Most Mac users rely on a mouse cursor, but even a Macbook user who can use the touchpad also needs a mouse pointer to lead his way. So it could be very vexing when the mouse pointer disappears or becomes invisible on a Mac or Macbook. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. This post will help you fix the issue and bring your cursor back.
Here’s how to do it. To disable the large cursor shake in OS X El Capitan, launch System Preferences and navigate to Accessibility Display. Here, you’ll see an option labeled Shake mouse pointer to locate, which will be enabled by default. This fixed the huge mouse pointer problem for me: enter Coherence mode, and then exit Coherence mode. Note that in general, if I move between using my Thunderbolt display and my Macbook's retina display, I try to shut down my Parallels VM first, and restart it once the monitor change has been made.
When you have selected Display from the left menu, you should see an option in the right panel that says “Shake mouse pointer to locate.” This is the option that makes the cursor bigger when you shake your fingers on the trackpad. Just uncheck this option, and the feature will be disabled system-wide on your Mac. As you can see in the recording embedded below, to stop your mouse pointer zooming on your Mac's screen, you have to open the System Preferences application. Next, you have to click on the Accessibility preference pane, go to the Display sub-menu and then uncheck the 'Shake mouse pointer to locate' option under the 'Cursor size' slider. Get free icons of Mouse pointer in iOS, Material, Windows and other design styles for web, mobile, and graphic design projects. The free images are pixel perfect to fit your design and available in both png and vector. Download icons in all formats or edit them for your designs. As well, welcome to check new icons and popular icons.
Before trying any fixes, please make sure your mouse or touchpad is turned on and fully charged. Make sure your mouse or touchpad is working properly.
I am on Reddit and my cursor is visible, but I click on a video post to watch it and when I enter that video in a new window my cursor is gone. However, it is still technically there because I can click around. The only way to get it back is to open up some other menu or right-click. This is a small problem but very tedious and irritating.
Extra Large Mouse Pointers Free
Try these fixes:
The reason for cursor disappeared issue could be various. You don’t need to try all the fixes, just work your way down till you find the one that works for you.
Fix 1: Quick tips to bring your cursor back
Restart your Mac/Macbook is an effective way to bring your mouse cursor back — if the cause of the disappearance is not related to hardware.
However, nobody wants to restart a computer now and then. So you can use these quick tips to bring your cursor back.

- Right-clicking your mouse or touchpad.
- Move your mouse or trackpad down to the Dock, wait few seconds and then move up to the screen.
- Switch the active applications by keyboard shortcuts or finger gestures.
- Enter Force Quit menu by pressing Command + Option + Esc keys together and you’ll see the mouse pointer.
- Ask Siri for help if Siri is enabled on your Mac/Macbook.
Fix 2: Adjust System Preferences
One way to make the cursor more visible is to make the cursor size larger. You can go to System Preferences to adjust the size.
- Click the apple on the top left corner and click System Preferences.
- Choose Accessibility.
- Select Display in the left panel. Then adjust the Cursor size in the right. Make sure you enable the Shake mouse pointer to locate option. This option could help you bring the cursor back when you quickly move the mouse pointer and make the cursor bigger.
Fix 3: Reset NVRAM or PRAM
NVRAM (non-volatile random-access memory) is a small amount of memory in Mac that stores certain settings. This section could help macOS access them quickly. PRAM (Parameter RAM) stores similar information.
If these stored settings have issues, resetting might help.
The steps to resetting the NVRAM and PRAM is the same.
- Shut down the Mac.
- Turn it on and press the Option + Command + P +R four keys together immediately. Hold these four keys for about 20 seconds. The computer should be restarting.
NOTE: To reset NVRAM, you need to turn off the firmware password first.
After your Mac finishes rebooting, you might want to go to System Preferences to adjust settings that were reset. For example, sound volume, display resolution or time zone.
Fix 4: Use third-party apps

App Store offers many different apps to meet your needs. So you definitely can find an app to help you bring the invisible cursor back. Type “mouse locator” in the App Store and search. Choose one to try. There’re number of apps that claim to help you locate the cursor, you can find one to fix the problem.
Bonus Tip: Keyboard shortcuts
Use these keyboard shortcuts to save or finish your work when you meet problems.
Close (Window or Document) = Command +W
Save = Command +S Print = Command +P
Quit = Command +Q
Force Quit = Option+Command +Esc
Quit All Apps and Shutdown = Control+Option+Command +Power Button (or Media Eject )
Force Restart = Control+Command +Power Button

Basic shortcuts:
Minimize window = Command +M
Switch Application = Command +Tab
Swap Windows in current application = Command +~
Switch Tabs in current application = Control+Tab
Copy = Command +C
Cut = Command +X
Paste = Command +V
Undo = Command +Z
Redo = Command +SHIFT+Z
Select All = Command +A
Find = Command +F
New (Window or Document) = Command +N
Open = Command +O
Spotlight = Command +Spacebar
Open Application Preferences = Command +Comma (,)
That’s it! Hope this post could help you fix the cursor disappears on Mac problem. If you have any suggestions or questions, you’re welcome to leave comments below.
The issue of mouse disappearance is not uncommon for Mac or PC users, no matter what kind of operating system you are using. This can be truly aggravating since most computer users rely way more on mouse compared to the keyboard to navigate around.
Contents
- 9 Restart your Mac
Where Did Your Cursor go?
When you notice it happens the first time, you might see that the cursor has disappeared all of a sudden. However, if you try to moving it to the left and right-clicking or dragging the mouse around, you’ll see that the device functions are still working, with the cursor simply going invisible.
Disappearing mouse cursor often happens due to one reason: the lack of memory space. Running out of available memory is usually caused by heavy applications such as video editing software or browsers. These programs hog relatively a lot of RAM space to function properly.
Additionally, it turns out that users with multi-monitor setup are mostly the victim of the disappearing pointer/cursor. Keep in mind that multiple displays setup won’t directly affect your RAM space since the display is largely managed by your GPU hardware. Rather, multi-monitor users are known to often multi-task, e.g., opening 50 tabs of Chrome while editing video at the same time, thus use more memory than the average users.
To address the issue of disappearing mouse cursor, there are few troubleshooting methods that you can try.
Try to right-click or shake the cursor using mouse or track pad
This would be the simplest solution that you should initially try. By either moving the cursor around or right-clicking, you may instantly recognize the location of the lost cursor. In this case, the cursor didn’t actually disappear. Instead, it might be deliberately hidden by an application to increase visibility when the mouse is not used for a set period or if you are doing a specific kind of activity.

Switch active app using the keyboard shortcut
If moving or clicking the mouse around doesn’t work, switch the active app using the keyboard by hitting Command + Tab together. This method can fix the problem if the bug is related to only specific apps instead of the whole system. If this does work for you, consider updating your app or use a different one.
Check to see if the mouse hardware is working properly
If you have a wireless mouse, there may be something wrong with the connection or the battery. Reconnect the USB receiver, recharge the battery, or try to use a different mouse if possible. That way, you can be sure it’s not the hardware that acting up.
Mouse pads can also affect mouse movement, especially if you are using an optical mouse. If you have an uneven or colorful mouse pad, try to replace it with a more smooth and plain black surface—you can also try to remove the mouse pad altogether—to see if it introduces any difference.
Bring the cursor to the Dock
You might be confused about how you should move the cursor to the Dock—located at the bottom of your screen—if you can’t even see the cursor in the first place. However, you can drag your mouse or finger on the trackpad to the bottom, as if the cursor is there.
No matter where the cursor is supposed to be located, dragging it down would always make it reach the Dock. Once it is on the Dock, the pointer will most likely become visible.
Disable installed third-party screensaver
Third-party features often come as the culprit behind bugs when using any kind of computer. If you install any third-party screensaver, try disabling it for once or use the default screensavers provided by Apple.
Summon the Force Quit menu
Force Quit menu is generally used as an ‘escape hatch’ for Mac users who encounter any problem with some apps that seemingly have no visible exit. To summon the Force Quit menu, hold the Command + Option + Escape key at the same time.
Just like its name, Force Quit make it possible for you to forcefully end an app operation. But, you don’t actually need to end anything. Often, simply bring up the Force Quit menu is sufficient to make the cursor reappear.
Readjust the cursor size
Sometimes, it’s not that the cursor disappears, but rather, it’s too small for you to notice it. To re-adjust the cursor size, follow these steps:
- Open the System Preferences app.
- Head over to Accessibility.
- On the sidebar located on the left side of the window, choose Display.
- There, you should find a slider that controls the Cursor size from ‘Normal’ to ‘Large.’ Don’t forget to also enable Shake mouse pointer to locate in order to make the cursor temporarily bigger to make it more noticeable when shaken.
Restart your Mac
Big Mouse Pointer Mac Mouse
When in doubt, restart your computer. Rebooting has always been the go-to solution for any kind of problem you’re having with a device. Otherwise, these troubleshooting methods can help you solve the case of your missing mouse.
Big Mouse Cursor Mac
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