An optional Windows 11 update released in late August is causing a wave of display-related annoyances, from disappearing mouse cursors to wallpapers that turn black, prompting Microsoft to acknowledge the problem and investigate.
After installing the update, mouse cursor personalization settings are changed or reverted to standard configurations.
Some users report that high-DPI cursors are swapped for larger, white replacements, while custom cursor animations snap back to defaults.
The cursor problem is not the only complaint.
According to Windows Latest, the update also resets the Windows wallpaper to a black screen on some systems.
An optional Windows 11 update released in late August is causing a wave of display-related annoyances, from disappearing mouse cursors to wallpapers that turn black, prompting Microsoft to acknowledge the problem and investigate.
The update in question, KB5120998, rolled out on August 27 as a preview of the September Patch Tuesday release. It bundles several long-requested features, including a resizable Start menu, a movable taskbar, and a cleaner Search window. But for many users who manually installed it, those improvements came at the cost of a functioning pointer.
Microsoft has documented the issue on its Windows 11 known issues and notifications page. After installing the update, mouse cursor personalization settings are changed or reverted to standard configurations. Some users report that high-DPI cursors are swapped for larger, white replacements, while custom cursor animations snap back to defaults. Attempts to restore the original customization have reportedly failed.
"The issue is described as resulting in appearance regressions and intermittent animation changes," Microsoft said in its notes. The company added that it is investigating whether the update is the culprit and promised more information when available.
The cursor problem is not the only complaint. According to Windows Latest, the update also resets the Windows wallpaper to a black screen on some systems. Users have been posting about the wallpaper behavior in Microsoft's Feedback Hub. A third issue, blurry fonts on certain configurations, appears less widespread, and Microsoft has not yet acknowledged it.
