Apple’s default mouse and trackpad settings in iPadOS might work great with the company’s own accessories, but they can be less than ideal with third-party peripherals. Scroll speed, in particular, seems very temperamental.
Unfortunately, Apple decided it would be a good idea to hide away those scroll speed settings, so a lot of users have no idea they can be adjusted. Here’s where you can find them on iPad.
After connecting a Bluetooth mouse or trackpad to iPadOS, you’ll see a new “Trackpad and mouse” submenu in the General section of the Settings app. You might think scroll speed settings would appear here, but they don’t.
Instead, you’ll need to dive into your iPad’s Accessibility settings. Connect your mouse or trackpad first (the menu you need won’t appear otherwise), then follow the steps below.
How to adjust scroll speed in iPadOS
- Open the Settings app, then tap Accessibility.
- Tap Pointer Control.
- Find the Scrolling Speed slider at the bottom of the page and adjust.
The Pointer Control menu also gives you the ability to increase pointer contrast, to disable the option to hide the mouse pointer automatically after it has been idle for a few seconds, and to change pointer color and size.
GIF: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
The same setting is available on iPhone if you need it. Here are some other tips that make using a mouse or trackpad in iPadOS even better:
- How to share a mouse, keyboard and trackpad between iPad and Mac
- How to disinfect your Mac, iPhone, mouse, trackpad, keyboard and cases
- How to add trackpad gestures to your Magic Mouse
- Make the most of mouse buttons in iOS 13
- How to use a mouse with your iPad
