How to change your mouse's DPI

DPI is set on the mouse itself, not in Windows or macOS. Press the DPI button, usually just behind the scroll wheel, to step through the levels saved in the mouse, or set an exact number in the maker's app: Logitech G HUB, Razer Synapse, SteelSeries GG or Corsair iCUE. If your mouse has no DPI button and no app with a DPI setting, its DPI is fixed.

Check your DPI with a bank card

On most gaming mice the DPI button sits behind the scroll wheel. Each press moves to the next DPI level saved in the mouse, and after the highest it starts again from the lowest. The levels shown are an example; the app sets which ones your mouse has.

With the DPI button

Find it. Look just behind the scroll wheel; on some mice, such as the SteelSeries Prime, it is underneath. Many mice change a light's colour to show the level.
Two buttons. On Razer mice with two buttons behind the wheel, the one nearer the wheel raises the DPI and the other lowers it. A single button cycles through the levels.
What the levels are. The button only steps between levels already saved in the mouse. A SteelSeries Prime, for example, comes set to 400, 800, 1,200, 2,400 and 3,200, each with its own colour. To change the levels themselves, use the app.

In your mouse's app

The app sets exact values and saves them as the levels the button steps through. The steps below are from each maker's own support pages; names can differ a little between app versions.

Logitech G HUB

Choose the profile you want to change at the top left: each profile keeps its own DPI speeds. Click your mouse, then open the Sensitivity (DPI) tab. Click anywhere on the slider to add a speed, or drag a speed's dot down to remove it. A mouse holds up to five speeds, and the DPI Shift speed cannot be removed.

Razer Synapse

Open Razer Synapse, select your mouse on the Dashboard and go to the Performance tab. Turn on Sensitivity Stages, pick a stage, then type the DPI you want or use the slider. The x/y icon on the slider gives the horizontal and vertical directions different values.

SteelSeries GG

Open SteelSeries GG and go to Engine, where your devices are, then open your mouse's settings and change its CPI levels. SteelSeries writes CPI (counts per inch) on its mice and DPI in the app: they are the same setting.

Corsair iCUE

Update iCUE and the mouse's firmware first. On iCUE's home screen, hover over your mouse and click DPI, click + in the DPI Presets window, and set the value in DPI Stages. In iCUE 5.14 and newer, open a stage's menu and choose Activate to use it now, or Set as Default.

Windows and Mac change pointer speed, not DPI

Windows 11. Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mouse, then the Mouse pointer speed slider. It changes how far the pointer moves on the desktop, not the counts the mouse sends, and games that read the mouse directly (raw input) do not use it.
Mac. Apple menu > System Settings > Mouse > Point & Click, then the Tracking speed slider. Under Advanced, Pointer acceleration can be turned off so a fast move no longer goes further than a slow one.

After you change it

Every game now turns faster or slower by the same factor as your DPI. To keep the turn you are used to, change each game's sensitivity by the opposite factor: new sensitivity = old sensitivity × old DPI ÷ new DPI. The best DPI for gaming explains the choice, and the mouse DPI test measures what your mouse really sends at its new setting.

No button and no app?

Then the DPI was set at the factory and cannot be changed. Set the desktop with the pointer speed above, and each game with its own sensitivity.

Want to know whether your eDPI is low or high in your game? Use the calculator for Valorant, CS2, Fortnite, Apex Legends or Overwatch 2.

Sources: Logitech, G HUB: remove and create DPI speeds; Razer, how to adjust the DPI setting on a Razer mouse; SteelSeries, getting to know the GG app, Prime CPI settings and Prime polling rate; Corsair, how to adjust the DPI of your mouse; Microsoft, change mouse settings and high-definition mouse movement; Apple, change tracking, click and scrolling speed.