A touchpad not working is most often switched off rather than broken: by a key in the top row, a corner tap on HP laptops, a Windows setting that turns it off when a mouse is plugged in, or a driver that failed to load after an update. The fastest fix is the touchpad key or the Touchpad switch in Windows settings, both covered below. Once the pointer moves again, open the touchpad test and try each gesture. It shows which taps, clicks, scrolls and pinches reach the computer, so you can see whether a gesture is off or the touchpad itself is failing.
Quick checks
- Restart. A touchpad driver that failed to start often loads on the next boot.
- Unplug any mouse and its receiver, then try the touchpad again.
- Clean and dry the surface. Grease, moisture and lotion make the pointer stutter or stop. Wipe it with a slightly damp cloth and dry it.
- Look for a touchpad key in the top row with a touchpad icon and press it, alone and with Fn.
- Check that the laptop has not frozen. Press the Windows key. If the Start menu does not open, the whole system is stuck, not the touchpad.
Touchpad not working at all? Turn it back on
Windows 11: press Windows + I, open Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad and turn Touchpad on. Expand it and tick Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected.
Windows 10: open Settings > Devices > Touchpad and turn Touchpad on, with the same mouse option below it.
Without a working pointer: press the Windows key, type touchpad settings and press Enter. Press Tab until the Touchpad switch is outlined, then press Space.
The toggle for each brand
| Brand | How the touchpad is switched off and on |
|---|---|
| HP | Double tap the upper left corner of the touchpad, on models that have this feature |
| Lenovo IdeaPad | The key with a touchpad icon, often F6 or F8, alone or with Fn |
| Lenovo ThinkPad | No key. In the BIOS, check Config > Keyboard/Mouse > Trackpad |
| ASUS | A touchpad key, usually F6 or F9, alone or with Fn. Also MyASUS > Device Settings > Input Device Settings, where Touchpad should say Unlock |
| Acer | Fn + F6 or Fn + F7, whichever shows the touchpad icon |
| Dell | Some older models have a touchpad key in the top row. Otherwise use the Windows Touchpad switch |
| Microsoft Surface | No key. Use the Windows Touchpad switch |
Reset the touchpad settings
A changed sensitivity or gesture setting can make a working touchpad feel dead. In Windows 11, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad, expand Touchpad and select Reset. If Reset is grayed out, change any touchpad setting first and it becomes available. Then check:
- Taps: tick Tap with a single finger to single-click and Tap with two fingers to right-click if taps do nothing.
- Touchpad sensitivity: set it to Most sensitive or High sensitivity if light taps are missed.
- Scroll & zoom: tick Drag two fingers to scroll and Pinch to zoom.
If the Taps and Scroll & zoom sections are missing completely, Windows is treating the touchpad as a basic mouse because the precision touchpad driver is not installed. The next step fixes that.
Reinstall the touchpad driver
- Right-click Start and open Device Manager.
- Expand Human Interface Devices. Look for HID-compliant touch pad, I2C HID Device, or a maker's entry such as ASUS Precision Touchpad.
- If it shows a down arrow, right-click it and choose Enable device.
- Otherwise right-click it, choose Uninstall device and restart. Windows installs it again.
- If it is missing or shows a warning, install the chipset, Intel Serial IO or I2C drivers and the touchpad driver from your laptop maker's support site, then restart.
After a clean Windows install, many touchpads stay dead until the maker's Serial IO or I2C driver is in place, because the touchpad connects through that bus. ASUS also lists the Intel(R) Serial IO I2C Host Controller under System devices as one to reinstall. If the touchpad stopped after a Windows update, open the touchpad's Properties and use Roll Back Driver on the Driver tab.
The maker's own apps update these drivers in one go: HP Support Assistant, Dell SupportAssist (Update Software), Lenovo Vantage, MyASUS and Acer Care Center.
Check the touchpad outside Windows
- HP: turn the laptop on and tap Esc, press F2 for HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI, then Component Tests > Mouse/Touchpad.
- Dell: tap F12 at the Dell logo, choose Diagnostics and watch whether the pointer moves smoothly.
- ASUS: hold F2 while you press the power button to open the BIOS. ASUS says a touchpad that does not work there may have a hardware fault.
- Lenovo ThinkPad: open the BIOS with F1 and make sure the trackpad is enabled in the keyboard and mouse settings.
If the touchpad passes the maker's test, the fault is in Windows and the driver steps above will fix it.
Drain the power
A frozen input controller can kill both the touchpad and the keyboard at once. Shut down, unplug the charger and every USB device, remove the battery if it comes out, and hold the power button for 15 to 20 seconds. Plug in the charger only and start the laptop. If the keyboard is also dead, follow laptop keyboard not working, since both often share a cable and a controller.
MacBook trackpads
- Check the hidden setting. In System Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control, turn off Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present.
- Check the click settings. In System Settings > Trackpad, under Point & Click, set Tap to click and the click pressure to suit you. Tap to click is off on a new Mac.
- Restart, then unplug any USB accessories and disconnect Bluetooth mice to rule them out.
- Run Apple Diagnostics: on a Mac with Apple silicon, shut down, hold the power button until the startup options appear, then press Command + D. On an Intel Mac, hold D while it starts.
Force Touch trackpads on MacBook Pro models since 2015 and MacBook Air models since 2018 do not physically move. The click you feel is a vibration, so the trackpad feels dead whenever the Mac is off or frozen.
The touchpad jumps, clicks by itself or drifts
- Palm contact. Lower Touchpad sensitivity under Taps to Medium or Low sensitivity.
- The charger. Electrical noise from some chargers makes touchpads jump while plugged in. Try the laptop on battery, and if the charger has a plug with a ground pin, use a grounded outlet.
- A second pointing device. A wireless mouse with a weak battery or a drawing tablet left on the desk can move the pointer. Disconnect them.
- A swollen battery. In most laptops and MacBooks the battery sits under the touchpad. If the pad bulges, clicks by itself or will not click at all, stop using the laptop and have the battery replaced. Do not press on it.
When it is a hardware fault
If the touchpad fails in the maker's diagnostics, or stays dead after a driver reinstall and a power drain, the touchpad, its ribbon cable or the board is faulty. A loose cable after a repair or a drop is common and cheap to fix. Check the warranty on the maker's support site, and use a USB mouse until the repair: if that has problems too, see mouse not working on laptop. Before you send the laptop in, run the touchpad test, press Copy results and include the gestures that failed. If the screen of a touch laptop registers taps on its own, that is a different fault covered in ghost touch, and the touch screen test checks the screen itself.
Touchpad questions
How do I turn my touchpad back on without a mouse?
Press the Windows key, type touchpad settings and press Enter. Press Tab until the Touchpad switch is outlined, then press Space to turn it on. On many laptops a key in the top row with a touchpad icon does the same, alone or with Fn.
Why does my touchpad stop working when I plug in a mouse?
Windows can switch the touchpad off whenever a mouse is connected. Open Settings, Bluetooth & devices, Touchpad, expand Touchpad and tick Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected. Dell notes that with this option off, a wireless mouse receiver alone can disable the touchpad, even with the mouse switched off.
Why is my touchpad not working on my HP laptop?
Many HP laptops switch the touchpad off when you double tap its upper left corner, and some show a small light there while it is off. Double tap the same spot to turn it back on. If that does nothing, run the Mouse/Touchpad test in HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI: turn the laptop on, tap Esc, then press F2.
Why is my Lenovo touchpad not working?
On many IdeaPad laptops, the key with a touchpad icon, often F6 or F8, alone or with Fn, switches the touchpad off. Check that key first, then the Touchpad switch in Windows settings. On ThinkPads, the BIOS has a setting for the trackpad under the keyboard and mouse options, so check that it has not been disabled.
Why does my MacBook trackpad not work?
Check that Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present is off in System Settings, Accessibility, Pointer Control. A Force Touch trackpad also feels dead when the Mac is off, because the click you feel is a vibration. If the trackpad bulges or clicks by itself, stop using the Mac and have the battery checked.