The touchpad on a laptop is a convenient way to add the functionality of a mouse without needing an extra peripheral. When the touchpad is enabled or unlocked, the touchpad has the same functionality as an external mouse. When the touchpad is disabled or locked, the touchpad doesn’t work, preventing the mouse cursor’s accidental movement with your palm while typing. When disabled, the need for an external mouse is required.
The exact steps to enable or disable the touchpad may differ slightly, depending on the laptop’s manufacturer, so you may need to use some intuition to achieve your desired outcome.
Steps to try first
TouchPad Button: Some laptops have a button near the top of the touchpad that lets you quickly enable and disable the touchpad. You can toggle the touchpad off and on with that button.
If your laptop’s touchpad does not work after trying to enable it using the steps below, see: Why is my laptop mouse touchpad not working?
- Steps to try first.
- How to disable the touchpad in Windows 8 and 10.
- How to disable the touchpad in Windows 7 and earlier.
- How to disable the touchpad in macOS.
- How to disable the touchpad on a Chromebook.
- How to enable the touchpad in Windows 8 and 10.
- How to enable the touchpad in Windows 7 and earlier.
- How to enable the touchpad in macOS.
- How to enable the touchpad on a Chromebook.
TouchPad Fn keys: Some laptops have an Fn keyboard key that, in combination with one of the F1 - F12 function keys, can enable and disable the touchpad. To toggle the touchpad off and on, press both shortcut keys at the same time.
How to disable the touchpad in Windows 8 and 10
Using a mouse and keyboard
- Press Windows key, type touchpad, and press Enter. Or, press Windows key+I to open Settings and choose Devices, then Touchpad.
- In the Touchpad Settings window, click the Touchpad toggle switch to the Off position.
The icon associated with toggling the touchpad is often indicated by a rectangle with a line under it. It may also have a pointing finger or a circle near or over a rectangle.
Using a keyboard only
- Press Windows key, type touchpad, and press Enter. Or, press Windows key+I to open Settings and use Tab, arrow keys, and Enter to choose Devices, then Touchpad.
- In the Touchpad settings window, press Tab until the Touchpad toggle switch is selected.
- Press spacebar to change the toggle switch to the Off position.
Once the touchpad is disabled, you need an external mouse to navigate in Windows, or you can use your keyboard to navigate in Windows. See: How to navigate Windows using a keyboard.
How to disable the touchpad in Windows 7 and earlier
Press Windows key, type Control Panel, and then press Enter.
Select Hardware and Sound.
Under Devices and Printers, select Mouse.
In the Mouse Properties window, select the tab labeled TouchPad, ClickPad, Device Settings, or something similar.
There should be an option for enabling and disabling the TouchPad. It may be a button or a checkbox. Select the Disable option and click OK.
Press Windows key, type Control Panel, and press Enter.
Use your keyboard to navigate to Hardware and Sound, and press Enter.
Use your keyboard to navigate to Mouse (located under the Devices and Printers section) and press Enter.
Use the keyboard combination Ctrl+Tab to move to the TouchPad, ClickPad, Device Settings, or similar tab, and press Enter.
Use your keyboard to navigate to the checkbox that lets you enable or disable the touchpad. Press spacebar to toggle to the off position.
Tab down and select Apply, then OK.
How to disable the touchpad in macOS
With macOS, you cannot disable the MacBook trackpad until an external mouse is plugged in or connected via Bluetooth. Once you have a mouse connected, follow the instructions below.
If there are several devices listed in the Device Settings tab, you need to select the touchpad in the device list and then click the Disable button.
If using the Device Settings tab, press Tab until the Synaptics Touchpad or similar touchpad device name is highlighted. If multiple devices are listed, you may need to press the up or down arrow to select the touchpad device in the list. Press Tab again until the Disable button is selected, then press Enter.
In the menu bar, click the Apple icon.
Select System Preferences in the Apple menu.
Scroll down to select the Pointer Control panel.
Check the box for the Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present option.
How to disable the touchpad on a Chromebook
Disable touchpad tap-to-click functionality
The tap-to-click functionality for a Chromebook touchpad can be turned off while still allowing you to use the touchpad to move the mouse cursor. The steps below show you how to disable tap-to-click.
When your external mouse is unplugged or otherwise disconnected, the trackpad is automatically enabled again.
- Using the touchpad or a mouse, click the bottom-right corner of the Chromebook screen, where the time and battery icon are located.
- In the window that pops up, click the gear icon , usually located near the top-right or bottom-left corner, to access the Chromebook settings.
- In the Settings window, in the left navigation menu, click the Device option.
- Scroll down to the Touchpad section. To the right of the Enable tap-to-click option, click the toggle to the off position.
Disable all touchpad functionality
To completely disable the Chromebook touchpad, follow the steps below.
- Open the Chrome browser.
- In the address bar at the top of the browser window, type chrome://flags/#ash-debug-shortcuts and press Enter.
- A list of Chrome OS settings is displayed. The top setting should be Debugging keyboard shortcuts and highlighted in yellow. To the right of that setting, click the drop-down menu and select Enabled.
- Click the Restart button that appears in the bottom-right corner of the Chrome browser window.
- After the Chromebook restarts, press Search key+Shift+P keyboard shortcut to disable the touchpad.
How to enable the touchpad in Windows 8 and 10
- Press Windows key, type touchpad, and press Enter. Or, press Windows key+I to open Settings and choose Devices, then Touchpad.
- In the Touchpad settings window, click the Touchpad toggle switch to the On position.
Once the touchpad is disabled, you need an external mouse to navigate on the Chromebook.
- Press Windows key, type touchpad, and press Enter. Or, press Windows key+I to open Settings and use the Tab key, arrow keys, and Enter key to choose Devices, then Touchpad.
- In the Touchpad Settings window, press Tab until the Touchpad toggle switch is selected.
- Press spacebar to change the toggle switch to the On position.
How to enable the touchpad in Windows 7 and earlier
- Press Windows key, type Control Panel, and press Enter.
- Select Hardware and Sound.
- Under Devices and Printers, select Mouse.
- In the Mouse Properties window, select the tab labeled TouchPad, ClickPad, Device Settings, or something similar.
- There should be an option for enabling and disabling the TouchPad. It may be a button or a checkbox. Select the Enable option and click OK.
Using the keyboard only
- Press Windows key, type Control Panel, and press Enter.
- Use your keyboard to navigate to Hardware and Sound, and press Enter.
- Use your keyboard to navigate to Mouse (located under the Devices and Printers section) and press Enter.
- Use the keyboard combination Ctrl+Tab to move to the TouchPad, ClickPad, Device Settings, or the similar option tab, and press Enter.
- Use your keyboard to navigate to the checkbox that les you to enable or disable the touchpad. Press spacebar to toggle it on or off.
How to enable the touchpad in macOS
In macOS, the touchpad cannot be disabled entirely, but it can be temporarily disabled if a mouse is connected. If you have a mouse connected, disconnect the mouse and verify the touchpad is enabled and working again.
If there are multiple devices listed in the Device Settings tab, you need to select the touchpad in the device list and then click the Enable button.
If using the Device Settings tab, press Tab until the Synaptics Touchpad or similar touchpad device name is highlighted. If multiple devices are listed, you may need to press the up or down arrow to select the touchpad device in the list. Press Tab again until the Enable button is selected, then press Enter.
If you want the touchpad enabled even when a mouse is connected, follow the instructions below.
- Scroll down to select the Pointer Control panel.
- Uncheck the box for the Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present option.
How to enable the touchpad on a Chromebook
Enable touchpad tap-to-click functionality
If the tap-to-click functionality for the Chromebook touchpad is disabled, follow the steps below to turn it back on.
- Using a mouse, click the bottom-right corner of the Chromebook screen, where the time and battery icon are located.
- In the window that pops up, click the gear icon , usually located near the top-right or bottom-left corner, to access the Chromebook settings.
- In the Settings window, in the left navigation menu, click the Device option.
- Scroll down to the Touchpad section. To the right of the Enable tap-to-click option, click the toggle to the on position.
Enable all touchpad functionality
To enable the touchpad, press Search key+Shift+P keyboard shortcut.
If pressing the keyboard shortcut does not enable the touchpad, the advanced keyboard shortcuts are likely disabled. To enable those shortcuts, follow the steps below.
- Open the Chrome browser.
- In the address bar at the top of the browser window, type chrome://flags/#ash-debug-shortcuts and press Enter.
- A list of Chrome OS settings is displayed. The top setting should be Debugging keyboard shortcuts and highlighted in yellow. To the right of that setting, click the drop-down menu and select Enabled.
- Click the Restart button that appears in the bottom-right corner of the Chrome browser window to restart the Chromebook.
After the Chromebook restarts, try pressing Search key+Shift+P keyboard shortcut again. If the touchpad still is not enabled and working, the touchpad may be defective and need to be replaced.
Related information
- Why is my laptop mouse touchpad not working?
- Laptop touchpad cursor jumps around while not touching it.
- Disable accidental clicks while typing on your laptop.
- How to turn off or disable a laptop keyboard.
- Mouse and touchpad help and support.
