What Is Mouse Acceleration, and How Can You Disable It?

Mouse acceleration is one of those settings that affects every click and every aim adjustment — and most people have never changed it from the default. Here's what it does, when to disable it, and exactly how to turn it off on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

What Is Mouse Acceleration?

Mouse acceleration changes how far your cursor travels based on how fast you move the mouse — not just how far.

With acceleration on, a slow 5cm movement moves the cursor a short distance. A fast 5cm movement sends it much further — even though your hand moved the same physical distance.

Without acceleration, cursor movement is linear: the same physical distance always produces the same on-screen movement, regardless of speed. This is called a 1:1 input response.

The feature was originally designed for low-DPI mice, where users had to make large physical sweeps to cover the screen. Most modern gaming mouse sensors have made this kind of compensation unnecessary — which is why competitive players almost universally disable it.

Should You Disable Mouse Acceleration?

For Gaming

Disable it.

In competitive games — especially FPS titles like CS2, Valorant, or Overwatch — consistent aim depends on muscle memory. You train your hand to move a specific distance to place your crosshair on a target.

With acceleration active, that relationship breaks down. A slow movement underperforms; a panicked fast flick overshoots. The cursor is no longer predictable, which makes it impossible to build reliable mechanics.

Turning acceleration off gives you a fixed 1:1 response. Your hand moves the same distance, the cursor moves the same distance — every time. This is why the majority of professional FPS players run with acceleration disabled.

For Office and Everyday Use

Keep it on.

For web browsing, document editing, and general desktop navigation, acceleration makes the experience more fluid. Small slow movements allow precise cursor placement; a quick wrist flick moves across a large monitor without dragging the mouse far.

Most users doing non-precision work benefit from this convenience and won't notice the inconsistency that causes problems in competitive gaming.

How to Disable Mouse Acceleration on Windows 10 and 11

Windows calls mouse acceleration Enhance Pointer Precision. Despite the name, this feature adds variable scaling — disabling it gives you linear movement.

Via Settings App (Windows 11)

1. Press Win + I to open Settings

2. Go to Bluetooth & devices → Mouse

3. Click Additional mouse settings

4. Open the Pointer Options tab

5. Uncheck Enhance pointer precision

6. Click Apply, then OK

Via Control Panel (Windows 10 and 11)

1. Open Control Panel → Hardware and Sound → Mouse

2. Open the Pointer Options tab

3. Uncheck Enhance pointer precision

4. Click Apply

The change applies immediately — no restart required.

After disabling, your cursor may feel slower. This is normal: acceleration was previously boosting fast movements. Adjust your DPI or the pointer speed slider rather than re-enabling acceleration.

How to Disable Mouse Acceleration on macOS

macOS refers to this as pointer acceleration. Newer versions include a direct toggle; older versions require Terminal.

Via System Settings (macOS Sonoma and Later)

1. Click the Apple menu → System Settings

2. Select Mouse

3. Click Advanced

4. Turn Pointer acceleration off

5. Close the window — changes apply automatically

Via Terminal

If the graphical toggle isn't available on your macOS version:

1. Open Applications → Utilities → Terminal

2. Run this command:

defaults write .GlobalPreferences com.apple.mouse.scaling -1

3. Press Enter and restart your Mac

To revert, replace -1 with a positive value such as 1

How to Disable Mouse Acceleration on Linux

On Linux, acceleration is controlled by a profile setting. Switching from the default adaptive profile to flat disables it.

GNOME (Ubuntu and Most Desktop Distributions)

Open Terminal and run:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.peripherals.mouse accel-profile flat

To confirm it applied:

gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.peripherals.mouse accel-profile

If it returns 'flat', acceleration is off.

You can also use GNOME Tweaks → Keyboard & Mouse and switch the profile to Flat, though the Terminal method is more reliable across GNOME versions.

KDE Plasma

1. Open System Settings → Input Devices → Mouse

2. Find acceleration or profile options

3. Switch to the flat or disabled acceleration setting

Log out and back in after changing the setting to ensure it applies cleanly.

In-Game Settings: Raw Input and Smoothing

Disabling OS-level acceleration is not always enough. Many games apply their own smoothing or acceleration settings independently.

Raw Input is the setting to look for. When enabled, the game reads directly from your mouse sensor, bypassing Windows pointer precision entirely.

In CS:GO: Settings → Mouse / Keyboard → set Raw Input to ON. Note: CS2 enforces Raw Input by default and no longer exposes this as a toggle — no action needed.

Valorant uses raw input inherently — system-level acceleration does not affect it. However, Valorant also features a Raw Input Buffer setting (Settings → General → Mouse). This is not an acceleration toggle; it's an optimization designed to reduce CPU interrupt load when using high-polling-rate mice. If you're using a 4000Hz or 8000Hz gaming peripheral, enabling it is recommended for smoother performance.

For games without a raw input option, check the mouse settings menu for smoothing or acceleration toggles and disable them. Some games — including Fortnite — require editing a config file to disable smoothing at the engine level.

How to Test If Mouse Acceleration Is Off

1. Perform a Consistency Test

The simplest way to verify is by comparing cursor movement at different speeds.

1. Place your cursor at a fixed starting point

2. Move your mouse slowly about 10cm to the right — note where the cursor lands

3. Return to the start

4. Repeat the same physical movement, but move quickly this time

If acceleration is off, the cursor lands in the same place both times. If the fast movement travels further, acceleration is still active somewhere.

2. Check Your Mouse Driver Software

Even if OS-level acceleration is disabled, driver software can reintroduce it. Open your mouse manufacturer's app and check for any of these settings:

• Acceleration sliders

• Angle snapping

• Pointer smoothing

• Custom response curves

Common software to check: Logitech G Hub, Razer Synapse, Corsair iCUE, SteelSeries GG. Disable any acceleration-related features you find there.

3. Check In-Game Settings

Some games apply their own acceleration or smoothing regardless of system settings. Even after disabling OS acceleration, check the in-game mouse options for:

• Raw Input (enable it)

• Mouse smoothing (disable it)

• Mouse acceleration (disable it)

4. Signs That Acceleration Is Still Active

If you're unsure after testing, these symptoms usually mean acceleration is still on somewhere:

• Aim feels inconsistent between slow and fast movements

• Fast flicks regularly overshoot the target

• You struggle to build reliable muscle memory

• Cursor speed feels unpredictable

Understanding mouse DPI is useful at this stage — once acceleration is fully off, DPI becomes your primary tool for adjusting cursor speed without reintroducing variable scaling.

Conclusion

Mouse acceleration is on by default on every major operating system. For competitive players, disabling it is one of the first setup steps worth doing — the process takes under a minute, and the result is consistent, predictable 1:1 cursor movement that directly improves aim and muscle memory development.

FAQ

Does disabling mouse acceleration improve aim? 

For most competitive players, yes. With acceleration off, the same hand movement always produces the same cursor movement, making it possible to build reliable muscle memory.

Will my mouse feel slower after disabling acceleration? 

Likely yes, at first. Acceleration was boosting fast movements. Compensate by raising your DPI or adjusting the pointer speed slider — don't re-enable acceleration.

Does raw input override OS mouse acceleration? 

Yes. Raw input reads directly from the mouse sensor, bypassing Windows pointer precision entirely. Enabling raw input in-game is the most reliable way to ensure system-level acceleration doesn't affect gameplay.

Why does my game still feel accelerated after I disabled it in Windows? 

The game may have its own smoothing or acceleration active. Check the game's mouse settings for raw input and smoothing toggles. Some games require config file edits to disable these at the engine level.

Does macOS fully disable pointer acceleration via Terminal? 

Setting the value to -1 removes acceleration at the system level. The Terminal command is sufficient for most competitive gaming use cases