How to Change the Scroll Direction on a Mac

For many years, the scrolling direction on computers was universal: moving your mouse wheel (or dragging your fingers down a trackpad) physically pulled the scrollbar down, which pushed the page upwards. This was known as “traditional” or “natural” scrolling for desktop computers.

However, with the rise of the iPhone and iPad, Apple introduced a new paradigm called “Natural Scrolling.” This mimics physical paper—pushing your fingers up on a touchscreen pushes the paper up. To unify their operating systems, Apple made this touch-screen style of scrolling the default on all MacBooks and Magic Mice, which can feel incredibly backwards and disorientating if you have spent the last twenty years using Windows PCs.

Fortunately, you can easily reverse this setting and return your Mac’s scroll direction to the traditional Windows style.

How to Change the Trackpad Scroll Direction

If you are using a MacBook or a standalone Magic Trackpad, the setting is located in the Trackpad preferences.

1. Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of your screen.
2. Select System Settings (or System Preferences on older Macs).
3. Scroll down the left-hand sidebar and click on Trackpad.
4. In the main panel, look at the tabs across the top and click on Scroll & Zoom.
5. The very first setting is a toggle switch labelled Natural scrolling.
6. Click the toggle to turn it OFF.

The change takes effect instantly. When you pull two fingers down your trackpad, the webpage will now pull downwards, mimicking a traditional PC.

How to Change the Mouse Scroll Direction

If you are using an Apple Magic Mouse (or any third-party USB mouse with a physical scroll wheel), the setting is managed in a separate menu.

1. Open System Settings from the Apple Logo menu.
2. Scroll down the left-hand sidebar and click on Mouse.
3. Look for the toggle switch labelled Natural scrolling.
4. Click the toggle to turn it OFF.

Rolling your mouse wheel downwards will now scroll the page down conventionally.

The Annoying Link Between Mouse and Trackpad

If you use a MacBook but occasionally plug in a traditional USB mouse, you will discover an annoying quirk in macOS: the “Natural scrolling” setting is secretly linked.

If you turn Natural Scrolling OFF for your USB mouse (to make the wheel behave like a PC), macOS will automatically turn it OFF for your Trackpad as well. Apple does not natively allow you to have traditional scrolling on your mouse wheel, but touch-style Natural scrolling on your built-in trackpad simultaneously. If you require this mixed setup, you must download a free third-party utility called “Scroll Reverser” to decouple the two devices.