This article explains how to turn off mouse acceleration in Windows 10. With touch screen laptops, tablets, and smartphones flooding the market, the mouse remains a popular choice for both work and gaming.
It was introduced in 1963, and around six decades later, it still is an indispensable component for computer operation.
With technological advancements, the mouse has also seen numerous changes and has become better and more precise with time.
Among the few tweaks the mouse has received over time, mouse acceleration is a notable one.
is enabled in Windows 10 PCs by default. Most users benefit from this particular option.
But gaming enthusiasts recommend disabling it to and . This article will explain in detail how you can do it.
Table of Contents
How to turn off mouse acceleration in Windows 10
Turning off the acceleration feature of your mouse in Windows 10 is a straightforward process. To disable mouse acceleration, please follow the steps mentioned below:
- Click the “Windows Start Button” to launch the start menu;
- Now please navigate to “Settings”;
- You will come across different settings. Now navigate to “Devices”;
- Windows 10 will now display different devices attached to your computer. Go to “Mouse” on the left-hand side of your computer screen;
- You will find different properties and settings for your mouse. The mouse acceleration settings are present inside “Additional mouse option”, so please navigate to it on the right side of your computer screen;
- You will now come across some advanced properties for your mouse. Navigate to the fourth tab titled “Pointer Options”;
- The motion setting is related to the mouse acceleration settings in Windows 10. Please uncheck the box labeled, “Enhance pointer precision”;
- Now click “Apply” and then “OK” to close the advanced mouse options and disable mouse acceleration;
- You have now successfully turned off mouse acceleration in Windows 10, and now you can play shooting games with great pointer precision and accuracy.
Steps to turn off mouse acceleration using Control Panel
- Move your mouse cursor to the search bar in your Windows 10 and find “Control Panel”;
- Upon clicking, the Control Panel window will open. Move your pointer to “View by” and change it to “Small icons”;
- Now move the pointer to “Mouse” and click it. A new window with a dialog box will open;
- You will notice that it is the same window with different mouse options that are explained in Step 6 above. Click on the “Pointer Options” tab and repeat the last three steps mentioned earlier to disable the mouse acceleration and get more precision on your pointer.
What is mouse acceleration?
Mouse acceleration has the purpose of making your mouse movement more efficient.
For example, if you move the mouse by 5 cm, the mouse acceleration setting may enable the cursor to move 1000 pixels on the screen.
This particular mouse setting may be helpful in some situations, such as working on a spreadsheet or using multiple screens.
However, the mouse acceleration feature is not viable in a gaming environment, especially in the FPS (First Person Shooter) game.
This is because your mouse controls the camera in the game, and you need maximum pointer precision for aiming and shooting.
If the acceleration is high, aiming becomes extremely difficult because a bit of mouse movement will result in a more significant camera movement.
When is it essential to turn off mouse acceleration?
Turning off mouse acceleration is vital if you are gaming. Games such as Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, Overwatch, Fortnite, etc., make full use of your mouse pointer precision.
Therefore, it is essential to turn off the mouse acceleration feature if you are playing games on your Windows 10 PC.
Turning off mouse acceleration will ensure precise mouse movement and aiming precision due to optimal cursor movement.
Still, the speed of your mouse pointer is dependent on this feature.
Turning off will ensure and aiming precision due to optimal .
However, the is dependent on this .
The mouse acceleration option also hinders enhanced pointer precision. So, if you want to enhance pointer precision whilst gaming, you must disable mouse acceleration.
is also valuable for high-level image editing.
You require on the during image editing, and you can achieve better accuracy by turning it off.
When is it essential to turn on mouse acceleration?
The acceleration of the mouse can sometimes be a useful feature too. If you want faster cursor movement, that feature is useful.
As explained earlier, on can give some drawbacks during gaming, but there are plenty of advantages in other scenarios.
So, let’s get into the benefits of the in Windows 10.
Acceleration works the same way you understand it, which means moving from one position to another in a rapid movement.
The primary benefit of using Windows mouse acceleration is that you can easily reach from point A to B on your computer screen by a single quick movement of the mouse instead of moving the mouse multiple times.
Another application of mouse acceleration comes into play if you have less table space or a smaller mouse pad. It is better to turn on the mouse acceleration in such cases.
A small yet rapid mouse movement on your small mouse pad will result in a greater distance covered by the pointer on the screen.
Furthermore, if you have more than one active window on your computer screen during work, enabling mouse pointer acceleration might be better for you.
With the acceleration feature enabled, a small and swift movement of the mouse on your table will cover more distance on the screen, and you will be able to carry out your daily tasks with ease.
Wrap Up
Like many features at its disposal to enhance your user experience, Windows 10 also allows you to adjust the acceleration of your mouse device.
By changing acceleration, you can customize your pointer speed according to your use and requirement.
If your usage demands high pointer accuracy, i.e., video games or CAD applications, you can disable the acceleration to adjust your cursor to your requirement.
But if you want a swift pointer movement with little effort, you can enable acceleration and adapt it to your needs.
Check out some of our other awesome articles:
- Changing Windows 10 default folder view
- How can I sort folders by size in Windows 10?
- How to fix Windows 10 night light when it’s not working
- Windows 10: the pros and cons of using it
- Deleting backup files in Windows 10
- Changing the screensaver in Windows 10
- How do I change folder icons in Windows 10?
- Guide to install Windows without losing data
- Is WinZip needed in Windows 10?
- How can I create a Windows 10 backup image?
- Blocking programs from accessing the internet in Windows 10
- Turning on/off Airplane Mode in Windows 10
- How to run programs as administrator in Windows 10?