Microsoft has confirmed that the Windows 11 mouse settings reset triggered by the KB5120998 August 2026 preview update is now resolved, with the fix delivered via the KB5124008 cumulative update released on 8 September 2026.
The original problem surfaced after users installed KB5120998 on 27 August 2026, an optional preview update carrying Start menu, taskbar, and Windows Search improvements for devices running Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2. Almost immediately, reports came in that cursor and cursor-animation settings selected under Mouse Properties were reverting without warning, and refusing to stick even after manual attempts to restore them.
What caused the Windows 11 mouse settings reset
Microsoft confirmed the issue one day after KB5120998 shipped and later explained that the culprit was specific ‘code components’ present in non-English Windows installations. Those components cause settings to fail to load at all, so Windows falls back to a default regardless of whatever value a user has set.
‘Following installation of Windows updates released August 27 2026 (KB5120998), mouse personalization settings are being reverted to certain standard settings,’ Microsoft said. ‘This includes cursor and cursor animations that are selected in the Mouse Properties options under Windows. In impacted locales, these settings will fail to load, causing a default to be used instead. Attempting to manually restore the settings values is not successful, as the issue prevents loading these settings regardless of their value.’
That last detail, that uninstalling KB5120998 from an affected device did not restore the previous state, is what moved this from ‘annoying update bug’ to a genuine support headache. Users who had taken the time to set up a custom cursor scheme found themselves stuck with Windows defaults through no fault of their own.
KB5124008 delivers the fix alongside other improvements
On Tuesday evening, Microsoft advised users to install the KB5124008 September 2026 cumulative update to resolve the problem. ‘This issue was resolved by Windows updates released September 8, 2026 (KB5124008), and later,’ the company noted. ‘We recommend you install the latest security update for your device as it contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one.’
According to Microsoft Support, KB5124008 targets OS Builds 26200.9278 and 26100.9278 and also incorporates all improvements that shipped in the August 27 KB5120998 update itself, meaning users who skipped the preview update will still receive that batch of Start menu and taskbar work alongside the mouse fix.
The September update does more than close the cursor regression. As Thurrott reports, KB5124008 also restores the ability to set a threshold for when the energy saver feature should activate, accessible under Settings > System > Power & Battery, a control that had apparently gone missing for some users.
The scope of the mouse settings problem is worth keeping in perspective. KB5120998 was an optional update: it required a deliberate click on ‘Download and install’, which limits the pool of affected users to those who actively sought out the preview. The exception is anyone who had toggled on the ‘Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available’ option, which installs optional updates automatically. For that group, the reset arrived uninvited.
Separately, on the same Tuesday, Microsoft also resolved a related issue in which custom desktop settings were wiped after installing KB5120998, a problem that ran alongside the mouse reset but was tracked independently.
A pattern of mouse-related fixes
This is not the first time mouse behaviour has landed Microsoft in patching territory lately. The company previously issued emergency updates to fix a known issue that had rendered the Windows Recovery Environment unusable by disabling USB mice and keyboards. More recently, Microsoft confirmed an ongoing investigation into a separate bug causing the mouse pointer to disappear for some classic Outlook users when moving it over the application’s interface, a problem that has not yet been resolved.
For anyone still on a pre-KB5124008 build of Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2, the fix is straightforward: head to Windows Update and install the September 8 cumulative update. The mouse settings reset issue will not sort itself out without it.
