try the same.

Open Steam > Go to Library.
Right-click on Sea of Thieves from the left pane.
Now, select Properties > Click on the General tab.
Here you’ll find Launch Options > Enter +fps_max 100 in the launch options field.
Once done, reboot the client and play the game again.

15. Verify and Repair Game Files

If, in case, your game files become missing or corrupted on the PC due to some unexpected reason, you may encounter several issues with the game launching as well as other conflicts. Make sure to verify and repair the game files properly to check for the issue.

Note: Don’t run other heavy applications while performing this method.

Launch the Steam client > Click on Library.
Right-click on Sea of Thieves from the list of installed games.
Now, click on Properties > Go to Local Files.

Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
You’ll have to wait for the process until it gets completed.
Once done, just restart your computer. This will most probably fix the game file-related issue.

Once done, close the client and restart the PC to change effects immediately.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.