Windows 11 is getting a nifty accessibility change for the mouse that went MIA for over a year

The crosshair for the mouse cursor was in testing last year, then it vanished - but Microsoft has returned it to the latest preview in the Canary channel.

Windows 11 is getting a nifty accessibility change for the mouse that went MIA for over a year
Comment IconFacebook IconX IconReddit Icon
Tech Reporter
Published
1 minute & 15 seconds read time
TL;DR: Windows 11 has reintroduced a useful feature that was dropped from test builds a year and a half ago, namely a full-screen crosshair for the mouse to benefit low vision users. This is in the latest Canary build of Microsoft's OS, alongside some tweaks in the Settings app, plus a few glitches have been fixed, too.

Windows 11 is getting an accessibility feature that was previously spotted in testing, but was abandoned - a year and a half ago, in fact.

It's a useful ability whereby the position of the mouse cursor is highlighted by a large crosshair covering the whole screen, so those with low vision can see where the pointer is.

PhantomOfEarth spotted the return of this functionality with build 27913 in the Canary Channel, although it wasn't originally mentioned in Microsoft's blog post for that preview.

However, late last week, the software giant updated this post to acknowledge that: "The new pointer indicator accessibility setting for low vision Windows users that originally rolled out last year is now re-enabled in Build 27913."

There aren't a huge number of changes in this preview release, but one notable tweak is that in the Settings app, the search box is now positioned at the top, in the middle, for a "more consistent" experience.

Also remember that odd glitch - of the accidental, on-purpose variety - whereby the Windows Vista sound was playing when Windows 11 booted to the desktop (in test builds)? That's now fixed in Canary.

There are some other fixes here, such as the resolution of a problem where the desktop background turned black rather than displaying the wallpaper, and some corruption with the text in dialog boxes for Settings. Microsoft also tells us that Settings was crashing when using the Power & Battery panel, and this has been cured.

Read more: If Windows 11 ever gives you the option to 'eject' your GPU like a USB stick - don't do it

Photo of the Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Upgrade (Digital Download)
Best Deals: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Upgrade (Digital Download)
Today7 days ago30 days ago
$99 USD$99 USD
$99 USD$99 USD
$99 USD$99 USD
$99 USD$99 USD
$99 USD$99 USD
Check PriceCheck Price
* Prices last scanned 5/5/2026 at 11:37 am CDT - prices may be inaccurate. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We earn affiliate commission from any Newegg or PCCG sales.

Tech Reporter

Email IconX IconLinkedIn Icon

Darren has written for numerous magazines and websites in the technology world for almost 30 years, including TechRadar, PC Gamer, Eurogamer, Computeractive, and many more. He worked on his first magazine (PC Home) long before Google and most of the rest of the web existed. In his spare time, he can be found gaming, going to the gym, and writing books (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Follow TweakTown on Google News
Newsletter Subscription