Windows 11 mouse settings reset by new update

Windows 11 users who installed the latest optional preview update are finding their carefully configured mouse cursors swapped back to default—and once that happens, they can't undo it. Microsoft has confirmed the problem, saying the August 2026 non-security preview update is reverting cursor personalization settings on systems running Windows 11.

The issue appears tied to KB5120998, released on Thursday for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2. User reports describe cursor settings being changed or reset automatically after installation, with no way to restore them to the previous configuration.

What Microsoft says happens

In a statement, Microsoft explained:

"Microsoft has received reports indicating that mouse cursor personalization settings are being changed or reverted to certain standard settings. This occurs following installation of Windows updates released August 27 2026 (KB5120998) and later."

The company added that the issue manifests as appearance regressions and intermittent animation changes, with some users seeing high-DPI mouse cursors replaced by larger, white cursors, and custom cursor animations reverting to standard settings. Attempts to restore the previous cursor customization are reported to be unsuccessful.

Why restoration fails

The key detail for affected users is that the changes aren't just cosmetic glitches; attempts to bring back the old cursor customization simply don't work. Microsoft says it's still investigating the root cause. The company is asking customers who encounter the problem to file a report via the Feedback Hub.

This isn't a typical temporary glitch where a reboot or settings tweak fixes things. The fact that restoration attempts fail suggests the update may be overwriting configuration files or registry entries that store these personalization choices, leaving users stuck with the default cursor until Microsoft ships a fix.

How the update gets installed

KB5120998 is an optional, non-security update. That means it won't install automatically through Windows Update unless users have the "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" option enabled. For everyone else, it requires a manual click on the "Download and install" link in Windows Update.

That optional nature gives some users a choice, but for those who already installed it—or have automatic preview updates turned on—the damage is done. The update includes improvements to the Start menu, taskbar, and Windows search, so it's not a meaningless patch, but the cursor regression is a notable side effect.

Recent history of mouse-related bugs

This isn't the first time Microsoft has dealt with mouse-related issues on Windows devices in recent months. In October, the company pushed an emergency update to fix a known issue that disabled USB mice and keyboards in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), making the recovery tool unusable for some users.

That issue was significant because WinRE is a critical fallback for troubleshooting startup problems. If input devices don't work in that environment, users can't navigate the recovery options at all.

Microsoft is also investigating a separate bug that causes the mouse pointer to disappear for some classic Outlook users when moving it over the interface—a problem that has been reported since February. While that one is specific to Outlook, it adds to a pattern of cursor-related problems cropping up across different Windows features.

What affected users should do

For now, Microsoft's advice is to report the issue through the Feedback Hub. That's a standard step for unresolved bugs, but it doesn't offer immediate relief for users who've lost their custom cursors.

If you haven't installed KB5120998 yet, holding off might be wise until Microsoft addresses the regression. For those who already have it, there's no confirmed workaround yet—reinstalling or tweaking settings hasn't been shown to restore the previous configuration.

Why it matters

The inability to restore cursor settings after an update is more than a minor annoyance. It points to how Windows updates can override user preferences in ways that aren't easily reversed, leaving users at the mercy of whatever defaults the OS enforces. For businesses managing fleets of Windows machines, a silent reset of customized settings could ripple into broader usability complaints, even if the core functionality of the cursor remains intact.

More broadly, this incident adds to a growing list of update-induced problems Microsoft has had to acknowledge and fix over recent months. Each one erodes trust in the update process itself—trust that's already fragile given how often patches introduce new bugs even as they fix old ones. For users, the takeaway is to treat optional updates with caution, but even that may not be enough if Microsoft's automatic update options make it easy to receive these preview builds without a deliberate choice.