Windows 11 Touchpad Not Working: Settings and Driver Fixes

A Windows 11 touchpad not working can mean several things: the pointer may not move at all, it may jump around, or only clicks, scrolling or gestures may have stopped. Most cases come down to a touchpad that has been switched off by a key or a setting, gesture settings that changed, or a driver that broke after an update. A smaller number are hardware faults, including one that needs attention straight away: a swelling battery. This guide covers Windows 11 version 24H2 and 25H2 on Home and Pro.

Without a touchpad, the keyboard still gets you around. Press the Windows key to open Start and type to search, use Tab and the arrow keys to move, Enter to select and Space to tick boxes. Windows key + X opens a menu with Device Manager and Settings, and Windows key + I opens Settings directly. A USB or Bluetooth mouse makes the steps below much easier if you have one.

Quick checks first

1. The touchpad key. Many laptops have a key that switches the touchpad on and off, often on a function key with a touchpad icon, sometimes used together with Fn. Pressing it by accident is one of the most common causes. Some laptops instead have a small light or a double-tap spot in the corner of the touchpad; the maker’s manual for your model tells you which.
2. Restart. A full restart reloads the touchpad driver. Use Start > Power > Restart rather than Shut down.
3. Clean and dry. Wipe the surface. Wet fingers, gloves and some screen protectors stop a touchpad from tracking properly.
4. 2-in-1 keyboards. On detachable keyboards and covers, unplug the keyboard, clean the connector and attach it again.
5. Remove extras. Disconnect docks and USB devices you do not need, then test again.

Turn the touchpad on in Settings

1. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad.
2. Make sure the Touchpad toggle is on.
3. Select the arrow next to Touchpad to expand it, and tick Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected. If this is cleared, Windows turns the touchpad off whenever a mouse, or a wireless receiver for one, is plugged in.
4. Adjust Cursor speed if the pointer moves but feels sluggish or too fast.

If there is no Touchpad page at all in Bluetooth & devices, Windows does not see the touchpad as a touchpad, which points to a driver or hardware problem. Skip to the driver section below.

Fix taps, scrolling and gestures

When the pointer moves but taps, two-finger scrolling or gestures do not work, the settings are usually the cause:

• Under Taps, check that tapping with a single finger to click is turned on, and adjust touchpad sensitivity. A setting of Low sensitivity can make taps feel as if they are ignored.
• Under Scroll & zoom, turn on Drag two fingers to scroll and check the scrolling direction.
• Under Three-finger gestures and Four-finger gestures, choose what each swipe and tap does.
• To start again, expand Touchpad at the top of the page and select Reset to return touchpad settings and gestures to their defaults.

The full set of Windows gestures needs a precision touchpad. On some older or budget laptops, gestures are handled by the touchpad maker’s own utility instead, and the Windows settings page shows fewer options.

Update the touchpad driver

Microsoft’s guidance is that a touchpad problem is often a missing or outdated driver, and that Windows Update is the recommended way to update it.

1. Go to Settings > Windows Update and select Check for updates.
2. Open Advanced options > Optional updates. If you see a driver update for input devices, the touchpad maker or your PC maker, install it.
3. Restart and test.

Laptop makers also publish touchpad, chipset and serial IO drivers for each model on their support sites. Those drivers are tuned for that laptop and are often what fixes a touchpad after a major Windows update. Download them only from the maker’s own site.

Roll back or reinstall the driver in Device Manager

1. Press Windows key + X and select Device Manager.
2. Look under Human Interface Devices and Mice and other pointing devices. The touchpad may be listed by name, or as an HID-compliant touch pad or I2C HID device, depending on the laptop.
3. If the problem started after a driver update, open the device’s Properties > Driver and select Roll Back Driver.
4. Otherwise, right-click it and select Uninstall device, then restart. Microsoft notes that reinstalling the touchpad forces the latest driver to download from Windows Update.
5. If a device has a yellow warning icon or shows as disabled, right-click it and choose Enable device or Update driver.

Use the keyboard to work through Device Manager if you have no mouse: Tab moves into the device list, arrow keys expand and select, and Shift + F10 opens the right-click menu.

When the touchpad stopped after an update

If everything worked before a particular Windows update, uninstall it from Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates, or use System Restore to go back to a restore point from before the change. Install the laptop maker’s touchpad driver afterwards, then let Windows Update reinstall the update later. Running sfc /scannow is worthwhile if other parts of Windows also misbehave. Starting in safe mode helps you tell whether a third-party utility is interfering.

Signs of a hardware problem

• The touchpad does not work outside Windows. Many laptops let you use the touchpad in the firmware (UEFI) setup screen. If it is dead there too, Windows is not the cause. Some firmware setups also have an option to enable or disable the internal pointing device; check it is enabled.
• The touchpad is raised, clicks by itself or the case bulges. A swollen battery can press on the touchpad from below. Stop using and charging the laptop, keep it away from anything flammable and contact the maker or a repair shop. Do not press on it or try to puncture it.
• Only part of the surface responds, or it worked until a drop or spill. That is physical damage.

If the laptop is under warranty, contact the maker before opening the case. If it still fails after Reset this PC, it needs a repair. Our Windows 11 troubleshooting guide covers the wider repair ladder.