How to Change DPI on Mouse

If you looking for an answer to, “How to change DPI on Mouse?”, you have landed at the right place.

In this article, you will find a couple of ways to change the DPI settings of your mouse as well as methods to improve the performance of this device.

Before I delve into the nitty-gritty of how to do this, let’s find out a bit more about what a mouse is and what is meant by the DPI setting.

In layman’s words, a mouse is an incredible piece of technology is a device that helps move the cursor on the screen. It comes with a whole lot of customizable features with which you can alter its settings according to your requirements.

DPI stands for Dots Per Inch and it is a vital indicator to measure the sensitivity of the mouse. Interestingly, you can change the pointer speed by changing the mouse DPI with just a click.

The most important thing that you need to bear in mind is that the DPI of the mouse and the speed of the pointer are directly related to each other. The higher the DPI of your mouse is, the faster your pointer is likely to be on screen. It’s also important to take into consideration that high DPI can help detect small movements in the mouse and respond correctly.

DPI is an important factor that can affect your performance when playing games or designing web graphics. For instance, when looking for the best mouse for FPS games you should look for a model that has a DPI between 400-800. Even if it has a higher DPI (in the range of 4000 and above), it should be adjustable.

How to Change DPI on Mouse?

As mentioned above, it is clear that mouse sensitivity is controlled or determined by the DPI setting. Since it is possible to change the sensitivity of your mouse, you need to know how you can actually change DPI so that you can have it according to your preference.

Listed below are some simple and easy ways to change the DPI on Mouse:

Check DPI

At the onset, you need to check out the existing DPI of your mouse.

Interestingly, there’s no way to check this in Windows 10. However, you can get the help of third-party apps to find this out. Another alternative is to check out the manufacturer’s specifications. It is possible to find it out even if you have the right drives installed on your system.

At the onset, let’s find out some of the best ways to check out the current DPI settings of your mouse…

1. Check DPI Through Manufacturer’s Specifications

When you buy a mouse, you get DPI information on it available either on the website or on the product page. So, if you are not aware of the DPI number of your mouse, you can get back to the website you bought it from and get it from there, as per the model that you purchased.

Having said that, more often than not, this does not give you the exact DPI but it tells you the limit that it is capable of.

2. Checking Mouse DPI through Driver/Software Installation

Most gaming mice and other brands selling mice come with software that contains information related to the DPI of the respective mice. So, what you need to do is just go straight to the manufacturer’s website and find out if there’s any software related to your mouse model.

If there’s one, you need to download it to get the DPI of your mouse. It’s worth mentioning here that you might have to install the latest drivers in order to get this work and usually, drivers are also listed at the same place as the software.

3. Checking Mouse DPI Through Microsoft Paint

One of the most interesting ways to find out the DPI is with the help of MS Paint. Now, here’s a simple and easy way to do so:

• First of all, you need to open MS Paint on your system and once you do that, you need to set the zoom level to 100%.
• The next step is to select the brush tool and move the cursor to the extreme left of your screen. As you do so, you should notice number zero at the bottom left of the screen.
• Once you have done so, press the left button on your mouse and move it at least 2-3 inches. You should see the number change at the bottom. Now, what you need to do is jot this number somewhere because you will need it later.
• Further, you need to repeat this process a few more times and note down the reading each time you do so.
• Once you have done so, calculate the average of these numbers and you should get quite an accurate estimate of the DPI level.

Changing DPI

Now that you are aware of the actual DPI of your mouse, you can go ahead and try changing it. There are a couple of methods to do so and these are listed below:

Changing Mouse DPI Via Windows 10 Settings 

Here are some steps to change DPI of your mouse:

• To start with, you need to open the settings by clicking on the Windows icon located at the bottom-left of your screen. After doing that, you need to go to Settings and click on it.
• Within Settings, you need to select Devices and click on it.
• The next step is to open the Mouse tab and go to Additional Mouse Options.
• Once you do so, you need to go to the Pointer Options tab, which is located at the top of the Mouse Properties Window
• Here, you can adjust or increase the DPI of your mouse by moving the slider to the right. Moving the slider to the left will decrease the DPI of the mouse.
• Once you are satisfied with the settings, you need to click on the OK button and you are all set.

If you are not happy with the settings that you just did, you can repeat the process and adjust the DPI accordingly.

Changing Mouse DPI Through In-Game Controls

It’s worth noting that most titles now come with in-built settings to change mouse DPI. You can actually find it in Game Controls.

For the purpose of explaining it, I am taking the example of Apex Legends.

• When you are in the game, go to Apex Legend’s settings
• Check out for “Mouse/Keyboard” tab.
• Being in this tab, you can change or adjust the DPI setting according to your preference.
• When you are happy with the settings, all you have to do is just click on Apply and you are all done.

Even though these settings would be different in all games, you should be able to adjust them easily.

Changing DPI Through Mouse Buttons

In case, you possess a fancy gaming mouse or the latest model, it is quite possible that there could be a button for adjusting DPI of the mouse right on top of the mouse itself. Usually, it can be found on top of the scroll wheel and by pressing it you should be able to adjust DPI settings.

In some models, you could actually find two buttons for adjusting DPI settings – one for increasing it and the other for decreasing it.

Conclusion

Changing DPI on your mouse is not really difficult. You can follow the steps above and change it without much effort. So, go ahead and set the DPI of your mouse according to your need.