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Disable mouse acceleration and set tracking speed in Big Sur

Hello,


I habitually disable mouse acceleration with


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


However, as of a recent update to macOS this results in a fixed tracking speed that is far too low. The highest DPI setting on my MX518 mouse no longer compensates, and the machine is unusable.


If I adjust the tracking speed higher using the Preferences pane, acceleration is re-enabled, which is infuriating.


How does one disable mouse acceleration and simultaneously apply higher tracking speed?


I am aware that there is purchasable 3rd party software to do this, but that is not a solution.

Mac mini, macOS 11.4

Posted on Jul 5, 2021 2:31 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jul 6, 2021 1:31 PM

Howdy,


I don't see a way to change the mouse acceleration separate from the tracking speed with system settings.


The com.apple.mouse.scaling preference is found in ~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist

It starts with a period so is normally hidden.


Checking that PLIST file, I see no other setting that relates to mouse acceleration separate from com.apple.mouse.scaling

As you've seen, setting com.apple.mouse.scaling to -1 disables the setting but the mouse is painfully slow and unusable.


The normal settings are between 0-3 inclusive and I encourage you to see if a setting closer to 1 works for you.

You don't need to use Terminal to change that.

Here is the mapping for the System Preference > Mouse > Tracking speed to the com.apple.mouse.scaling value.


Tracking speed "ticks" com.apple.mouse.scaling value

0 (Slow) 0

1 0.125

2 0.5

3 0.6875

4 0.875

5 1

6 1.5

7 2

8 2.5

9 (Fast) 3


ivan

3 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jul 6, 2021 1:31 PM in response to persianprince486

Howdy,


I don't see a way to change the mouse acceleration separate from the tracking speed with system settings.


The com.apple.mouse.scaling preference is found in ~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist

It starts with a period so is normally hidden.


Checking that PLIST file, I see no other setting that relates to mouse acceleration separate from com.apple.mouse.scaling

As you've seen, setting com.apple.mouse.scaling to -1 disables the setting but the mouse is painfully slow and unusable.


The normal settings are between 0-3 inclusive and I encourage you to see if a setting closer to 1 works for you.

You don't need to use Terminal to change that.

Here is the mapping for the System Preference > Mouse > Tracking speed to the com.apple.mouse.scaling value.


Tracking speed "ticks" com.apple.mouse.scaling value

0 (Slow) 0

1 0.125

2 0.5

3 0.6875

4 0.875

5 1

6 1.5

7 2

8 2.5

9 (Fast) 3


ivan

Jul 6, 2021 10:34 AM in response to persianprince486

Hello persianprince486,


Thank you for using Apple Support Communities! It sounds like you have a question regarding your mouse acceleration speed. We would be happy to help!


Check out the following support article, which provides some troubleshooting steps to try for this behavior:

Change Mouse preferences on Mac

Change mouse tracking, double-click, and scrolling speed on Mac


Cheers!


Disable mouse acceleration and set tracking speed in Big Sur

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