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I can't believe I've had to install a third-party app to fix mouse scrolling

CJM

CJM

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 7, 2005
1,590
1,170
U.K.
When scrolling on a Mac using a high refresh monitor and an external mouse, it's so choppy in Apple Music, the App Store and in Safari that I get eyestrain and a headache. For the sake of comparison, Firefox is far, far smoother. Windows is much better, too.
I know I'm not the only one to notice this problem and with the recent release of the M4 Mini, a lot of users are coming to the Mac fresh or, like me, buying one after some time away from the platform.

There are even third-party apps that attempt to fix it, such as the GitHub project Mos and the paid app SmoothScroll (it's a yearly subscription which is mildly ridiculous, but in fairness, it works very well.)

I've submitted feedback to Apple to request they fix it. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have done so.

Here are some examples:
https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/v8o34l/stutter_when_scrolling

How to fix Stuttering and Jerking issues … - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com discussions.apple.com
 
Using dual Apple Studio displays with Mac mini M4, Safari is by far the smoothest with Firefox next and Chrome the worst. Once you stop scrolling with Firefox then start again it’s slightly choppy then smoothed out but Chrome is always bad.

MacBook Pro M4 with promotion makes Safari and Firefox pretty darn close in smoothness with Chrome still being a hot mess.

Really weird and it’s done this for as long as I can remember.
 
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I used LinearMouse which worked fine and is free and allows you to specify different behaviors for different apps. ...Since I got a "Magic Mouse" I have not had to worry about this. But I agree, Apple's handling of "scroll wheel" mice is not great and it is also pretty inconsistent between different apps.
 
bogdanw said:
free
LinearMouse https://github.com/linearmouse/linearmouse/releases
Mac Mouse Fix https://github.com/noah-nuebling/mac-mouse-fix/releases/tag/2.2.5
Discrete Scroll https://github.com/emreyolcu/discrete-scroll
Click to expand...
Mac Mouse Fix is not free but like 3dollars which is okay.
_______________

OP I am with you- have the Mac now for almost 2 weeks and I am just so annoyed by details that I just can't understand that people defend Mac over windows.

things are different for the sake of being different.
comfort is less as long as you don't use apple hardware

Had a hard time configuring my G502 Hero's additional buttons to work in games - Logitechs own software works ****** and when you ask for solutions you often get 3rd party recommended (steer mouse) which cost like 20€ just to enable my additional keys on my mouse. ridiculous! Even more when you consider you have to buy an upgrade once the next major version of macOS is released next year to maintain compatibility.

Now I am struggling with a KVM switch between my monitor and Mac mini resulting in not 10 bit RGB color depth being available



Have been spending my Saturday with trying to fix this with some EDID modifications -which I never heard about before, because on windows "it just works" 99% of the time and in the case with the KVM again it just works - I have 180Hz with Gsync at 10bit RGB. Mac only offers 10bit Ycbcr with washed out text - works only with the Mac directly connected to monitor as expected with 10bit RGB

I am considering returning just for these inconveniences.

OS does not offer established functions - get this 3rd party app for money - wah
 
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Sheepish-Lord said:
Using dual Apple Studio displays with Mac mini M4, Safari is by far the smoothest with Firefox next and Chrome the worst. Once you stop scrolling with Firefox then start again it’s slightly choppy then smoothed out but Chrome is always bad.

MacBook Pro M4 with promotion makes Safari and Firefox pretty darn close in smoothness with Chrome still being a hot mess.

Really weird and it’s done this for as long as I can remember.
Click to expand...
Yeah. My experience matches yours. No stuttering. In general if you try and turn macOS into Windows you are in for disappointment. Just as you would be the other way.
 
Andy_2341 said:
So are problems like this why Windows is still the most popular?
Click to expand...
No. Windows is the most popular because it is preinstalled on many (mostly cheap) computers. Most people don’t care about computers and certainly don’t care about the os. That doesn’t mean it’s good. It has many options, but many of them are terrible. Sorry to the Windows fans. As someone forced to use it and admin it daily, I would never voluntarily choose it.

I will not be taking questions or feedback. People are free to like what they want if you they like Windows then good for them. It is not for me.
 
OptimusGrime said:
No. Windows is the most popular because it is preinstalled on many (mostly cheap) computers. Most people don’t care about computers and certainly don’t care about the os. That doesn’t mean it’s good. It has many options, but many of them are terrible. Sorry to the Windows fans. As someone forced to use it and admin it daily, I would never voluntarily choose it.

I will not be taking questions or feedback. People are free to like what they want if you they like Windows then good for them. It is not for me.
Click to expand...
That makes a lot of sense. Thank you.
 
Palindrom said:
Mac Mouse Fix is not free but like 3dollars which is okay.
_______________

OP I am with you- have the Mac now for almost 2 weeks and I am just so annoyed by details that I just can't understand that people defend Mac over windows.

things are different for the sake of being different.
comfort is less as long as you don't use apple hardware

Had a hard time configuring my G502 Hero's additional buttons to work in games - Logitechs own software works ****** and when you ask for solutions you often get 3rd party recommended (steer mouse) which cost like 20€ just to enable my additional keys on my mouse. ridiculous! Even more when you consider you have to buy an upgrade once the next major version of macOS is released next year to maintain compatibility.

Now I am struggling with a KVM switch between my monitor and Mac mini resulting in not 10 bit RGB color depth being available



Have been spending my Saturday with trying to fix this with some EDID modifications -which I never heard about before, because on windows "it just works" 99% of the time and in the case with the KVM again it just works - I have 180Hz with Gsync at 10bit RGB. Mac only offers 10bit Ycbcr with washed out text - works only with the Mac directly connected to monitor as expected with 10bit RGB

I am considering returning just for these inconveniences.

OS does not offer established functions - get this 3rd party app for money - wah
Click to expand...
Are you me?
I've literally been having the same KVM switch problems, too. On Windows it works completely fine. On a Mac I've had to mess around with EDIDs in BetterDisplay.
My display is 175Hz and, for whatever reason, HDR is not being recognised.
Unbelievably frustrating.

OptimusGrime said:
Yeah. My experience matches yours. No stuttering. In general if you try and turn macOS into Windows you are in for disappointment. Just as you would be the other way.
Click to expand...

Are you saying that, unless you use completely first-party accessories, you're going to run into issues and that's fine? Well that goes against Apple's marketing for the Mac mini entirely, as they've promoted it in ads to be a computer you can just plug in anything and go.
I don't think you understand what 'turning it into windows' means in this context. Merely that I want a scrolling experience that is smooth, like on an iPhone or with the Apple trackpad.
 
Last edited:
CJM said:
Are you me?
I've literally been having the same KVM switch problems, too. On Windows it works completely fine. On a Mac I've had to mess around with EDIDs in BetterDisplay.
My display is 175Hz and, for whatever reason, HDR is not being recognised.
Unbelievably frustrating.



Are you saying that, unless you use completely first-party accessories, you're going to run into issues and that's fine?
Click to expand...
No.
CJM said:
Well that goes against Apple's marketing for the Mac mini entirely, as they've promoted it in ads where you can just plug in anything and go.
I don't think you understand what 'turning it into windows' means in this context. Merely that I want a scrolling experience that is smooth, like on an iPhone or with the Apple trackpad.
Click to expand...
It does for most people.
 
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