How to Change the Text Cursor Blink Rate in Windows 11
- 3 ways to do it
- Includes a restart or sign-out
Do cursors blink in Windows 11? Yes. The text cursor blinks about every half a second by default (the stored default is 530 milliseconds), and you can change the speed in Settings Accessibility Text cursor, in Control Panel, or in the Registry Editor.
The text cursor is the vertical line that shows where your next character will appear in Notepad, Word, browser address bars and other text boxes. The cursor blink rate is how quickly that line flashes on and off. A fast blink can distract you, and a slow one can make the cursor hard to find.
This tutorial covers three methods. Try them in this order: the Settings app, Control Panel, then the Registry Editor.
Yes, the text cursor blinks by default in Windows 11, about every half second. To change the speed, open Settings Accessibility Text cursor and move the Cursor blink rate slider, which sets a value from 200 (fast) to 1300 (slow) milliseconds. If your build lacks the slider, use Control Panel Keyboard Speed instead. The change applies to your account immediately.
Option 1Change the Cursor Blink Rate Using Settings
The Settings app is the safest way to change the blink rate, and it needs no advanced tools. The slider only appears on recent builds of Windows 11. If it is missing on your PC, skip to the Control Panel method below, which works on every build.
- Press Windows key + I on your keyboard. Settings opens.
- On the left side, click Accessibility. The accessibility options appear on the right.
- Scroll down on the right and click Text cursor. The text cursor options for your PC appear.
- Alternatively, skip the first three steps and use this link to open the Text cursor settings directly:
Open Text Cursor Settings
- Find the slider under Cursor blink rate. If the page has no such slider, your build doesn’t include it. Use the Control Panel method instead.
- Move the slider left or right to choose a blink speed between 200 (fast) and 1300 (slow) milliseconds. A millisecond is one thousandth of a second, so a lower number means a faster blink.
- Click Apply to save your changes. If your build shows no Apply button, the change takes effect as soon as you move the slider.
- Close the Settings window.
That’s it. Your text cursor now blinks at the speed you chose, and the setting stays in place for your account.
To check the result, click into any text box, such as Notepad, and watch the cursor. If the speed isn’t right, reopen the page and move the slider again. To undo your change, put the slider back where it was.


Option 2Change the Cursor Blink Rate Using Control Panel
- Type Control Panel in the Start menu search and click it. Control Panel opens.
- Make sure the view is set to Icons (not Category). Use the View by drop-down in the top-right corner to switch to large or small icons. The full list of Control Panel items appears.
- Click the Keyboard icon. The Keyboard Properties window opens.
- Click the Speed tab.
- Under Cursor blink rate, move the slider to your preferred speed. A sample cursor next to the slider blinks at the speed you choose, so you can preview it before saving.
- Click OK to save.
That’s it. The new blink rate is saved, and you can confirm it by clicking into a text box and watching the cursor.
To undo the change, open the same window and move the slider back.

Option 3Change the Cursor Blink Rate Using Registry Editor (Advanced)
Use the Registry Editor if your version of Windows lacks the option in Settings and you want an exact number. This advanced method lets you type a specific value for the blink speed. It is also the method that lets you stop the cursor blinking entirely.
Follow the steps carefully, because a wrong change in the registry can cause system errors. Before you start, back up the registry by clicking File and then Export in the Registry Editor.
- Press Windows key + R, type
regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor. If a User Account Control prompt appears, click Yes. - Use the panel on the left to go to this folder:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
- On the right side, find CursorBlinkRate and double-click it. An edit window opens showing the current value.
- Type a number between 200 (fast) and 1200 (slow) to set the blink rate in milliseconds.
- To stop the cursor from blinking completely, type -1 instead of a number.
- Click OK to save. The new value shows in the list on the right.
- Close the Registry Editor.
- Sign out and sign back in, or restart your computer, so the change takes effect. Until you do, the cursor may keep blinking at the old speed.
That’s it. After you sign back in, the cursor uses the exact value you typed, or stays solid if you entered -1.
To undo the change, open the same value again and enter your old number. If you exported the registry first, you can also double-click the saved file to restore it.

Summary
- The text cursor blink rate controls how fast the blinking line flashes while you type.
- The default blink speed is about 530 milliseconds but can be changed.
- You can change the blink rate using Settings (if your Windows version supports it), Control Panel, or Registry Editor (for advanced users).
- The blink rate can be set between 200 (fast) and 1300 milliseconds (slow), or set to -1 to stop blinking. In the Registry Editor, use values from 200 to 1200.
- Remember to sign out or restart your PC if you use the Registry Editor method.
The text cursor blink rate in Windows 11 controls how fast the vertical typing line flashes on your screen. You can speed up or slow down this line using the Settings app, Control Panel, or Registry Editor. Which one you use depends on your version of Windows and how you like to work.
Have a question about this guide?
Answered by AI from this guide. Good questions may be added to this page — please don't include personal details.
Did this guide fix your problem?
About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
No comments yet — be the first to share your thoughts!