MAC
How to make the mouse pointer bigger on a Mac
Real screenshot · MacBook Pro, macOS 26In short
Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Display, and drag the Pointer size slider to the right. To find a lost pointer quickly, keep Shake mouse pointer to locate switched on: move the mouse or your finger on the trackpad quickly back and forth, and the pointer grows for a moment.
If you have difficulty seeing or following the pointer, macOS has a slider for its size and a trick for finding it. Both are in the Accessibility settings, under Display.
The screenshots show System Settings on macOS Tahoe 26.
4 of 4 steps show a real screenshot from our MacBook Pro.
Steps
- 1
Open System Settings
Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and choose System Settings.
- 2
Click Accessibility, then Display
Accessibility is in the sidebar on the left. Display is in the Vision group on the right. You may need to scroll down in the sidebar.
- 3
Drag the Pointer size slider
Scroll down to the Pointer group. The slider goes from Normal to Large.
- 4
Keep Shake mouse pointer to locate on
It is the row above the slider and is on in the picture. Quickly move the mouse pointer back and forth to make it bigger.
If you do not see this option
- Your Mac has System Preferences, not System Settings. Apple says that on macOS Monterey you choose System Preferences, Accessibility, Display, then the Pointer tab. The same size slider and shake option are there. Source: Make the pointer easier to see on Mac (macOS Monterey 12)
- You cannot find Display under Accessibility. Apple says you can type a word, such as pointer, in the search field in System Settings and click the matching option. Source: Find options in System Settings on Mac
If this does not work
- The pointer is big but still hard to see. Apple says you can click the colour wells for Pointer outline color and Pointer fill color to select a colour for the pointer's outline and its inside.
- Text and buttons are still too small. Apple says you can zoom in on the whole screen or part of it: in Accessibility click Zoom and turn on a setting such as Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom.
- Toolbar buttons are hard to aim at? Apple lists Show toolbar button shapes in the same Display settings. It shows a subtle border around toolbar buttons to indicate the area to click.
- The pointer moves too fast to follow? A big pointer is easier to keep track of at a calmer speed. See how to change the trackpad speed on a Mac.
- Shake to locate triggers by accident? Apple says it enlarges the pointer when you quickly move the mouse or your finger on the trackpad. If fast movements often set it off, switch it off and rely on the larger size instead.
Good to know
Below the slider you can choose a colour for the outline of the pointer and for its inside. Apple says Reset Colors brings back the white outline and black fill.
The new size and colours apply straight away. To undo it, drag the Pointer size slider back to Normal, and click Reset Colors for the white outline and black fill.
If colours in general are hard to tell apart, Apple's Color Filters, further down the same Display page, can adjust display colours, for example with Grayscale or filters for red and green colour blindness. Choose a pointer colour afterwards, so it still stands out with the filter on.
About this guide
- Device
- Mac
- Shown on
- macOS Tahoe 26 (MacBook Pro)
- App
- System Settings
- Path
- System Settings › Accessibility › Display › Pointer size
- Real screenshots
- 4 of 4 steps
- Checked
- October 2026
- Sources
- 5 official, linked below
Sources
- Mac User Guide: Change Display settings for accessibility on Mac
- Apple Support: Make the pointer easier to see on Mac
- Apple Support: Make the pointer easier to see on Mac (macOS Monterey 12)
- Apple Support: Find options in System Settings on Mac
- Apple Support: Increase the size of what's on the Mac screen
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