Razer Peripherals on Linux

Notes on getting Razer (and generic USB) mice and keyboards working well on Debian. The Razer-specific bits are short — most of this is generic USB polling configuration that helps any wired mouse.

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Adjust the USB polling rate

The polling rate controls how often the mouse reports its position. Higher = smoother, but uses more CPU. Default for usbhid is 125 Hz; gaming mice usually want 1000 Hz.

Create a modprobe config:

sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/usbmouse.conf

Add the polling interval (in milliseconds):

options usbhid mousepoll=1

The mousepoll value:

Value	Polling rate
1	1000 Hz
2	500 Hz
4	250 Hz
8	125 Hz (default)

Rebuild initramfs and reboot:

sudo update-initramfs -u
sudo reboot

Verify after reboot:

cat /sys/module/usbhid/parameters/mousepoll

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Razer-specific software

For per-device control (RGB, DPI profiles, macros), use OpenRazer + Polychromatic.

I'm using:

• Razer BlackWidow 2019
• Razer Viper

Install:

sudo apt install openrazer-meta

Then grab Polychromatic for the GUI: https://polychromatic.app/download/debian/.

After install, your user needs to be in the plugdev group:

sudo usermod -aG plugdev $USER

Log out and back in.

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Related

• My Setup — the rest of my hardware