{"id":830551,"date":"2026-08-30T06:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T06:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/830551\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T06:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T06:00:12","slug":"were-aware-microsoft-on-windows-11-kb5120998-breaking-the-mouse-cursor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/830551\/","title":{"rendered":"“We’re aware,” Microsoft on Windows 11 KB5120998 breaking the mouse cursor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Windows<\/a><\/p>\n

On Thursday, Microsoft rolled out Windows 11\u2019s biggest update of the year with a resizable Start menu, a movable Taskbar, and Windows Search without Bing\/bloat<\/a>. Unfortunately, Windows Latest found that it breaks the mouse cursor, resets the wallpaper, causes font issues, and now Microsoft says it\u2019s investigating.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re talking about Windows 11 KB5120998<\/a>, which bumps the OS to Build 26200.9278 on version 25H2 and Build 26100.9278 on version 24H2. It\u2019s an optional update, so it does not download or install automatically, but you don\u2019t have to join any particular testing program to see it. It shows up on all PCs by default.<\/p>\n

As soon as Windows 11 KB5120998 shipped, some users started reporting a bug where the mouse cursor is either not showing up at all or appearing too large<\/a> or too small. In other cases, the mouse cursor was being reset to default, either in terms of color or size.<\/p>\n

\"Large<\/p>\n

Until now, Microsoft maintained radio silence, and based on the growing number of reports, we were convinced that it was far more widespread than the usual chatter. Now, Microsoft has quietly updated its release notes to confirm that mouse cursor settings are indeed getting messed up after the Windows update.<\/p>\n

\u201cMicrosoft has received reports indicating that mouse cursor personalization settings are being changed or reverted to certain standard settings,\u201d Microsoft warned<\/a> in the updated release notes spotted by Windows Latest. \u201cThis occurs following installation of Windows updates released August 27, 2026 (KB5120998) and later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft says it\u2019s investigating the reports and trying to figure out if the issue is really due to Windows Update. However, all signs suggest it\u2019s indeed caused by the optional update, as the problem appeared the minute the update finished installing and went away when users removed it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the usual PR language Microsoft has used lately when talking about Windows Update issues, so I\u2019m expecting a more formal acknowledgment in the next few days, followed by either a rollback of the change that caused the issue or an emergency out-of-band update addressing the broken cursor.<\/p>\n

Windows 11 KB5120998 can break cursor size, colour and custom schemes<\/p>\n

I got in touch with an affected user who tried everything, from resetting the Windows Registry to running DISM and resetting mouse cursor settings to default, but they still had a giant cursor on their desktop.\u00a0As soon as they uninstalled Windows 11 KB5120998, the cursor issue resolved on its own.<\/p>\n

And that appears to be the case for everyone who reported cursor issues after installing Windows 11\u2019s big optional update.<\/p>\n

According to Microsoft, and based on the reports Windows Latest has seen, here\u2019s what could happen when you install Windows 11 KB5120998, and you\u2019re unlucky:<\/p>\n

Cursor animations could look broken, and the appearance could change, particularly if you use a custom scheme, including those provided by Microsoft in the official Windows Settings.
\nSome cursors that were set to default are being replaced by larger cursors.
\nIf you had a white cursor, it could become large and black, and vice versa.
\nIf you use a custom scheme or cursor animations, they could revert to standard settings. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a major issue compared to a large cursor appearing out of nowhere.
\nIf you try to restore a smaller or regular cursor, it could revert back to the broken one, as the settings are simply not saved.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, if you happen to run into these issues, you\u2019d need to manually remove Windows 11 KB5120998, as no other workaround appears to work.<\/p>\n

You need to open Settings > Windows Update > Update History > Uninstall, locate KB5120998, and click Uninstall. Since Windows 11 KB5120998 is an optional release, you can remove it without missing the security fixes from this month\u2019s Patch Tuesday release.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear why and how Windows 11\u2019s update broke the cursor because most of the changes in the update were around the Start menu, Search, Taskbar, and File Explorer, except for a slightly related improvement where the update improved \u201ctouchpad reliability on some devices.\u201d I don\u2019t think that could have caused the issue.<\/p>\n

Wallpapers are being reset after August update<\/p>\n

Windows Latest observed that there\u2019s another bug where your desktop wallpaper settings are never saved, and you have a black screen. It keeps resetting on every restart, and there are plenty of similar complaints in Feedback Hub. I was able to reproduce this issue, and it fixed on its own after removing the update.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy desktop wallpaper went black after installing the latest Windows 11 updates in August 2026 and every time I reboot it goes black again,\u201d one user wrote in a post<\/a> on Feedback Hub, and there are dozens of similar complaints across our forum\/comments section and platforms like Reddit.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a third bug where font could look blurry on certain systems, but I don\u2019t think this one is as widespread as the other two.<\/p>\n

Microsoft has not acknowledged wallpaper issues yet.<\/p>\n

Windows 11 KB5120998 is a \u201cpreview\u201d update, but not the type you might think<\/p>\n

Some of you might argue that it\u2019s a \u201cpreview\u201d update and nobody should have installed it on their \u201cproduction\u201d PCs. But it\u2019s not the type of \u201cpreview\u201d update some would think it is.<\/p>\n

\"2026-08The update shows up as \u201cpreview,\u201d but it\u2019s not a beta build. It\u2019s a production release, and all changes in it will ship with the next Patch Tuesday<\/p>\n

KB5120998 is labeled as \u201cpreview update,\u201d but it\u2019s not a Windows Insider Preview technical build. Microsoft uses similar terminology for both, but optional updates like KB5120998 are offered to production PCs and simply aren\u2019t downloaded automatically unless you\u2019ve enabled the option to get the latest updates as soon as they\u2019re available.<\/p>\n

Microsoft has never recommended against optional updates, as they\u2019re essentially for everyone who wants to try new features ahead of the next Patch Tuesday release, which would come with these changes anyway, alongside security fixes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Preview of Monthly Rollup is product-specific and addresses new non-security updates, and includes fixes from the latest Monthly Rollup,\u201d Microsoft noted<\/a> in a support document describing \u201cpreview updates.\u201d \u201cThis Preview of Monthly Rollup would be displayed under the title Preview of Monthly Quality Rollup when you download or install.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everything in these monthly optional \u201cpreview\u201d updates ships with the next Patch Tuesday release, including the cursor bug if Microsoft doesn\u2019t rush out a fix.<\/p>\n

Windows optional preview updates are usually about as stable as Patch Tuesday releases, and they were more or less the same when Windows 10 was the flagship OS.\u00a0However, over the last few years, as Microsoft fired most of its Quality Assurance team members and started relying more on AI, Windows quality has been on a downward trend.<\/p>\n

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