The touchpad stopped responding
My laptop touchpad is not working. How do I turn it back on?
Written by The CommonFixes team · fact checked by CommonFixes review desk
Last updated
Short answer
The touchpad is very easy to switch off by accident with a keyboard shortcut or when a mouse is plugged in. The quickest thing to try first: press the touchpad key — Look along the F keys for a small rectangle symbol, often F5, F6 or F9. Press it, or hold the Fn key with it. Most people are done in about 5 minutes.
Full walkthrough below: 5 steps for Windows, rated easy.
Sounds like this
- •Pointer does not move
- •Clicks do nothing
- •Works only with a mouse
Why it happens
The touchpad is very easy to switch off by accident with a keyboard shortcut or when a mouse is plugged in.
Work through these in order
0% done- 1
Press the touchpad key
Look along the F keys for a small rectangle symbol, often F5, F6 or F9. Press it, or hold the Fn key with it.
- 2
Switch it on in Settings
Open Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Touchpad, and make sure the switch is on. Also tick Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected.
- 3
Double tap the corner
Some laptops have a small dot in the top left of the touchpad. Double tapping it toggles the touchpad off and on.
- 4
Reinstall the touchpad driver
In Device Manager expand Mice and other pointing devices, uninstall the touchpad entry, then restart.
- 5
Undo a recent update
If it stopped right after an update, use Roll Back Driver in the same properties window.
If none of that worked
Install the touchpad driver from your laptop maker's support page. Generic drivers frequently break gestures and scrolling.
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Who wrote this and how we checked it
The CommonFixes team
Writer and researcher
We are a small group of people who spend our days repairing laptops and desktops for family, friends and small offices. Every guide here starts with a problem someone actually brought to us, and we only write down the steps that put the machine right.
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CommonFixes review desk
Technical editor
Before a guide goes live, a second person walks through it on a real machine and checks each instruction against the maker's own support pages. Anything we cannot confirm is removed rather than guessed at.
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This guide was last updated on 10 August 2026. If a step no longer matches what you see on screen, tell us on the contact page and we will test it again.
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