How to reverse mouse and touchpad scrolling direction on Windows 10

On Windows 10, the mouse and touchpad are essential input devices that make easy navigation and interaction with the elements on the screen possible.

The only caveat is that they come with a default scrolling direction (scroll down to move up), even though it works for most users, it’s not a preference that everyone agrees to or needs.

If you use a touchpad with your laptop or a mouse with your desktop, and you rather see pages move up as you scroll up for a more natural experience, you can reverse the scrolling direction using the Settings app, or modifying the Registry in the case of a mouse.

In this Windows 10 guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to reverse the scrolling direction of your touchpad or mouse.

How to reverse touchpad scrolling direction on Windows 10

To reverse the scrolling direction of your touchpad using the Settings app, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Devices.

Click on Touchpad.

Important: The reverse scrolling option is only available for devices with a precision touchpad. If the option isn’t available, you may still be able to change the scrolling behavior using the manufacturer software for the peripheral.

Under the «Scroll and zoom» section, use the drop-down menu to select the Down motion scrolls down option.

Once you complete the steps, using the scrolling up gestures on your touchpad will scroll pages in the downward direction for a more natural experience.

How to reverse mouse scrolling direction on Windows 10

If you’re using a mouse to navigate on Windows 10, the Settings app doesn’t include an option to reverse the scrolling direction. However, you can still modify the scrolling behavior using the Registry.

Warning: This is a friendly reminder that editing the Registry is risky, and it can cause irreversible damage to your installation if you don’t do it correctly. It’s recommended to make a full backup of your PC before proceeding.

Identifying mouse information

To identify the mouse identification number on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Device Manager, click the top result to open the experience.
3. Expand the Mice and other pointing devices branch.

Right-click the mouse that you’re using, and select the Properties option.

Note the VID ID value for the mouse — for example, VID_0E0F&PID_0003&MI_01.

After completing the steps, continue with the steps below to reverse the mouse scrolling using the Registry.

Reversing mouse scrolling direction

To reverse the mouse scrolling direction using the Registry, use these steps:

1. Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
2. Type regedit, and click OK to open the Registry.

Browse the following path:

Quick tip: On Windows 10, you can now copy and paste the path in the Registry’s address bar to quickly jump to the key destination.

Expand the key (folder) that matches the VID ID of your mouse — for example, VID_0E0F&PID_0003&MI_01.

Double-click the FlipFlopWheel DWORD and set the value from 0 to 1.

Click OK.

Restart your computer.

Once you complete the steps, when you scroll up with the mouse wheel, the page should also scroll up.

In the future, if you change your mind, you can revert the flip the direction of the mouse wheel to its original settings using the same instructions, but on step No. 7, make sure to set the value from 1 to 0.

Updated February 22, 2019: This guide has been revised and updated to make sure it’s current with the latest version of Windows 10.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

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Change invert scrolling in Windows 10

I recently upgraded from windows 7 to 10. And I hate the invert scrolling on my touchpad.

Is there anything I could do?

I’ve already searched the internet for solution and found out that Windows 7 & 8 are not the same as 10.

Please let me know how.

Replies (13) 

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Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

I would request you to refer to options provided in the article below and check.

Search, touch, & mouse (information holds good for Windows 10 as well)

Hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to reply in case you face any other issues with Windows in future.

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I don’t see an option in regards to inverted scrolling in that list, it is just a guide.

do you have any other suggestions?

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Thanks for the reply, but I do not see any guild to invert scrolling.

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This was driving me nuts.

Mouse & Touchpad settings > Additional mouse options > Settings > Scroll

Check the «Switch Direction» box

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For ASUS: Try double clicking on the track pad button down in the right corner of your screen beside the clock. You’ll get a menu about «two finger gesture» . Click on «Content moves reversely with your finger’s direction» under «Scroll horizontally or vertically».

Found this on youtube, compliments of someone named «Catherine Ursula». I found the settings under the ASUS Smart Gesture. Hope this helps someone.

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How can I invert touchpad scroll direction on Windows 10?

I just switched to Windows 10 on my ASUS N550JV and installed related drivers from the support page of ASUS. The touchpad works great, but for some reason the direction of scrolling on touchpad is inverted. I couldn’t figure out how to change the direction of the scroll on touch pad, how can I do it?

7 Answers 7

I FINALLY figured it out! On my Asus machine, at least. Go to Control Panel, like Browning IT said, but instead of clicking on the «Mouse» option, click on «Asus Smart Gesture» instead. Under the Two Finger Column, check the box next to «Content moves reversely with your finger’s direction.» I hope this applies to your model. I have a Flip. That took me 2 days to figure out!

If you have a touchpad:

In Windows 10, if you have a touchpad, you will probably have one of the options mentioned in the other answers:

Start Menu -> Settings -> Mouse & touchpad -> Reverse scrolling direction

Something manufacturer- or device-specific, probably accessible through Control Panel -> Mouse or something similar, as noted in other answers.

If you don’t have a touchpad:

(and you want inverse scrolling because, say, like me, you got addicted to it on Mac OS and now find it more natural):

(I don’t see why they don’t just put a control panel toggle for this, but at least we have a couple of options to make it work):

Registry Setting

There’s a registry setting called «FlipFlopWheel» that does this — (thanks to https://superuser.com/a/364353/153895 by @Richard). This also works as far back as Windows 7, at least (maybe further, I don’t know).

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\HID\VID_. \VID_. \Device Parameters .

There might be multiple mouse entries. The default value for FlipFlopWheel should already be 0 . Change it to 1 to invert scrolling. Reboot or replug mouse for changes to take effect.

To get the VID_. and complete the process you have two options:

1: Manually

Go to the mouse control panel, click the Hardware tab, then click Properties (or, just find the mouse in Device Manager and double-click or right-click Properties)

Either go to the Events tab and look for the VID in the «information» area at bottom, or the Details tab and choose Device instance path in the Property dropdown.

Then you can use Regedit (be careful in there!) to find and change this property:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\HID\VID_. \VID_. \Device Parameters

2: Powershell commands

Run this in PowerShell (from Start » All Programs » Accessories » Windows PowerShell):

Either way, then just reboot or replug mouse for settings to take effect.

Note: You may find, like I did, that upon unplugging and replugging back into a different USB port, or KVM switch, or something, that it’s stopped working, even though the original registry setting is still set.

What happened for me, is that my mouse got a new string/subtree entry in the registry; the beginning ( VID_XXXX&PID_XXXX\ ) are still the same, but the string at the end was different. I had to go into that subtree and set it again for the new instance.

AutoHotkey Script

You can use the following AutoHotkey script:

(If you have autohotkey installed, simply save the above as an .ahk file, and then double click in Windows Explorer to run it. Your Mileage May Vary. It worked great for me in Windows 8, but am having trouble in Windows 10. Not sure if this is an AutoHotkey/Win 10 issue, or something else.)

After recent update, mouse pointer is inverted in Windows 10.

Original Title: Inverted mouse scrolling, Windows 10

Windows 10 updated (either overnight, or while I was at work), and now my mouse is, yet again, inverted. This happens every time Windows updates, because why would you let me keep my settings? However, now the option to set scrolling to the normal up = up and down = down is no longer there. I’ve looked at other topics here, and I can answer before it’s asked, there is no option to change it in my device’s settings (and the driver is not what was updated).

Please, how do I fix this?

I’m using an msi laptop with an ELAN trackpad.

Thank you for posting on Microsoft Community. We regret the inconvenience caused and will assist you in resolving the issue.

Method 1: I suggest you to run the hardware and devices troubleshooter by following the steps below and check if the issue is resolved.

Press Windows logo key on the keyboard, type troubleshooter and select the top most search result.

Click on View all from left side panel of the screen.

Select Hardware and Devices , c lick on Advanced option and check Apply repairs automatically option.

Follow the on screen instructions.

Method 2: If the issue persist, uninstall the mouse drivers manually from the device manager by following the steps below and check if the issue is resolved.

Press Windows key + X and click on Device Manager.

Expand Mice and other pointing devices option.

Right click on the touchpad/mouse driver and select Uninstall option.

Restart the computer for the PC will reinstall the device driver automatically and check if the changes are effective.

Write back to us with the status of the issue on the same post for further assistance. Your reply is most important for us to ensure we assist you accordingly.

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After trying the two fixes you suggested, I found the option to remove reverse scrolling in the ELAN-specific options (of course, it’s somewhat hidden and smaller than everything else on their option screen). Thank you for your help.

However, I was wondering if you could do me one more favour: I’m not sure where I can lodge a complaint to Microsoft about this most recent update. My mouse/trackpad scrolling wasn’t the only thing that got reverted — all of my settings for default programs (from browser, to video player, and even music purchased off of iTunes) were reverted to the Windows defaults. I’ve been using Windows since 3.1, and I’ve never had that problem with Windows Update on any previous version since Update’s introduction.

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