Featured - How to change your mouse cursor speed on Windows 10

A mouse is essential for quickly navigating your operating system, which is why it can be so frustrating when it’s not behaving as intended. If you have recently purchased a new mouse or reset your operating system, you may notice that your mouse cursor is too high or too low, hampering your productivity. In such cases, it’s necessary to know how to change mouse sensitivity in Windows 10 – and we’ll be showing you how to do so today.

Change DPI to adjust Windows 10 mouse sensitivity if you can

There are many ways to change mouse speed in Windows 10, and we’ll be focusing on three of them today. One involves using the modern Windows 10 settings UI, one the familiar legacy control panel, and the other regedit. No matter which method you choose, you’ll notice that there are a total of twenty speeds for your mouse pointer, with 1 being the slowest and 20 the fastest.

You should be aware, however, that it’s always preferable to change the DPI on your mouse before you change mouse speed in Windows 10 settings. For reasons we won’t get into here, your cursor will be more accurate if you leave the Windows sensitivity at 6 or 11 and adjust the DPI in your mouse software or via its physical buttons to reach the desired behavior.

How to check mouse DPI

You can do a mouse DPI test with this web-based dpi checker here. With this tool you can measure the real DPI of your mouse, and calculate the sensor accuracy. It can also be used to find out what your DPI actually is if you don’t have a setting for it in your mouse driver.

Many mice, especially cheaper ones, unfortunately, don’t come with DPI control. If you’re in a more restricted enterprise environment, your IT admin may also prevent you from installing third-party software such as mouse drivers. If this is the case, changing Windows 10 mouse sensitivity via its built-in tools is your only choice. Here’s how you can do so:

How to Change Mouse Sensitivity in Windows 10 via Settings

Windows 10’s new settings UI allows you to adjust most of the things you need these days, and that extends to mouse pointers. Its clear and touch-friendly nature makes it a good choice for a simple task like this.

  1. Open Settings

    Press the Start button, then click the settings cog, above the power button. Alternatively, press Windows + I.

    Windows 10 - Open Settings

  2. Click on “Devices”

    Windows 10 - Settings - Open Devices

  3. Choose “Mouse” in the sidebar and change change your mouse speed

    In the main pane, you’ll see a slider with “Cursor speed” above it. Dragging this to the left will slow your cursor down, and dragging it to the right will speed it up. The changes will take effect immediately.

    Windows 10 - Settings - Devices - Mouse - Cursor Speed

How to Change Mouse Speed in Windows 10 via the Control Panel

If you prefer function over form, the legacy Control Panel is also a good choice. It allows you to quickly decrease or increase mouse sensitivity in Windows 10 in a compact, straightforward UI. Here’s how to use it:

  1. Open Control Panel
     
    Press Start and type “Control Panel”, then click the top result.
     

    Windows 10 - Open Control Panel

  2. Click “Hardware and Sound”

    Windows 10 - Control Panel - Open Hardware and Sound

  3. Look for the “Devices and Printers” section and press “Mouse”

    Windows 10 - Control Panel -Hardware and Sound - Devices and Printers - Open Mouse

  4. Open the “Pointer Options” tab and adjust the mouse pointer speed slider

    The further to the right, the faster your cursor will get. Once you’re at a speed you’re happy with, you can click “Apply” followed by “OK”.

    Windows 10 - Control Panel -Hardware and Sound - Devices and Printers -Mouse - Pointer Options - Select Pointer Speed

How to Change Windows 10 Mouse Sensitivity via the Registry Editor

If the other options aren’t working for you or keep being reset when you update or restart your PC, you can try Regedit instead. Before you do so, however, make sure to backup your registry and have a quick read of our safe registry editing guide. Once you’re prepared, follow the steps below:

  1. Open Registry Editor

    Press Start and then type “regedit”. Click the top result.

    Windows 10 - Open Regedit

  2. Navigate to the Mouse key and Adjust your “Mouse Sensitivity” value data
     

    In your Registry Editor top bar, paste Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse.

    Scroll down the main pane until you find the “MouseSensitivity” entry and double-click it. In the “Value data” field, enter a number, with 1 representing the lowest speed, and 20 the highest. Press “OK” when you’re done and test the changes.

    If you need to change Windows 10 mouse sensitivity again at any point, you can come back here and adjust the value.

    Windows 10 - Regedit - Browse to the Path - Mouse Sensitivity - Change Value Data

How to Change Mouse Cursor Size or Touchpad Speed

Now that you know how to change mouse sensitivity in Windows 10, you be wanting to adjust your laptop’s touchpad speed to match. Thankfully, we already have a guide on how to customize the Windows 10 Precision Touchpad that will show you how. Meanwhile, if you’re looking to customize your cursor further, you should check out our how to change mouse cursor size or use a custom cursor tutorial.

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