Multitasking and touchpad goes hand-in-hand. Mastering your Windows device is not possible without getting the most out of the plethora of touchpad gestures. If your workflow heavily relies on this tool, you know how it feels when the touchpad doesn’t work or starts ill-functioning out of the blue. Keep reading…
Best Tips to Fix Touchpad Not Working in Windows 11
Having endured the unexpected touchpad tantrums, I thought it would be wise to jot down a list of viable tips to resolve the Windows 11 touchpad issues. If this frustrating issue has troubled you as well, now is the right time to take it for a task.
1. Check for Physical Touchpad Switch
Bear in mind that certain laptops are equipped with a physical switch or key combination that works in sync with the Fn key and a function key such as F5, F6, or F7 to enable/disable the touchpad. Find out if your Windows device comes with this feature. If it does, ensure that it’s active.
2. Customize Touchpad to Your Heart’s Liking
Before looking for ways to fix the issue, why not try to customize the touchpad in line with your preference? If you are missing a few tricks here and there, getting through the customization section might work in getting rid of the problem.
- Dive into the Start button -> Settings -> Bluetooth & devices -> Touchpad -> Now, explore a wide range of functions and fine-tune the desired ones.
For more help, be sure to check out this hands-on video as well.
3. Ensure the Touchpad is Enabled in Settings
While trying to customize your Windows device, you might have accidentally disabled the Touchpad. Therefore, be sure that it’s turned on.
- Navigate to the Start button -> Settings app -> Bluetooth & devices -> Touchpad and ensure that it’s active.
4. Make Sure Touchpad is Enabled in BIOS
Ensure that the touchpad has been disabled in the BIOS (aka Basic Input/Output System) settings.
- To do so, hit the Start button -> power icon -> Restart.
- While your Windows device is restarting, press the F2, F10, Delete, or Esc key to bring up the BIOS or UEFI settings.
- Head over to the BIOS menus and look for the Touchpad or Pointing Device settings.
- Now, make sure that the touchpad is Enabled.
- In the end, save your changes and get out of the BIOS.
5. Adjust Touchpad Sensitivity
If your touchpad seems to be less sensitive, try adjusting its sensitivity.
- Go to the Settings app via the Start button -> Bluetooth & Devices -> Touchpad -> Taps -> Hit the drop-down menu next to sensitivity and choose High/Most Sensitivity.
- Then, reboot your device (Start button -> Power icon -> Restart) and check if the touchpad has begun to work as expected.
6. Update Touchpad Drivers
It’s no secret that outdated or corrupted touchpad drivers tend to cause issues. Hence, it makes sense to update the touchpad drives.
- To get going, press Windows + X -> Device Manager ->
- Now, expand the “Mice and other pointing devices” section and right-click on your touchpad device -> Update driver.
- Next, select “Search automatically for drivers” to allow Windows to search and install the latest driver.
7. Reinstall the Driver
If updating the driver hasn’t fixed your touchpad, reinstall the driver.
- Press Windows + X and choose Device Manager.
- Then, you need to expand the “Mice and other pointing devices” section and right-click on your touchpad device.
- Choose Uninstall device and then reboot your computer. Your Windows device will automatically install the latest driver.
8. Check for Windows Updates
If your Windows device is powered by an outdated version of the software, I suspect that a system bug might be coming in the way of the touchpad.
- Go to the Start button -> Settings -> Windows Update -> Check for updates -> Download and install the latest Windows 11 update.
9. Use Windows Troubleshooter
Windows 11 comes with a robust troubleshooter that can let you detect and resolve the touchpad-related issues.
- To bring the Troubleshooter into action, head into the Start button -> Settings -> System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters -> hit the Run button next to “Bluetooth, Hardware, and Devices” -> go through the onscreen instructions.
10. Perform a System Restore
Is your touchpad misbehaving after installing the recent software update or driver? If the answer is yes, I would recommend you perform the system restore in order to revert the changes and fix the issue.
- To begin with, press Windows + S -> search for “Create a restore point” and click on the first result.
- In the System Properties window, go to the System Protection tab and hit System Restore.
- Select the desired restore point. Be sure to select the restore point from the day when the touchpad was functioning properly.
- After that, run through the on-screen instructions.
11. Reset Your Windows Device
No luck as yet? Should your touchpad continue to malfunction, reset your device. Bother not! Windows 11 offers a safe way to reset by allowing you to keep all your important files secure.
- Launch the Start button -> Settings -> System -> Recovery.
- Under the Recovery section, hit Reset PC -> Keep my files and then go through the instructions.
- Once the reset is done, figure out if the beloved touchpad has begun to function again.
There you have it! That concludes the touchpad troubleshooting guide. I hope one of the suggested tips has managed to eliminate the problem. Now, navigate to the comment section and share your invaluable feedback.
