How the mouse acceleration test works
Your mouse reports how far it moved in counts. With acceleration off, the operating system turns every count into the same number of pixels, so 10 cm on the desk is always the same distance on screen. With acceleration on, fast movements are multiplied more than slow ones. The test locks the pointer (so it never stops at the edge of the screen), records four slow strokes and four fast strokes between your two marks, and compares the average distance of each:
- Within about 10%: no acceleration. Hand strokes naturally vary by 5–10%.
- 10–25%: unclear. Repeat with tape marks and make the fast strokes a real flick.
- 25% or more: mouse acceleration is on. Windows' Enhance pointer precision usually gives a large difference.
The fast strokes need to be at least 2.5 times faster than the slow ones, otherwise there is nothing to compare and the test asks you to repeat it. To check your own consistency, tick Raw input in Chrome or Edge: the browser then reports the mouse's movement before the operating system touches it, so even with acceleration on, slow and fast strokes should come out about the same.
What is mouse acceleration?
Mouse acceleration, also called pointer acceleration or pointer precision, changes how far the pointer moves depending on how fast you move the mouse. Move slowly and you get fine control for small targets; move quickly and the pointer crosses a large screen without lifting the mouse. Windows turns it on by default as Enhance pointer precision, and macOS always had it until Sonoma added a switch.
The downside is muscle memory. In a game, flicking 5 cm to the left should always turn you by the same angle. With acceleration, the turn also depends on how fast you flicked, so it's harder to repeat. That's why most competitive players disable mouse acceleration and set a lower sensitivity instead.
How to turn off mouse acceleration in Windows 11
- Open Settings (Windows + I) → Bluetooth & devices → Mouse.
- Under Related settings, click Additional mouse settings.
- Open the Pointer Options tab, untick Enhance pointer precision, and click OK.
Shortcut: press Windows + R, type main.cpl and press Enter to open the same Mouse Properties window. Run the test again afterwards: the slow and fast distances should now match. Your pointer will feel slower when moving quickly, so you may want to raise the pointer speed slider or your mouse's DPI a little.
Windows 10
Settings → Devices → Mouse → Additional mouse options → Pointer Options → untick Enhance pointer precision → OK. The main.cpl shortcut works here too.
Turn off mouse acceleration on Mac
To turn off mouse acceleration on a Mac running macOS Sonoma (14) and later: System Settings → Mouse → Advanced… → switch off Pointer acceleration. Older versions don't have this switch; the Terminal tweaks you'll find online are unofficial and reset when you change tracking speed. Trackpads keep their own acceleration.
Linux
In GNOME, open Settings → Mouse & Touchpad and switch off Mouse Acceleration (recent versions). In KDE Plasma, go to System Settings → Mouse and set the acceleration profile to Flat.
Mouse software and games
Gaming mouse apps can add their own acceleration on top of the operating system, so check their sensitivity settings too. Many shooters read raw input from the mouse and ignore the Windows setting; look for an option called raw input in the game's mouse settings. If aim still feels inconsistent with acceleration off, check that the mouse itself isn't skipping with our mouse test, or confirm its real DPI with the mouse DPI test.
How we tested this tool
We checked the stroke logic with recorded movement data fed into the test: four slow and four fast strokes covering the same distance give "no acceleration detected"; fast strokes covering 60% more distance give "acceleration looks ON"; a 15% difference gives "possibly"; and fast strokes that were not at least 2.5× faster are rejected as too close to judge. Movement shorter than 40 px is ignored, and a pause of a quarter of a second ends a stroke. In a browser window that refused pointer lock, the page switched to normal pointer movement, said so, and still recorded strokes; and tested the layout on desktop and at a 375 px phone width. The result depends on your own strokes, so treat a single run as a hint and repeat it with tape marks.
Frequently asked questions
What is mouse acceleration?
Mouse acceleration makes the pointer travel further when you move the mouse faster. Moving the mouse 5 cm slowly might move the pointer 400 pixels, while flicking the same 5 cm might move it 700 pixels. On Windows it is the setting called Enhance pointer precision, and it is on by default.
How do I turn off mouse acceleration in Windows 11?
Open Settings, go to Bluetooth & devices, then Mouse, and click Additional mouse settings. On the Pointer Options tab, untick Enhance pointer precision and click OK. You can also press Windows + R, type main.cpl and press Enter to open the same window.
How do I turn off mouse acceleration on a Mac?
On macOS Sonoma (14) or later, open System Settings, click Mouse, click Advanced and switch off Pointer acceleration. Older macOS versions have no switch for it.
Should I turn off mouse acceleration for gaming?
Most players of shooters turn it off so that the same hand movement always turns the camera by the same amount, which makes aim easier to learn. Many games read raw input and ignore the Windows setting anyway. For everyday desktop use, acceleration is a matter of taste and helps on large or multiple screens.
Why does the test say possibly a little acceleration?
Your hand never moves exactly the same distance twice; differences of 5 to 10% between strokes are normal. Put two pieces of tape on your desk or mouse pad, stop exactly at them, and run the test again. A real Windows acceleration curve usually shows up as a difference of 25% or more.
Does this test work on a laptop touchpad or phone?
It needs a desktop browser that can lock the pointer, so it works with a mouse on Windows, Mac and Linux. Touchpads usually have their own acceleration that you can't switch off, and phones have no pointer to test.