Quick fix: Save your custom cursors as a named scheme via Mouse Properties → Pointers tab → Save As, then export that scheme to a .reg file and import on every user account. Schemes persist per-user via registry; the same registry settings work on any account.

You set up beautiful custom cursors on your admin account. You sign in to your family member’s account and the cursors are back to Windows defaults. Cursor schemes are per-user — set on Admin doesn’t propagate to Alice or Bob. The fix is to export the scheme and import on each user account.

Symptom: Custom cursor scheme works for one user but not others on the same Windows 11 PC.
Affects: Windows 11 (and Windows 10) multi-user PCs.
Fix time: ~15 minutes (5 minutes per additional user account).

What causes this

Cursor schemes live at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Cursors — per-user only. The cursor files themselves are usually at C:\Windows\Cursors (shared) or in a user-specific folder. Even if the cursor files are accessible to all users, each user has their own scheme settings in HKCU. Set on one account doesn’t apply to another.

Method 1: Export and import the cursor scheme via .reg file

The fastest multi-user setup.

On the account that has your working cursor scheme set:
1. Open Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Cursors.
3. Right-click the Cursors key → Export.
4. Save as my-cursors.reg.
For each other user account on the PC:
1. Sign out of admin, sign in to the other user.
2. Run the my-cursors.reg file. Confirm the registry import.
3. Sign out and back in for changes to fully apply.
Each user account now has the same cursor scheme.
If cursor paths reference user-specific folders (like C:\Users\admin\Pictures\Cursors), the import may fail for other users. Edit the .reg file’s paths to point to a shared location like C:\Cursors before importing.

This is the most reliable approach for personal multi-user PCs.

Method 2: Place cursor files in a shared location accessible to all users

To ensure cursor file paths work for every user.

Create a shared cursor folder: C:\Windows\Cursors\MyTheme (requires admin) or C:\Cursors\MyTheme.
Copy all your cursor files (.cur and .ani) to this folder.
On each user account, apply the scheme using these shared paths:
- Mouse Properties → Pointers tab.
- For each pointer role, click Browse, navigate to the shared folder, pick the cursor.
- Click Save As, name the scheme.
The shared cursor files are accessible to every user; each user has their own scheme entry but pointing at the same files.
This approach is more robust than .reg import because file paths are guaranteed accessible.

Best for environments where multiple users need the same cursors with reliable file access.

Method 3: Apply system-wide via default user profile (for new accounts)

To ensure all future user accounts automatically get the cursor scheme.

Open Terminal (Admin).

Load the default user profile’s registry hive:

reg load "HKLM\TempDefault" "C:\Users\Default\NTUSER.DAT"

Import the cursor scheme into the default profile:
```
reg import "C:\path\to\my-cursors.reg"
```
But this imports to HKCU of your account, not into the loaded HKLM\TempDefault. Instead, manually edit the .reg file: replace HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ with HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\TempDefault\. Save. Then import.
Unload the hive:
```
reg unload "HKLM\TempDefault"
```
Any new user account created from now on inherits your cursor scheme.
Existing accounts still need Method 1 or 2.

This is the right approach for IT or fleet deployment.

How to verify the fix worked

Sign in to each user account. Cursor scheme matches what you set up.
Right-click Desktop → Personalize → Themes → Mouse cursor. The saved scheme name appears with custom cursors.
Run Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Control Panel\Cursors" in PowerShell after signing in as each user. The cursor paths match.

If none of these work

If cursors still revert for some users, three causes apply. Roaming profile: in domain-joined environments with roaming profiles, cursor schemes may sync from a server and override your local change. Contact IT. High contrast theme override: high contrast forces system cursors. Settings → Accessibility → Contrast themes → None. Path access issues: cursor files in a user-specific folder (e.g., C:\Users\admin\Documents\Cursors) aren’t accessible to other users — copy to C:\Cursors or C:\Windows\Cursors (admin only) and re-export the scheme.

Bottom line: Custom cursors persist per user — export as .reg from one account, import on others. Use shared file paths to ensure reliability across all users.