The Unpredictable Pointer
macOS employs a feature called “Pointer Acceleration.” This system dynamically alters the tracking speed of your mouse cursor based on how fast you physically move your hand. If you move the mouse slowly, the cursor moves slowly, allowing for pixel-perfect precision (like highlighting a specific letter). However, if you quickly flick your wrist, macOS artificially multiplies the tracking speed, throwing the cursor across the entire screen. While this is helpful for trackpad users, it is highly detrimental for gamers, graphic designers, or anyone using a high-precision gaming mouse, as it destroys muscle memory; moving the mouse two inches physical distance results in a different on-screen distance depending on the velocity of the movement.
Locking the Tracking Ratio
To achieve a consistent, predictable 1:1 movement ratio and stop macOS from automatically changing the mouse tracking speed based on velocity, you must disable the pointer acceleration feature.
Click the Apple logo in the extreme top-left corner of your screen and select System Settings from the dropdown menu. In the left-hand navigation sidebar, scroll down and click on Mouse (or Trackpad, depending on your primary device, though this issue mostly affects external mice). In the right-hand panel, look for the section labelled “Tracking speed.” Right below the slider that controls the base speed, you will see a toggle switch or a checkbox explicitly labelled Pointer acceleration. Click this toggle switch to turn it Off. With acceleration disabled, the cursor will now move the exact same distance across your screen regardless of how fast or slow you move your physical mouse, relying entirely on the hardware DPI of your device.