Your pointer was a custom one, or a sensible size, and now it is a big white arrow that will not go back no matter what you set.
You did not do this and neither did an app. Microsoft opened a report about exactly this yesterday, and it points at an update that shipped two days ago.
I read what cursor settings this machine is holding, and which update it has and has not taken, because both halves matter here.
What Microsoft has actually said
Reported rather than Confirmed. That is a real difference, and worth understanding.
⭐ Microsoft documents it on its release health page: it has "received reports indicating that mouse cursor personalization settings are being changed or reverted to certain standard settings".
⚡ It names the update. This follows "installation of Windows updates released August 27 2026 (KB5120998) and later".
⚠️ Reported means Microsoft has not confirmed the cause yet. Its wording is that it is "presently investigating to determine if this is an issue caused by Microsoft".
⛔ So nobody is promising a fix date. That is honest of them and it is the position on 29 August 2026.
What people are seeing
Three shapes, and Microsoft lists all three of them.
⚡ High DPI cursors replaced with larger white ones. When I read the reports, that was the one described first.
⭐ Custom cursor animations reverting to standard. Your busy and working pointers go back to the defaults.
⚠️ General appearance regressions, in Microsoft's own phrasing, plus intermittent animation changes.
⛔ And the part that makes it a bug rather than a preference: "Attempts to restore the previous cursor customization are reported to be unsuccessful."
Check which update you are on first
The most useful thing on this page. It decides whether any of this applies to you.
⚡ Open Terminal and read the build:
Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion" | Select-Object DisplayVersion, CurrentBuild, UBR⭐ The UBR is the number after the dot. On 25H2, 9278 or higher means you have it.
⚠️ This machine reads 26200.9168, which is the 11 August cumulative rather than the 27 August preview.
⛔ So the update in question is not installed here, and I cannot reproduce the fault. That is stated rather than glossed over.
What this machine holds for cursors
Read rather than assumed, and the boring configuration is ours to report.
⭐ The cursor scheme is Windows Default. Nothing custom to lose, which is true of most machines.
⚡ The base cursor size reads 32. That is the shipped default rather than anything anybody set.
⚠️ A machine like this would not notice it at all. You only see this if you had customized something.
⛔ Which is why the reports come from a narrow group and why the rest of the internet has not noticed.
What to do while it is unresolved
Short list, and one item on it is genuinely doing nothing.
⚡ Report it through Feedback Hub. That is what Microsoft asked for. Press the Windows key and F to open it.
⭐ Write down what your cursor scheme was before you try to fix it. Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Mouse, then Mouse pointer.
⚠️ Do not uninstall the update over a cursor. You would give up two weeks of security fixes for an appearance problem.
⛔ And if a custom cursor pack came from a download site, be careful re-running its installer. Check what you are about to run first.
Where the settings actually live
Useful whether or not this touches you, because the two pages are different.
⭐ Settings, Accessibility, Mouse pointer and touch controls size and color, including the large white one people are ending up with.
⚡ Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Mouse, Additional mouse settings opens the older Pointers tab, which is where schemes live.
⚠️ Changes made in one are visible in the other, which is why people think a setting has moved when it has not.
⛔ If the pointer is disappearing rather than changing, that is a different fault. Lag and vanishing pointers have their own causes.
Status: cursor settings and the installed build taken from this laptop on 29 August 2026, running 25H2 at build 26200.9168, against Microsoft's own release health entry opened 28 August 2026 and marked Reported. ⛔ The August 27 update is not installed here, so the fault is not reproduced, nothing was changed, and no personalization file or device of anybody's is named.
Why did my mouse cursor change after a Windows update?
Microsoft has received reports of cursor personalization settings being changed or reverted after the updates released on 27 August 2026, KB5120998 and later. It is marked Reported rather than Confirmed, which means Microsoft is still investigating whether the cause is its own.
Can I get my custom cursor back?
Microsoft's own note says attempts to restore the previous customization are reported to be unsuccessful, so possibly not yet. Note down what your scheme was, set it again in the Pointers tab, and report it through Feedback Hub if it does not hold.
Which Windows update caused the cursor problem?
Microsoft names the updates released on 27 August 2026, KB5120998 and later, affecting Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2. On 25H2 that is build 26200.9278. If your build number is lower than that, this update is not installed on your machine.
Should I uninstall the update to fix my cursor?
No. That trades two weeks of security fixes for an appearance problem, and Microsoft has not confirmed the update is even the cause. Report it through Feedback Hub instead, which is what its own note asks people to do.
Is this the same as the mouse pointer disappearing?
No. This one is about the cursor changing appearance or size on its own after an update. A pointer that vanishes, freezes or lags is a different problem with different causes, usually to do with the device or its driver rather than personalization.
The Short Version
- Microsoft opened this as Reported on 28 August 2026, not Confirmed.
- It names the updates from 27 August 2026, KB5120998 and later.
- High DPI cursors becoming larger white ones is the commonest report.
- Microsoft says attempts to restore the old customization are unsuccessful.
- On 25H2 the affected build is 26200.9278 or higher. Read your own UBR.
- This machine is on 26200.9168, so the update is not installed here.
- Its cursor scheme is Windows Default at size 32, the shipped configuration.
- Report it in Feedback Hub. Do not uninstall the update over a cursor.
Where to Next
Read your build number first. If the UBR is below 9278 on 25H2, none of this applies to you.
If it is above, write down what your cursor scheme was before you start changing anything.
Try setting it again in the Pointers tab, and note whether it holds through a restart.
Report it in Feedback Hub if it does not, because Microsoft says those reports are what its investigation is using.
And if yours came back on its own after a later update, say which build in the comments. That would date the fix before Microsoft does.
Isaac Smith is the founder and editor of PC Glance, a website that covers computers, laptops, and technology. He is a tech enthusiast and a computer geek who loves to share his insights and help his readers make smart choices when buying tech gadgets or laptops. He is always curious and updated about the latest tech trends.