What lift-off distance is on a gaming mouse

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Lift-off distance is how high you can lift a mouse off the pad before the sensor stops counting. Below that height, the mouse still moves the cursor in the air. Above it, nothing moves. It matters most to people who lift the mouse to reset in the middle of a turn, because a high cutoff lets the crosshair slide while the hand is in the air.

I aim with the Logitech PRO 2 LIGHTSPEED at 1200 DPI (Overwatch in-game sens 3.5), and I play left-handed. For WoW I use the Razer Naga Left-Handed. For full picks, see the best gaming mice. More mouse guides.

Check yours

Lift-off distance is how high the mouse can go before the sensor stops counting. Too high, and the crosshair moves while you reset in the air. Too low, and a tilt in a swipe can drop the count.

How often you liftMost turns, to resetAlmost neverThe lift testNot sure yetThe crosshair moved in the airIt stayed on the markIt stops during a tilted swipeThe mouse softwareNot sure yetIt has a lift-off settingNo setting

What this means

Do the lift test

Put the crosshair on a still mark. Lift the mouse straight up, move it sideways in the air, set it down. If the crosshair left the mark, the sensor kept counting in the air.

Mice and their lift-off distance (I use the first two)

• The aiming mouse I own: Logitech PRO 2 LIGHTSPEED. Official: ambidextrous, 80 g, HERO 2 to 44,000 DPI, LIGHTSPEED wireless, magnetic side buttons. Official US price $149.99 at Logitech G. HERO 2’s technology page lists lift off tolerance in G HUB. Logitech does not print a millimeter for this shell. PRO 2 (white) on Amazon
• The WoW mouse I own: Razer Naga Left-Handed Edition (RZ01-0341). Official support sheet: wired, 109 g, Focus+ at 20,000 DPI, 12-button thumb grid, and Advanced Lift-off/Landing distance customization. Official US price from $99.99 at Razer. Razer support RZ01-03410. Synapse is the menu. Amazon search for RZ01-0341
• The official HERO 2 LOD steps: Logitech PRO X SUPERLIGHT 2. Logitech support is the article that actually names the control: G HUB or Onboard Memory Manager, Advanced, then low / medium / high for each DPI slot. Same sensor family as the PRO 2. Official US price $159.99 at Logitech G. Side buttons stay on the left edge — worse for my left thumb than the PRO 2. Amazon search for SUPERLIGHT 2

The short version: lower the cutoff until a reset no longer moves the crosshair, then stop. A listing without a millimeter is not a missing grade. It is a missing number.

What the sensor is doing

The sensor is a small camera under the mouse that watches the surface and counts how far it moved. When you lift the mouse, the picture gets blurrier the higher it goes. At some height the camera can no longer read the surface and stops counting. That height is the lift-off distance.

It is not a ruler the mouse carries. Reviews sometimes treat a compact disc as a spacer because the sensor can look through the hole at the pad. That is a community test, not a Logitech or Razer spec.

Two mice with the same printed figure can still behave differently on different cloth. The same mouse can change when you switch pads. The exact number matters less than the result on your pad. DPI is how finely the camera reports an inch while the feet are down. Lift-off is when it stops reporting at all.

Logitech’s UK HERO 2 page also names Dynamic Spot Edge Detection, a dual-array design they say helps tracking during lifts or tilts. Razer’s Focus+ page names Smart Tracking so the cutoff stays consistent when the surface changes, and Asymmetric Cut-off so landing can sit lower than lift-off. Those are the official words. They are not a score.

The lift test

You do not need a ruler. Open the range in the game you play and put the crosshair on a still mark: a corner, a seam in the wall, a target. I do this in Overwatch on the 1080p 240 Hz screen, at 1200 DPI and sens 3.5. Lift the mouse straight up, the way you would to reset. Move it sideways in the air. Set it back down.

If the crosshair is still on the mark, the sensor stopped counting before your hand moved. That is what you want. If it slid off the mark, the camera was still reading the pad while you moved in the air. Every reset in a match nudges the aim a little, and the next swipe starts from the wrong place.

Do the test the way you actually reset. A clean straight lift and a quick scoop are different heights. Use the one your hand does in a fight. A test with the mouse perfectly level is a different motion from a reset that rolls the wrist.

Then do one hard swipe you already use, on the same pad, without changing DPI. If that swipe stalls, the cutoff may be too low, or the lens and the cloth need a clean. Those are different problems. Fix the easy ones first.

Landing distance

Lift-off is the way up. Landing is the way down. They are not automatically the same height.

Razer’s Focus+ page is the official split: Asymmetric Cut-off lets you set landing distance — the height at which the mouse resumes tracking — on top of lift-off. They say you want landing as low as possible so less cursor drift occurs as the mouse touches the surface. Their Synapse article (updated 25 March 2025) puts both on one Smart Tracking slider, in millimeters, “regardless of the surface.”

The Naga Left-Handed support sheet lists that pair as a feature. I use the grid for buffs and consumables, not for Zarya. I still run the same lift test on it when I change pads.

G HUB gives you three options: low, medium and high. Logitech doesn’t list exact millimeters.

A high landing is the other half of a sloppy reset: the crosshair stayed put on the way up, then slid as the feet came down. If that is the motion you see, you are arguing with landing, not with DPI.

Who it matters to

Lifting is common with a low sensitivity, arm aim, or a short pad. A turn that does not fit the cloth needs a reset in the middle. Each reset is a moment where lift-off distance can move the crosshair. For those players, a cutoff that is too high shows up in every long turn.

PC Gamer’s 2026 mouse guide says the same thing in fewer words: LOD is still a popular metric in enthusiast circles, and it does not affect most people who almost never lift. I agree with the second half. If you almost never lift, a drift on a reset you never make is not a problem. Fix the things that show up in your fights first.

I sit at 1200 DPI and 3.5 in Overwatch. That is not a 400 DPI arm-aim setup. I still lift on some long turns on the 1080p 240 Hz screen. The PRO 2 is the shell for that. The left-handed mouse page is why the side buttons sit on the right edge. WoW on the Naga is a different motion: more clicks, less ratcheting. I do not chase a lower LOD on the Naga to win a reset I am not making.

If you want to stop lifting, that is a sensitivity or pad decision. A lower cutoff makes the lift cleaner. It does not remove it.

How to change it

Read the software before you hunt for tape.

Logitech, HERO 2. The support article that names the control is written for the PRO X SUPERLIGHT 2. The steps: open the mouse in G HUB or the Onboard Memory Manager, make or duplicate a preset, tick Advanced, then pick low, medium, or high lift-off for each DPI slot. The HERO 2 marketing page calls the same idea lift-off tolerance. I use G HUB on the PRO 2. Change one step. Run the lift test. Stop when the crosshair stays.

Razer, Focus+. Install Synapse. Select the mouse. Calibration → Smart Tracking. Drag the slider. That is the official path on answer 506. The Naga Left-Handed sheet is the reason I open that menu on the MMO mouse. Change one notch. Test again.

A few mice offer a surface calibration without a named height. You move the mouse on your pad and the software learns where the picture fades. Razer’s older-sensor story is that you had to do that on every new cloth. Smart Tracking is their claim that you no longer do. I still re-test after I change pads, because the camera is still reading cloth.

Some mice have no setting. Lift a little higher on resets and keep the mouse level as it comes off the pad. A tilted lift keeps one edge of the camera closer to the cloth. A mouse with a setting is a later purchase, not a reason to replace one that tracks.

Do not tape over half the lens. PC Gamer’s mouse-myths page quotes a Pixart engineer: masking the light can make the lift feel earlier and also hurt high-speed tracking, because part of the sensor is no longer lit. The software setting exists so you do not have to do that.

Change one thing at a time. If you also touch Windows acceleration, DPI, or the in-game slider in the same minute, you will not know which change you felt. I leave Enhance pointer precision off. I leave the PRO 2 at 1200.

When it is too low

A cutoff set very low can drop the count during a fast swipe if the mouse tilts. The crosshair stops for a moment while the hand keeps moving, and the turn comes up short. If the test is clean on resets but a hard swipe sometimes stalls, raise the setting one step.

Before you blame the height, clean the lens and check the surface. A dirty lens, a glass desk, or a worn spot on the pad can also make the sensor lose the picture while the mouse is flat. Those are camera problems, not lift-off problems. Try a clean cloth pad first. The sensor page is that return rule: a flick that throws the cursor on clean cloth, at a DPI you know, is a return.

Thicker skates raise the shell After a taller set, run the lift test again and, if the software has a control, look at it.

Pads change it

The sensor reads the surface, so the pad changes where it gives up. A thicker cloth, a hard pad, and a desk mat can each give a different cutoff with the same mouse. Razer’s Focus+ copy is written around that problem: an uncalibrated sensor on a new surface makes lift-off inconsistent. If you change pads, run the lift test again, and run Smart Tracking or the Logitech calibration again if the software has one.

A number measured on the maker’s own pad may not match yours. So a review’s “1.2 mm” isn’t the PRO 2’s spec. Logitech did not print it.

Reading a listing

On a product page, lift-off distance is often shortened to LOD. Look for two things rather than the smallest number.

First, whether it is adjustable, and how: a low / medium / high switch, a millimeter slider, a calibration step, or both. Second, whether the maker says which surface the figure was measured on. A missing millimeter is an incomplete listing, not a slower mouse. Do not fill the blank with 1.

Confirm on today’s listing, since software features change between versions of the same mouse. If the listing does not mention lift-off at all, assume there is no setting until the software shows one. Shape still comes first. I bought the PRO 2 because the side buttons move under a left thumb, and the Naga because the 12-grid is mirrored. LOD was not the reason.

What it does not change

Lift-off distance does not change DPI or sensitivity. While the mouse is on the pad, those still decide how far the crosshair travels. The cutoff only decides when the sensor stops counting in the air. My 1200 DPI and 3.5 Overwatch pair is the same pair before and after I touch G HUB’s Advanced box.

It does not change polling. It does not add acceleration. It does not make a wireless dongle faster. LIGHTSPEED on the PRO 2 is the radio. LOD is the camera giving up.

It does not fix a turn that does not fit the pad. If you lift in the middle of every turn and want to stop lifting, that is a sensitivity or pad decision. A lower cutoff makes the lift cleaner. It does not remove it.

It is not a reason to buy a mouse by itself. Shape and a sensor that tracks cleanly on your pad come first. A good lift-off setting is the last tidy step after those are right. I would not replace the PRO 2 for a listing that prints 1 mm. I wouldn’t replace the Naga just for a lift-off slider.

Lower it until a reset leaves the crosshair on the mark, then leave it. If a swipe starts dropping, raise one step. More mouse guides.

Common questions

What is lift-off distance on a mouse?

It's how high you can lift your mouse before the sensor stops tracking. Below that height, moving the mouse in the air still moves your cursor. It's often shortened to LOD.

Is a lower lift-off distance better?

Usually, especially if you lift your mouse often to reset, because your crosshair won't drift in the air. Set it too low, though, and the sensor can drop tracking if the mouse tilts during a fast flick. Pick the lowest setting that never cuts out.

How do I test my mouse's lift-off distance?

Put your crosshair on a fixed point in a game, lift the mouse straight up, move it sideways in the air, and set it down. If the crosshair moved, the sensor was still tracking. Test it the way you normally reset your mouse.

Can I change lift-off distance on my mouse?

On most gaming mice, yes. Logitech mice like the PRO X SUPERLIGHT 2 offer low, medium and high in G HUB, and Razer Synapse has a millimeter slider under Calibration. Some budget mice don't have the option.

Does lift-off distance affect DPI or sensitivity?

No. LOD only controls when tracking stops in the air. DPI and in-game sensitivity still decide how far your crosshair moves when the mouse is on the pad.

Does my mouse pad affect lift-off distance?

Yes, it can. Sensors read the surface, so a new pad can change where tracking cuts out. If your mouse software has surface calibration, run it again after switching pads.

What is landing distance on a mouse?

It's the height where the sensor starts tracking again as you put the mouse down. Razer lets you set it separately from lift-off, and keeping it low reduces cursor drift when the mouse touches the pad.

How do I change lift-off distance on Logitech or Razer mice?

On Logitech, open G HUB, go to the sensor settings, and choose low, medium or high. On Razer, open Synapse, go to Calibration, then Smart Tracking, and use the slider.

Do mouse skates change lift-off distance?

They can. Thicker skates lift the sensor higher off the pad, which changes how lift-off feels. After installing new skates, test again and adjust LOD in your software if needed.