Fix Mouse Acceleration Returning After Each Reboot in Windows 11

After every restart, your mouse pointer may feel sluggish or jumpy because mouse acceleration has turned itself back on in Windows 11. This happens even when you disable the feature through Settings or the Control Panel. The core cause is a conflict between the Windows mouse driver and a registry setting that reverts your preference on each boot. This article explains why the registry key resets and provides a permanent fix using a scheduled task or a registry edit.

Why Mouse Acceleration Resets on Every Reboot in Windows 11

Mouse acceleration is a Windows feature that increases pointer speed when you move the mouse quickly. The setting is stored in two places: the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse\MouseSpeed and the system-level driver configuration. When you disable mouse acceleration through Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mouse > Additional mouse options > Pointer Options, Windows writes a value of 0 to the registry for the current session. However, some mouse drivers, especially gaming mice and third-party utility software, overwrite this registry value during boot. The driver loads before the user profile applies the user preference, causing the acceleration to return. A second factor is the Fast Startup feature in Windows 11, which saves kernel and driver state on shutdown and restores it on boot, preserving the driver’s acceleration setting instead of the user’s choice.

Steps to Prevent Mouse Acceleration from Returning After Reboot

The most reliable method is to create a Task Scheduler job that runs a registry edit at every user logon. This ensures the acceleration value is set to 0 after the driver has loaded but before you start using the mouse. Follow the steps below.

1. Open Task Scheduler
   Press Win + R, type taskschd.msc, and press Enter. Click Action in the menu bar, then select Create Task.
2. Name the task and set security options
   In the General tab, type DisableMouseAcceleration as the name. Check Run with highest privileges. Select Run whether user is logged on or not to ensure it runs even during Fast Startup.
3. Set the trigger to at logon
   Go to the Triggers tab and click New. Under Begin the task, select At log on. Choose Any user. Click OK.
4. Create the action to edit the registry
   Go to the Actions tab and click New. Set Action to Start a program. In the Program/script box, type reg. In the Add arguments box, paste the following: add "HKCU\Control Panel\Mouse" /v MouseSpeed /t REG_SZ /d 0 /f. Click OK.
5. Disable conditions that might skip the task
   Go to the Conditions tab. Uncheck Start the task only if the computer is on AC power. Uncheck Stop if the computer switches to battery power. Click OK.
6. Test the task
   Press Win + R, type regedit, and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse. Verify MouseSpeed is set to 0. Restart your computer and check the registry again. The value should remain 0.

Alternative Method: Disable Fast Startup

If the Task Scheduler method does not work, disable Fast Startup. This prevents the system from saving driver state across reboots. Open Control Panel, go to Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do. Click Change settings that are currently unavailable. Uncheck Turn on fast startup (recommended). Click Save changes. Restart your computer and test mouse behavior.

If Mouse Acceleration Still Returns After the Main Fix

Some users find that the registry value reverts even with a scheduled task. The following scenarios explain why and how to fix them.

Third-Party Mouse Software Overwrites the Registry

Software like Logitech G HUB, Razer Synapse, or SteelSeries Engine has its own acceleration setting that overrides Windows. Open your mouse utility, locate the pointer speed or acceleration option, and set it to zero or disable acceleration. Then create a profile that applies this setting on startup. If the software does not save the profile, uninstall it and rely on the Windows driver instead.

Group Policy Enables Mouse Acceleration for All Users

On enterprise or school-managed devices, an administrator may enforce mouse acceleration through Group Policy. Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update. This path is for updates only. For mouse acceleration, look under User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Mouse. If a policy named Turn on Mouse Acceleration is set to Enabled, contact your IT department to request a change.

Corrupt User Profile Causes Registry Changes to Not Stick

A corrupted user profile can prevent registry edits from saving. Create a new local user account to test. Go to Settings > Accounts > Other users. Click Add account and follow the prompts. Sign out of your current account and sign in to the new one. Set mouse acceleration to off and restart. If the setting persists, migrate your files to the new profile and delete the old one.

Item	Task Scheduler Method	Disable Fast Startup Method
Description	Creates a scheduled task that runs a registry edit at every logon to set MouseSpeed to 0	Disables Fast Startup so the driver state is not saved across reboots
Effect on boot time	No noticeable change	Boot time increases by 5–15 seconds on most systems
Persistence	Works even if the driver reverts the value during boot	Prevents the driver from saving its acceleration setting
User interaction required	None after setup	None after one-time change
Compatibility with third-party mouse software	May still be overridden by utility software	May still be overridden by utility software

You can now keep mouse acceleration permanently disabled in Windows 11 after every reboot using a scheduled task or by disabling Fast Startup. If the problem persists, check your third-party mouse software for its own acceleration setting. For advanced control, consider using the reg.exe command in a startup script instead of Task Scheduler to apply the registry change earlier in the boot sequence.