The Pointer Acceleration Problem
macOS uses a complex algorithm to govern mouse movement, a feature Apple calls “Pointer Acceleration.” Unlike raw input (where moving your mouse 1 inch on the desk always moves the cursor a fixed number of pixels on screen), pointer acceleration dynamically changes the tracking speed based on how fast you physically move the mouse. If you move the mouse slowly, the cursor crawls, allowing for pixel-perfect precision. If you flick your wrist quickly, macOS automatically scales up the tracking speed, throwing the cursor across the screen. While helpful on a trackpad, this dynamic, automatic changing of tracking speed is often hated by gamers and professional designers using physical mice, as it ruins muscle memory and makes cursor movement feel unpredictable.
Disabling Pointer Acceleration
Historically, Apple did not provide a user-facing toggle to turn off this automatic speed scaling; you had to rely on Terminal commands or third-party apps like ‘LinearMouse’. However, recent versions of macOS finally include a native switch.
Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner and open System Settings. Scroll down the left sidebar and click on Mouse (or Trackpad, depending on the device you want to configure). Look for the section governing tracking speed. Below the main slider, click on the Advanced… button. In the pop-up window, you will see a toggle switch labeled Pointer acceleration. Toggle this switch to the Off position. Click Done. With this disabled, macOS will stop automatically changing your mouse tracking speed based on your physical movement velocity, providing a raw, linear 1:1 input ratio that relies solely on your mouse’s hardware DPI and the baseline tracking speed slider.