How do I change the scroll direction on my Mac?

Mac
1

I just switched from Windows to a Mac and the scroll direction feels completely reversed to me, especially when using a mouse and trackpad. It’s really slowing me down and making everyday tasks frustrating. Where in macOS settings can I change the scroll direction so it behaves more like Windows, and are there any separate options for trackpad vs external mouse?

2

Yeah, macOS scroll direction trips up a lot of Windows switchers.

Here is how you flip it:

  1. Click the Apple logo in the top left.
  2. Open System Settings.
  3. Go to “Trackpad”.
  4. Under the “Scroll & Zoom” tab, look for “Natural scrolling”.
  5. Turn that off if you want it to feel like Windows.

That changes the trackpad.

For a mouse:

  1. In System Settings, go to “Mouse”.
  2. Find “Natural scrolling”.
  3. Turn that off too.

macOS ties the setting per device type. So you set it once for trackpad and once for mouse.

If you use a third party mouse and want different directions for trackpad vs mouse, the built in options are limited.

Workarounds people use:

  • App: Mos (free, simple, per device scroll direction)
  • App: Scroll Reverser (older UI but works fine)

Example setup:

  • Trackpad: Natural scrolling ON.
  • Mouse: Natural scrolling OFF through Mos.

That gives you “Mac style” on trackpad and “Windows style” on mouse at the same time.

If things still feel wrong, check:

  • Did you change both Trackpad and Mouse panels?
  • Disconnect and reconnect the mouse after changing settings.
  • Reboot if macOS acts weird with older drivers.

Once your muscle memory adjusts, your speed goes back up. Right now your brain fights the inverted direction every scroll, so your perception of slowness is normal.

3

Yeah, that “reversed” feeling is brutal the first week. @espritlibre covered the basic toggles already, so I’ll skip re-listing the same steps.

A few extra angles that might help:

  1. Per app / per device fine tuning
    Apple is weirdly stubborn about this. You only get that single “natural scrolling” toggle per device type in System Settings. If you want:

    • Trackpad = “Mac style”
    • Mouse = “Windows style”
      and more granular control, the third party tools mentioned like Mos or Scroll Reverser are basically the only sane options. Mos in particular lets you:
    • Set reverse scrolling per device
    • Tweak smoothness / acceleration
      That actually matters a lot if your muscle memory is tuned to how Windows scroll feels, not just the direction.

  2. Test in a browser first
    When you change directions, try it in just a browser or one app for a bit. Your brain will adapt faster if you are doing the same scroll pattern repeatedly, instead of bouncing between Finder, IDE, Excel clone, etc. Sounds dumb, but it really shortens the “everything feels wrong” phase.

  3. Consider keeping “natural” on trackpad
    Mild disagreement with the usual advice: if you use a laptop a lot, keeping natural scrolling on for the trackpad is actually worth the adaptation pain. It maps directly to “move content with your fingers” which feels more intuitive long term. Then use Mos to flip only the mouse so it behaves like Windows. That way you do not have to fight your brain every time you go from trackpad to phone or tablet.

  4. Acceleration & sensitivity affect frustration more than you think
    If you still feel slow even after fixing direction, check:

    • System Settings > Trackpad > “Tracking speed”
    • System Settings > Mouse > “Tracking speed” and “Scrolling speed”
      Crank them up a notch or two. Windows and macOS have different default curves, so matching the “feel” is not just about direction.

  5. Give it a few days before flipping back and forth
    Constantly changing the setting every time it annoys you just guarantees you never adapt. Pick one setup:

    • Example: Trackpad natural on, mouse reversed via Mos
      Live with it for 3 to 5 days. The frustration usually drops off sharply once your muscle memory catches up.

TL;DR:
The built in setting lives in System Settings for Trackpad and Mouse like @espritlibre said, but the real fix for a Windows convert is usually:

  • Use Mos / Scroll Reverser for per device direction
  • Tune tracking and scroll speed
  • Stick to one setup long enough for your brain to recalibrate

And yeah, it feels painfully wrong at first. Then suddenly one day you sit at a Windows PC and think, “Why is this scrolling backwards?”

4

Short version: the others told you where to flip the switch; here’s how to make it actually feel right instead of just “less wrong.”

1. Decide on a strategy, not just a toggle

You have three realistic patterns:

  1. Trackpad & mouse both “natural”
  2. Trackpad & mouse both “Windows-style”
  3. Mixed: trackpad natural, mouse Windows-style

@waldgeist leans toward using a helper app for that third option. I actually prefer option 2 for fresh Windows switchers: match Windows everywhere first, get productive again, then later experiment with natural on the trackpad if you feel like it.

2. When you use helper apps, keep it simple

They mentioned Mos and Scroll Reverser. Both work. Pros & cons in practice:

Mos
Pros:

  • Per device scroll direction
  • Smoother scrolling than macOS in many apps
  • You can tune sensitivity so it feels closer to Windows

Cons:

  • Another menu bar item and background process
  • Extra settings can tempt you into fiddling instead of working

Scroll Reverser
Pros:

  • Very focused: mostly about reversing scroll
  • Light, older hardware friendly

Cons:

  • UI feels dated
  • Less fine-grained tuning than Mos

If you do not care about tuning, Scroll Reverser is usually enough. If you are picky about “feel,” Mos is a better rabbit hole.

3. Fix the speed curve too, not just direction

Where I slightly disagree with @espritlibre: I would adjust tracking / scrolling speed before installing any apps. The biggest shock coming from Windows is often:

  • macOS cursor feels “floaty”
  • Scrolling feels sluggish or too jumpy

So:

  • Bump tracking speed until small wrist movements move the cursor about half the screen
  • Increase scrolling speed until one “normal” wheel flick gives you about a page height in a browser

That alone removes a lot of friction.

4. Do not mix modes within the same day

Pick one layout and keep it for at least 3 days. Constantly flipping “natural scrolling” makes your brain never settle. I usually tell people:

  • Week 1: make Mac behave like Windows (direction & speed)
  • Week 2 or later: if you want, try natural on the trackpad only

5. Sanity checks when it still feels cursed

If things are still off after changes:

  • Log out and back in so everything reloads
  • Unplug / replug the mouse if it has its own driver software
  • Temporarily kill any vendor utilities (gaming mouse tools often fight system settings)

@waldgeist and @espritlibre already nailed the standard toggles. The trick is to stop thinking in terms of “correct” scroll direction and instead treat it like:

  1. pick one pattern,
  2. match speed and feel,
  3. leave it alone long enough for muscle memory to catch up.