What Is Mouse Acceleration and How to Disable It in Windows 11

Mouse acceleration is relatively an old feature from Windows which allows users to adjust the speed of the mouse cursor on the screen. This acceleration can be adjusted to the preference and trackpad size of your respective device which will allow you to use the OS much efficiently and fastly. However, if configured incorrectly, it can create problems so here is a step-by-step guide on mouse acceleration and how to disable it in Windows 11.

The keyboard and mouse are the two important aspects of controlling your PC. A normal user will always use the mouse more than the keyboard because most Windows user Interface depends on either Mouse or Touch input. The former being more popular, it is vital to have more options to tune the way it works. Because then only it is possible to satisfy the needs of most users.

There are a lot of things you can change with the mouse movement in Windows 11. For example, you can change the speed at which the pointer moves. You can adjust the double click speed. One such control option is the ability to enable or disable mouse acceleration. So in this article, we are going to see what mouse acceleration is and how you can disable or enable it on Windows 11.

What is Mouse acceleration?

Mouse acceleration in Windows (or any operating system that supports mouse input) defines whether the cursor should react to the speed at which you move the mouse. For instance, normally, if you move the mouse for a centimeter, then depending on the cursor speed you have set already, the pointer on the screen will move a certain distance. Although this movement remains the same irrespective of the speed at which you move the mouse.

But when you turn on Mouse acceleration settings, then your pointer will start to react to the speed of your mouse movement. That is, when you move your mouse faster, it will travel more distance than when you move it slowly. This can be compared to pushing a box on the floor. When you push it slowly and leave, it will move for a small distance. But when you push it very fastly, it will move much farther because you have given it more acceleration.

Is Mouse acceleration useful?

Some people may find it annoying include me because I like to have more precise control over acceleration. But that doesn’t mean the setting is useless. Mouse acceleration settings in Windows 11 can really come in handy when you have restricted space to move your mouse. This includes users having a very tiny trackpad. So with this setting enabled, you should be able to compensate your mouse movement by varying the speed.

How To Disable Mouse Acceleration in Windows 11

This setting can be enabled or disabled from the control panel or the new Windows settings. So here is how you can do it on Windows 10 or 11.

1. Open Windows settings by pressing the Windows key and I key at the same time.
2. Under the Settings Menu, click on Devices and then click on Mouse or Touchpad.
3. From the right side, click on Additional Mouse Options.
4. A Windows will open. Now click on the Pointer Options.
   
5. Finally, disable or enable “Enhance Pointer Precision” to enable or disable acceleration.

When you should disable it

As mentioned already, when you have enough space on your trackpad or mouse pad, you should be good at disabling the settings. But if you don’t have enough space to move your device, then you have to lift and move the mouse in order to make a larger movement. In such a case, you can enable it. But when you have enough space, or you are into more precision control (like playing a First-person shooter game online), then you should be better off disabling those settings.

Sometimes, these acceleration settings can interfere with Games. So if you are full-time gaming on your system, then it is recommended to disable this setting to get maximum accuracy on your movements. Some content creator (like photoshop) users will also like to disable this setting to have precise control over the tools.

Conclusion

As you can see, disabling or enabling Mouse acceleration is very easy in Windows 11. In fact, the steps are similar in Windows 10 as well. The only question is whether you need that feature to be turned on or not. Although, apart from gaming, you can get away with the settings turned on. Because after some time, your brain will adapt to the acceleration value and will automatically start moving your mouse accordingly. So it is better to enable the settings and adapt to them because it can be really useful when you have already got used to it.