Windows 11 focus outline appears even when tab is not pressed.

Question

Windows 11 focus outline appears even when tab is not pressed.

Timur ‎ 0

This problem occurs on every Windows version I've tried, all clean installs (23H2, 25H2, 26H2 Preview). My laptop is an ASUS TUF F16 FX608JHR-RV144, BIOS version 312. I've tried adjusting every Windows setting related to this and even tweaking the registry, but nothing has helped.

I also want to note that my keyboard is functioning normally and isn't the cause — KeyTest doesn't detect any phantom signals. The issue also occurs outside Windows itself, in browsers like Edge and Chrome (the address bar always gets highlighted when I open a new tab).

Important note: I didn't experience this issue on my previous laptop, a Lenovo LOQ 15ARP10E, even though I was running the exact same Windows build. It seems like the system is misinterpreting some input as coming from a keyboard (e.g., treating a mouse or touchpad click as a Tab-key press). I'd really appreciate any help diagnosing and solving this 5231

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Norah-L 11,410 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Good day Timur,

Since the focus outline appears without pressing Tab and remains across different Windows versions, another connected input device may be sending navigation commands.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

Disconnect all game controllers, joysticks, steering wheels, USB receivers, and Bluetooth input accessories.
Restart the computer with only the laptop keyboard and touchpad connected, then check whether the outline still appears.
If the issue continues, temporarily disable the touchpad in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad, connect a basic wired mouse, and test again.
If the problem disappears, reconnect the disconnected devices one at a time and test after each one. This should help identify which device is triggering the behavior.

Please let me know how it goes after trying these steps, and I'll be glad to continue looking into it with you.

Norah-L 11,410 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-29T08:04:30.5766667+00:00

Hello Timur,

Just checking in to see if you’ve had a chance to try the suggested steps.

Please feel free to share any updates.
Timur ‎ 0 Reputation points

2026-09-29T13:55:43.7666667+00:00

Hello, I only use a wired mouse. As I said, I'm on a clean system right now. There are no drivers, so the touchpad is not working. That's why I wouldn't suspect it.The issue is still there, though. I tried diagnosing it with Claude, and it gave me a script that catches all the HID inputs. As expected, both mouse/touchpad and keyboard are working perfectly, and there are no hardware defects. The keyboard appears in the console only when I physically use it, and so does the mouse.One interesting observation is that when the outline appears, nothing suspicious appears in the log (only mouse position changes and mouse clicks, but they're physically executed and are supposed to be there, no phantom keyboard signals have been registered during the usage), confirming my assumption.
Norah-L 11,410 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-30T06:59:57.73+00:00

Hi Timur,

Thank you for the additional testing. Based on your results, this seems less likely to be caused by a faulty keyboard, touchpad, or phantom HID input.

I’ve done some further research and found a few reports from other users describing similar behavior in Windows 11 (several years ago). However, I have not found a confirmed root cause or fix.

Could you confirm whether any third-party software has been installed since Windows was set up, particularly ASUS utilities, keyboard or mouse software, screen-capture tools, accessibility tools, or interface-customization programs?

You could also check whether the same behavior occurs in Safe Mode. If it does not, a startup application, background service, or nonessential driver may be involved.
Timur ‎ 0 Reputation points

2026-09-30T12:13:42.5033333+00:00

No, this issue starts to appear as soon as I log in for the first time after a clean installation of Windows 11. It does appear in Safe Mode, but it doesn’t appear in the Windows installation environment when I boot from my flash drive.
Norah-L 11,410 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-01T08:10:01.5+00:00
Timur, thank you for confirming this and for testing in Safe Mode.

Since the focus outline appears immediately after a clean installation and also occurs in Safe Mode, but does not appear in the Windows installation environment, the cause does not appear to be a regular startup application or third-party program.

As this is a user-to-user forum, I’m afraid we do not have access to the advanced diagnostic tools needed to investigate the issue further from here. Since you have already completed extensive testing without identifying the cause, I recommend contacting Microsoft Support for more in-depth technical assistance.

Here's how to reach out to the Microsoft Support Team:

Go to: https://support.microsoft.com/home/contact

In the search box, enter a short description of your issue, then choose "Get Help"

Scroll down and select Sign in to contact support (please sign in using a personal Microsoft account). Then follow the on-screen prompts to reach Technical Support Team.

Tips:

Support chat availability may vary by country/region, product, and support hours. If you can't get in touch with a chat agent right away, trying again later or at a different time may help.

If the support page directs you to the automated assistant, type “I need a live agent” in the chat.

Hopefully your issue will be sorted out soon Thank you so much for your patience!

Answer 2

Hello, I only use a wired mouse. As I said, I'm on a clean system right now. There are no drivers, so the touchpad is not working. That's why I wouldn't suspect it.The issue is still there, though. I tried diagnosing it with Claude, and it gave me a script that catches all the HID inputs. As expected, both mouse/touchpad and keyboard are working perfectly, and there are no hardware defects. The keyboard appears in the console only when I physically use it, and so does the mouse.One interesting observation is that when the outline appears, nothing suspicious appears in the log (only mouse position changes and mouse clicks, but they're physically executed and are supposed to be there, no phantom keyboard signals have been registered during the usage), confirming my assumption.