How to Change Mouse Speed or Sensitivity

Speed up or slow down your Mac mouse or Trackpad

A computer's mouse speed and sensitivity refer to the speed the mouse pointer moves across the screen and the time between each button press on the mouse during a double-click. If you aren't comfortable with the default speed of the mouse you use with your computer, change the mouse speed or sensitivity settings.

A touchpad, also referred to as a mousepad or trackpad, uses separate settings for its mouse pointer and buttons.

How to Change the Mouse Tracking Speed on a Mac

Changing the mouse tracking speed on a Mac is as easy as changing it on a Windows 10 computer.

  1. On the Mac, click the Apple icon at the top of the screen and choose System Preferences from the menu.

    Mac desktop with the System Preferences option highlighted
  2. Click Mouse in the System Preferences screen.

    System Preferences on a Mac with the Mouse section highlighted
  3. Click Point & Click at the top of the screen.

    Mouse Settings on a Mac with the Point & Click tab highlighted
  4. Drag the slider under Tracking speed to increase or decrease the cursor speed. The faster the tracking speed is, the less physical movement you need to make to move the cursor.

    Tracking Speed in Mouse settings on a Mac

How to Change a Trackpad's Tracking Speed on a Mac

Whether your trackpad is built into your Mac laptop or is a peripheral you use with your Mac desktop computer, the method to change the trackpad speed is the same.

  1. Click the Apple icon and choose System Preferences in the menu.

    Mac desktop with the System Preferences option highlighted
  2. Click Trackpad in the System Preferences screen.

    Mac System Preferences with the Trackpad section highlighted
  3. On the next screen, click Point & Click.

    Point & Click tab in Trackpad settings on a Mac
  4. Use the Tracking speed slider to change the tracking speed of the trackpad on the Mac. Select how fast you want the tracking speed to be by dragging the slider between Slow and Fast. The faster the tracking speed is, the less physical movement you need to make to move the cursor.

    Tracking speed in Trackpad settings on Mac

How to Change the Double-Click Speed on a Mac

Changing the speed of a double-click is part of the Accessibility features on a Mac.

  1. Click the Apple icon and choose System Preferences from the menu.

    Mac desktop with the System Preferences option highlighted
  2. Click Accessibility.

    Accessibility settings on Mac
  3. Choose Pointer Control in the left panel and select the Mouse & Trackpad tab in macOS Catalina. In earlier versions of the operating system, click Mouse & Trackpad in the left panel.

    Accessibility system preferences on Mac
  4. Drag the slider next to Double-click speed to change the time between each click on a mouse or trackpad. The change takes effect immediately.

    Pointer control in Mac system preferences
  5. Select Mouse Options at the bottom of the Mouse & Trackpad Accessibility screen to access the mouse Scrolling speed slider. Adjust the scrolling speed by moving the slider between Slow and Fast. Click OK.

    Mouse scrolling speed settings in Mac

 

 

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