diff --git a/src/plugins/platforms/windows/qwindowsmousehandler.cpp b/src/plugins/platforms/windows/qwindowsmousehandler.cpp
index 9fc04da245..b052dc53e8 100644
--- a/src/plugins/platforms/windows/qwindowsmousehandler.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/platforms/windows/qwindowsmousehandler.cpp
@@ -130,7 +130,9 @@ QWindowsMouseHandler::QWindowsMouseHandler() = default;
 
 const QPointingDevice *QWindowsMouseHandler::primaryMouse()
 {
-    static const auto result = QPointingDevice::primaryPointingDevice();
+    static QPointer<const QPointingDevice> result;
+    if (!result)
+        result = QPointingDevice::primaryPointingDevice();
     return result;
 }