Guide to Troubleshooting Laptop Touchpad Issues and Gestures Improving Navigation and Productivity on Your Device

By Isabella Storyclaire

last updated September 17, 2024

Contributions sourced from

Fixing Your Laptop Touchpad Not Working in Windows

Symptoms

NOTE:

When no drivers are listed for the touchpad on our website for Windows 11, 10, or 8(8.1), it means that Microsoft provides the drivers. In this case, Dell does not have any touchpad drivers to provide you. Windows Update installs any new drivers when available. Learn

How to Use the Precision Touchpad Features in Windows

Test touchpad in ePSA

Duration: 00:39When available, closed caption (subtitles) language settings can be chosen using the Settings or CC icon on this video player.

Cause

Touchpad issues may be caused due to outdated or corrupt drivers, incorrect touchpad settings, hardware failure, or more.

Resolution

When your touchpad is not working as it should, see the expanding section below that best matches the issues that you are having and follow the instructions.

When you are having issues with the touch screen on your laptop or tablet in Windows, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Troubleshoot Touch Screen or Touch Panel Issues.

Suggested Quick Fixes:

Ensure that the touchpad is turned on. For more information, see Dell Knowledge Base article Disabling or Enabling the Touchpad on a Dell Laptop.
Ensure the touchpad and your finger do not have any dirt, grease, liquids, or food on them (the touchpad has to make good contact with your finger to work correctly).
Save any data, close any open programs, and restart the computer.
NOTE: Do not touch the touchpad until the computer is booted, as it goes through a calibration process while booting.

Ensure the touchpad and your finger do not have any dirt, grease, liquids, or food on them (the touchpad has to make good contact with your finger to work correctly).
Ensure that the touchpad is turned on. For more information, see Dell Knowledge Base article Disabling or Enabling the Touchpad on a Dell Laptop.
Save any data, close any open programs, and restart the computer by using a wired USB mouse (if available) or Bluetooth mouse if it is already installed. If not, press and hold the power button down for at least 15 seconds to turn the computer off (you lose any data that is not saved).
Unplug everything except the power cable, including the following:
- Speakers
- Printers
- Scanners
- USB devices
- USB flash drive or other external storage devices
- External monitor
- External keyboard
- External mouse
When your computer is attached to a docking station, undock it.
Turn the computer back on and retest the touchpad.
NOTE: Do not touch the touchpad until the computer is booted, as it goes through a calibration process during booting.
When the cursor does work correctly, attach one device at a time, and test the cursor movement to see which device may have caused the issue.
Ensure that the BIOS and Chipset drivers are updated to the latest version.
NOTES:
- For more information about BIOS updates, see Dell Knowledge Base article Dell BIOS Updates.
- To install the latest Chipset drivers, learn How to Download and Install Dell Drivers.
- Using the SupportAssist application provides automatic computer updates and detects issues that areresolved for you. Let us take the effort out of maintaining your Dell Computer or Tablet. For more information about SupportAssist, browse to the SupportAssist for PCs and tablets.
Also, some laptops and tablets with keyboards have added gesture features to the touchpad hardware and drivers. A few of these features are two or three-finger scrolling, pinch zoom, circle zoom,rotate, and swiping. These new features may be the reason for the erratic cursor movement since most are turned on by default. You can disable or modify the way that the features work in the touchpad driver properties.

This section covers the Microsoft Windows operating systemthat is installed on your computer; select the tabs below to find out more information.
1. In the Search box, type main.cpl.
2. Touch or click main.cpl in the list of programs.
3. Touch or click the Dell Touchpad tab.
  NOTES:
  When the Dell Touchpad tab is not listed, it means one of two things:
  - The utility is not installed. In that case, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Download and Install Dell Drivers. The Dell Touchpad Driver/Utility is listed under Mouse, Keyboard, and Input Devices.
  - That your newer computer has a Dell Precision Touchpad. To determine whether your computer has the Dell Precision Touchpad, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Use the Precision Touchpad Features in Windows and see The Cursor Movement is Not Smooth (Erratic) or Does Not Move at All section for instructions on how to change the settings, when your computer does have the Dell Precision Touchpad.
4. Touch or click the figure of the touchpad.
5. Touch or click Gestures (depending on your computer, there may not be a Gestures option).
6. Change the options as preferred.
7. Touch or click Save.
8. Touch or click the X in the upper-right corner to close the Dell Touchpad Utility.
9. Touch or click OK on the Mouse Properties window.
1. Press and hold the Windows ( ) key, and then press the Q key.
2. In the Search box, type main.cpl.
3. Click or touch main.cpl in the list of programs.
4. Click or touch the Dell Touchpad or Cypress Trackpad tab.
  NOTES:
  When the Dell Touchpad or Cypress Trackpad tab is not listed, it means one of two things:
  - The utility is not installed. In that case, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Download and Install Dell Drivers. The Dell Touchpad Driver/Utility is listed under Mouse, Keyboard, and Input Devices.
  - That your newer computer has a Dell Precision Touchpad. To determine whether your computer has the Dell Precision Touchpad, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Use the Precision Touchpad Features in Windows and see The Cursor Movement is Not Smooth (Erratic) or Does Not Move at All section for instructions on how to change the settings when your computer does have the Dell Precision Touchpad.
5. Touch or click the figure of the touchpad.
6. Touch or click Gestures (depending on your computer, there may not be a Gestures option).
7. Change the options as preferred.
8. Touch or click Save.
9. Touch or click the X in the upper-right corner to close the Dell Touchpad Utility.
10. Touch or click OK on the Mouse Properties window.
Touchpad Not Working
Duration: 01:40 When available, closed caption (subtitles) language settings can be chosen using the Settings or CC icon on this video player.
When the touchpad still does not work after following the preceding steps, Dell offers a utility that checks the health of your computer's hardware and software called SupportAssist.

SupportAssist is now preinstalled on most of all new Dell computers running the Windows Operating System, and can be found by:
1. Touch or click the Start button.
2. Scroll until you see the Dell folder.
3. Touch or click the Dell folder.
4. Touch or click SupportAssist.
5. Touch or click Hardware Checkup.
6. Touch or click Scan a Specific Device.
7. Scroll down until Mouse is listed. NOTE:
  Depending on your specific hardware configuration, you may have more than one listing for Mouse. Hover your pointer over the Mouse listings, and you see a description that reads either:
8. Touch or click the wanted device and follow the instructions.
  NOTE: When there is more than one listing for a mouse, it means you probably have an additional mouse connected to the computer. You can test them individually if you want.

Ensure that the BIOS is updated to the latest version. For more information, see Dell Knowledge Base article Dell BIOS Updates.

NOTE: There are settings available to prevent the cursor from jumping around while typing. These settings are called touch guard and palm check in some touchpad utilities. In newer computers, the touchpad sensitivity can be adjusted to resolve this issue.

Select the tab below that matches the operating system that is installed on your computer. Follow the steps to ensure that the settings are correct to prevent the cursor from moving around erratically while typing.

In the Search box type, main.cpl.
Touch or click main.cpl in the list of programs.
Touch or click the Dell Touchpad tab.
NOTES:
When the Dell Touchpad tab is not listed, it means one of two things:
- The utility is not installed. In that case, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Download and Install Dell Drivers. The Dell Touchpad Driver/Utility is listed under Mouse, Keyboard, and Input Devices. You can also try:
  1. Open the Start Menu.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Go to Devices.
  4. Click Mouse.
  5. Click Additional mouse options.
  6. On the Mouse Properties window, open the pointer options tab.
  7. Check Hide pointer while typing.
- That your newer computer has a Dell Precision Touchpad. To determine whether your computer has the Dell Precision Touchpad, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Use the Precision Touchpad Features in Windows and see The Cursor Moves Around Erratically While Typing on the Notebook Keyboard section for instructions on how to change the settings when your computer does have the Dell Precision Touchpad.
Touch or click the figure of the touchpad.
Touch or click Sensitivity.
Ensure that there is a checkmark in the Turn On box to the right of Touch Guard.
Move the circle under Touch Guard all the way to the right (this can always be adjusted back if the setting is too high).
Touch or click Save.
Touch or click the X in the upper-right corner to close the Dell Touchpad Utility.
Touch or click OK on the Mouse Properties window.

Press and hold the Windows ( ) key, and then press the Q key.
In the Search box type, main.cpl.
Click or touch main.cpl in the list of programs.
Click or touch the Dell Touchpad or Cypress Trackpad tab.
NOTES:
When the Dell Touchpad or Cypress Trackpad tab is not listed, it means one of two things:
- The utility is not installed. In that case, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Download and Install Dell Drivers. The Dell Touchpad or Cypress Trackpad Driver/Utility is listed under Mouse, Keyboard, and Input Devices.
- That your newer computer has a Dell Precision Touchpad. To determine whether your computer has the Dell Precision Touchpad, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Use the Precision Touchpad Features in Windows and see The Cursor Moves Around Erratically While Typing on the Notebook Keyboard section for instructions on how to change the settings when your computer does have the Dell Precision Touchpad.
Touch or click the figure of the touchpad.
Touch or click Sensitivity.
Ensure that there is a checkmark in the Turn On box to the right of Touch Guard.
Move the circle under Touch Guard all the way to the right (this can always be adjusted back if the setting is too high).
Touch or click Save.
Touch or click the X in the upper-right corner to close the Dell Touchpad or Cypress Trackpad Utility.
Touch or click OK on the Mouse Properties window.

Ensure the touchpad and your finger do not have any dirt, grease, liquids, or food on them (the touchpad has to make good contact with your finger to work correctly).
Ensure that the latest driver for the touchpad is installed (see notes below). You may need to use an external USB or Bluetooth mouse. For more information, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Download and Install Dell Drivers.
Notes:
- Some newer laptops and tablets with keyboards have a Dell Precision Touchpad that uses a driver that is built into Windows and does not need a driver to be downloaded. For more information about how to find out when your Notebook or Tablet has a Dell Precision Touchpad, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Use the Precision Touchpad Features in Windows .
- For those laptops and tablets that do not have a Dell Precision Touchpad, the touchpad drivers are located in the Input section, which is listed as Dell Touchpad/Pointing Stick, Alps - Driver or Synaptics - Driver.
Change the touchpad settings to adjust the pointer speed.

Click the tab that matches the operating systeminstalled on your computer and perform the steps within that section to change the settings.
1. In the Search box type, main.cpl.
2. Touch or click main.cpl in the list of programs.
3. Touch or click the Dell Touchpad tab.
  NOTES:
  When the Dell Touchpad tab is not listed, it means one of two things:
  - The utility is not installed. In that case, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Download and Install Dell Drivers. The Dell Touchpad Driver/Utility is listed under Mouse, Keyboard, and Input Devices.
  - That your newer computer has a Dell Precision Touchpad. To determine whether your computer has the Dell Precision Touchpad, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Use the Precision Touchpad Features in Windows and see the Troubleshooting a Slow Moving Cursor section for instructions on how to change the settings when your computer does have the Dell Precision Touchpad.
4. Touch or click the figure of the touchpad.
5. Touch or click Sensitivity.
6. Move the slider under Pointer Speed to adjust the cursor speed to the wanted level.
7. Touch or click Save.
8. Touch or click the X in the upper-right corner to close the Dell Touchpad Utility.
9. Touch or click OK on the Mouse Properties window.
1. Press and hold the Windows ( ) key, and then press the Q key.
2. In the Search box type, main.cpl.
3. Click or touch main.cpl in the list of programs.
4. Click or touch the Dell Touchpad or Cypress Trackpad tab.
  NOTES:
  When the Dell Touchpad or Cypress Trackpad tab is not listed, it means one of two things:
  - The utility is not installed. In that case, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Download and Install Dell Drivers. The Dell Touchpad or Cypress Trackpad Driver/Utility is listed under Mouse, Keyboard, and Input Devices.
  - That your newer computer has a Dell Precision Touchpad. To determine whether your computer has the Dell Precision Touchpad, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Use the Precision Touchpad Features in Windows and see the Troubleshooting a Slow Moving Cursor section for instructions on how to change the settings when your computer does have the Dell Precision Touchpad.
  How to Check if Dell Touchpad Drivers are Installed in Windows 8(8.1)
  Duration: 01:40 When available, closed caption (subtitles) language settings can be chosen using the Settings or CC icon on this video player.
5. Touch or click the figure of the touchpad.
6. Touch or click Sensitivity.
7. Move the slider under Pointer Speed to adjust the cursor speed to the wanted level.
8. Touch or click Save.
9. Touch or click the X in the upper-right corner to close the Dell Touchpad or Cypress Trackpad Utility.
10. Touch or click OK on the Mouse Properties window.
Turn off the computer.
Unplug any devices, including the following:
- Speakers
- Printers
- Scanners
- Other USB devices even an external keyboard
- USB flash drive or other external storage devices
Turn the computer back on and retest the cursor movement.
When the touchpad still does not work after following the preceding steps, Dell offers a utility that checks the health of your computer's hardware and software called SupportAssist.

SupportAssist is now preinstalled on most of all new Dell computers running the Windows Operating System, and can be found by:
1. Touch or click the Start button.
2. Scroll until you see the Dell folder.
3. Touch or click the Dell folder.
4. Touch or click SupportAssist.
5. Touch or click Hardware Checkup.
6. Touch or click Scan a Specific Device.
7. Scroll down until Mouse is listed. NOTE:
  Depending on your specific hardware configuration, you may have more than one listing for Mouse. Hover your pointer over the Mouse listings, and you see a description that reads either:
8. Touch or click the wanted device, and follow the instructions.
  NOTE: When there is more than one listing for a mouse, it means you probably have an additional mouse connected to the computer. You can test them individually if you want.

Ensure that there is nothing preventing the touchpad buttons from moving. Most touchpad buttons have some sort of clicking noise or tactile response when pressed down all the way.
Ensure the touchpad and your finger do not have any dirt, grease, liquids, or food on them.
Save any data, close any open programs, and restart the computer. When you do not have a mouse or touch screen, you may have to hold the power button down for at least 15 seconds to turn the computer off, and you lose any data that is not saved.
NOTE: Do not touch the touchpad until the computer is booted, as it goes through a calibration process during booting.
Turn the computer back on and retest the touchpad buttons.
NOTE: Do not touch the touchpad until the computer is booted, as it goes through a calibration process during booting.
Ensure that the touchpad is turned on. For more information, see Dell Knowledge Base article Disabling or Enabling the Touchpad on a Dell Laptop.
Some laptops have a setting to turn the touchpad buttons off and on. Ensure that the touchpad buttons are turned on.

Select the tab below that matches the Microsoft Windows operating systemthat is installed on your computer, to find out more information.
1. In the Search box, type main.cpl.
2. Touch or click main.cpl in the list of programs.
3. Touch or click the Dell Touchpad tab.
  Note
  : When the Dell Touchpad tab is not listed, it means that the utility is not installed. In that case, see Dell Knowledge Base article
  How to Download and Install Dell Drivers
  . The Dell Touchpad Driver/Utility is listed under Mouse, Keyboard, and Input Devices.
4. Touch or click the figure of the touchpad.
5. Touch or click Buttons.
6. Touch or click the Touchpad Buttons On/Off toggle, to switch the touchpad buttons on or off.
7. Touch or click Save.
8. Touch or click the X in the upper-right corner to close the Dell Touchpad Utility.
9. Touch or click OK on the Mouse Properties window.
1. Press and hold the Windows ( ) key, and then press the Q key.
2. In the Search box, type main.cpl.
3. Touch or click main.cpl in the list of programs.
4. Touch or click the Dell Touchpad tab.
  Note
  : When the Dell Touchpad tab is not listed, it means that the utility is not installed. In that case, see Dell Knowledge Base article
  How to Download and Install Dell Drivers
  . The Dell Touchpad Driver/Utility is listed under Mouse, Keyboard, and Input Devices.
5. Touch or click the figure of the touchpad.
6. Touch or click Buttons.
7. Touch or click the Touchpad Buttons On/Off toggle, to switch the touchpad buttons on or off.
8. Touch or click Save.
9. Touch or click the X in the upper-right corner to close the Dell Touchpad Utility.
10. Touch or click OK on the Mouse Properties window.
Touchpad Not Working
Duration: 01:40 When available, closed caption (subtitles) language settings can be chosen using the Settings or CC icon on this video player.
Ensure that the BIOS is updated to the latest version. For more information, see Dell Knowledge Base article Dell BIOS Updates.
When the touchpad still does not work after following the preceding steps, Dell offers a utility that checks the health of your computer's hardware and software called SupportAssist.

SupportAssist is now preinstalled on most of all new Dell computers running the Windows Operating System and can be found by:
1. Touch or click the Start button.
2. Scroll until you see the Dell folder.
3. Touch or click the Dell folder.
4. Touch or click SupportAssist.
5. Touch or click Hardware Checkup.
6. Touch or click Scan a Specific Device.
7. Scroll down until Mouse is listed. NOTE:
  Depending on your specific hardware configuration, you may have more than one listing for Mouse. Hover your pointer over the Mouse listings, and you see a description that reads either:
8. Touch or click the wanted device, and follow the instructions.
  NOTE: When there is more than one listing for a mouse, it means you probably have an additional mouse connected to the computer. You can test them individually if you want.

When performing the preceding steps and the touchpad still does not work correctly, you can use a restore point to take the operating system to a time the touchpad worked (in Windows 10, it is called refreshing the operating system). If that does not work, you must reinstall your operating system. For more information, see Dell Knowledge Base article Factory Reset, Restore, or Reinstall Microsoft Windows on a Dell computer.

There may be scenarios where the functions of the touchpad buttons have accidentally been changed, or you want to change them.

Click the tab that matches the operating system installed on your computer and perform the steps within that section to change the settings.

In the search box, type Touchpad.
Touch or click Mouse and touchpad settings (System settings).
Under Select your primary button, use the drop-down menu to select whether you want the Left or the Right button to be the primary button (the one that selects items).

Press and hold the Windows ( ) key, and then press the Q key.
In the search box, type Touchpad.
Touch or click Mouse and touchpad settings.
Under Select your primary button, use the drop-down menu to select whether you want the Left or the Right button to be the primary button (the one that selects items).

Save any data, close any open programs, and restart the computer. When the touchpad and keyboard do not respond at all, and you do not have an external mouse, you may have to press and hold the power button down for at least 15 seconds to turn the computer off, and you lose any data that is not saved.
Ensure that the BIOS is updated to the latest version. For more information, see Dell Knowledge Base article Dell BIOS Updates.
Ensure that Windows has the latest updates. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article Windows Update: FAQ.

Run the SupportAssist application.
1. Press and hold the Windows ( ) key, and then press the Q key.
2. In the Search box type, supportassist.
  NOTE: When SupportAssist is not listed, go to the next step.
3. Use the up or down arrows to select SupportAssist (App) in the list of programs, and then press the Enter key.
4. Press the Tab key until Start now is selected.
  NOTE: It may take as many as eleven times, pressing the Tab key to select Start now.
5. The application looks for updated drivers and scans your hardware and optimizes your computer. Follow the prompts.
NOTE: When the preceding steps have not resolved your issue, go to the next step.
Uninstall the mouse driver, and let Windows reinstall it.
1. Press and hold the Windows ( ) key, and then press the Q key.
2. In the Search box type device manager.
3. Use the up or down arrows to select Device Manager(Control panel) in the list of programs, and then press the Enter key.
4. Press the Tab key.
5. Use the down arrow to select Mice and other pointing devices, and then use the right arrow key to expand it.
6. Use the down arrow to select the first listing for Dell Touchpad or HID-compliant mouse.
7. Press and hold the Shift key, and then press the F10 key.
  NOTE: On some laptops, you must press and hold the shift key and then press and hold the Fn key, and then press F10 key.
8. Use the down arrow to select Uninstall device and then press the Enter key.
9. Ensure that Uninstall is selected and press the Enter key.
NOTE: See the next step on how to restart the computer.
Restart the computer.
1. Press the Windows ( ) key.
2. Press the Tab key until the Expand icon is selected.
3. Press the down arrow until the power icon is selected.
4. Press the Enter key.
5. Press the down arrow until Shut down is selected.
6. Press the Enter key. The computer reboots.

When you experience a "wobbly touchpad" on your Dell laptop, perform the following steps.

Using the SupportAssist application provides automatic computer updates and detects issues that areresolved for you. Let us take the effort out of maintaining your Dell Computer or Tablet. For more information about SupportAssist, browse to the SupportAssist for PCs and tablets
If the issue persists Contact Dell Technical Support.

The following videos are for Windows11 or Windows10.