What this free online mouse jiggler does
It keeps your computer registering activity, so the screen does not dim, the machine does not sleep, and the lock screen does not appear while you are still working.
Most mouse jigglers are either a USB dongle you have to buy or a program you have to install. Both are a problem on a managed work laptop: unknown USB devices are frequently blocked, and installing unapproved software is usually against policy - and sometimes technically impossible without administrator rights.
This tool takes a different route. It draws a continuously moving grid pattern on a web page using an HTML5 canvas. Nothing is installed and nothing is downloaded. You open the page on a second screen, usually a phone, and rest your optical mouse on top of it. The mouse sees the pattern moving underneath it and reports that movement to your computer, which counts as genuine user activity.
How to set it up in under a minute
- Open this page on your phone or tablet. Type mouse-jiggler.com into the browser, or scan it across from your computer. Any modern mobile browser works.
- Turn the screen brightness up. The mouse sensor needs contrast to detect the pattern. Around 70% brightness or higher is a good starting point.
- Extend the phone's screen timeout. This is the step most people forget. If your phone locks after 30 seconds, the jiggler stops with it. Set the display timeout to 10 minutes or to Never while you use it.
- Lay the phone flat on your desk, screen facing up, next to your keyboard.
- Place your mouse on the screen, sensor down, roughly in the middle. Check that your cursor starts drifting on your computer - that means it is working.
- Set a timer if you want it to stop by itself. Use the Timer button above to run for a fixed number of hours and minutes, then stop automatically.
Important: this only works with an optical or laser mouse. Trackpads detect your finger through capacitance, not light, so a moving image on a screen has no effect on them.
When people use a mouse jiggler
The tool exists for one simple reason: your computer measures whether you are present by watching for keyboard and mouse input, and that is a poor proxy for whether you are actually working.
Long renders and exports
Video exports, 3D renders and large builds can run for hours. If the machine sleeps halfway through, the job is lost.
Large downloads and backups
Overnight transfers, cloud syncs and system backups often fail simply because the computer went to sleep at 2am.
Presentations and demos
Nothing undermines a demo like a screensaver appearing mid-sentence and a password prompt in front of the room.
Reading and reviewing
Reading a long document, watching a training video or monitoring a dashboard involves no input for long stretches.
Remote sessions
A locked host machine can drop remote desktop connections and interrupt whatever was running on it.
Kiosks and displays
Screens showing dashboards, menus or status boards need to stay visible without someone touching them.
Browser-based, hardware, or software?
There are three ways to keep a computer awake, and they differ mainly in what you have to trust and what you have to install.
| Browser-based | USB dongle | Installed software | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Typically €10-30 | Free to paid |
| Installation | None | None, but hardware required | Required |
| Admin rights | Not needed | Not needed | Usually needed |
| Works on locked-down laptops | Yes | Often blocked by USB policy | Often blocked |
| Needs a second screen | Yes | No | No |
| Extra device to carry | Your phone | Yes | No |
If you can install software freely, a dedicated utility such as Microsoft's PowerToys Awake is the most convenient option. If you cannot, a browser page and your phone will get you the same result without touching the machine's configuration. We compare all three in detail in Caffeine vs Amphetamine vs browser-based jiggler.
If the cursor is not moving
Nearly every failed setup comes down to one of four things:
- The phone screen turned off. Increase the display timeout in your phone's settings, or set it to Never for the duration.
- Brightness is too low. The sensor needs a clear, high-contrast image. Raise brightness and disable automatic dimming or battery saver, which lowers it again after a few minutes.
- The mouse is not sitting flat. The sensor has to be fully in contact with the glass and looking at the pattern. Slightly reposition it until the cursor drifts.
- You are using a trackpad. This method cannot work on a trackpad. See other ways to keep a laptop awake instead.
A glass screen protector, a thick case lip, or a very dark room can all reduce reliability. If your cursor moves in short bursts and then stops, try a different area of the screen.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. There is no account, no trial period, and no paid tier. The tool runs entirely in your browser and the page is funded by advertising and, in some articles, affiliate links.
No. Everything runs inside the browser tab you already have open. Nothing is downloaded to your computer, no browser extension is required, and you never need administrator rights.
An optical mouse works by photographing the surface underneath it thousands of times per second and comparing consecutive frames. When you rest the mouse on a screen showing a moving grid, the sensor sees the pattern shifting and reports that as movement - exactly as if you had nudged the mouse yourself.
No. A trackpad senses the electrical capacitance of your finger, not light, so a moving image on a screen has no effect on it. This method needs an optical or laser mouse that you can physically place on top of a screen.
Yes. Wired and wireless optical mice both use the same kind of sensor. Just be aware that keeping a wireless mouse continuously active will use its battery faster than normal.
Only if you have a second screen you can rest the mouse on. The usual setup is to open the page on a phone or tablet and place the mouse sensor on the phone screen, because a laptop screen is upright and a mouse will not stay on it.
No. The animation is drawn locally with an HTML5 canvas. We do not read your files, detect installed software, or send anything about your machine to a server. We use privacy-friendly analytics for page visits only, and you can decline those cookies.
As long as you like. There is also a built-in timer if you want it to stop automatically after a set number of hours and minutes - useful if you only need to cover a long download or render.
Two common reasons. First, the phone running the jiggler may be sleeping itself - increase its screen timeout and brightness. Second, some corporate policies lock a machine on a fixed schedule regardless of activity, which no jiggler of any kind can override.
That depends entirely on your employer's IT and HR policies, and we cannot answer it for you. Many people use these tools for practical reasons - long renders, presentations, downloads, or reading a document without the screen dimming. If you are unsure whether it is permitted on a managed device, ask your IT department first.
Guides and explainers
We write about keeping computers awake, remote work tooling, and the settings that control sleep and lock behaviour on each platform.
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Browser-Based Tools That Replace Software You Cannot Install
Locked-down laptop? Modern browsers handle far more than people expect - from PDFs to image editing to keeping the machine awake.
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Does a Mouse Jiggler Drain Your Battery or Burn In Your Screen?
Two fair questions about leaving a bright animation running for hours. Here are realistic numbers and the settings that reduce both risks.
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How to Stop the Screensaver During a Presentation
Presentation mode, Focus Assist and screen sharing all interact with your screensaver differently. Here is the checklist before you present.
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Keeping a PC Awake During Long Downloads, Renders and Backups
A render that dies at 3am is almost always a sleep setting, not a crash. Here is how to diagnose which one, and how to keep the machine working.