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The first touchscreen Chromebook came out in 2013. Since then, users have been Enable and Disable Touchpad on Chromebooks input for games, apps for taking notes, and more. But as a Chromebook Expert at Best Buy, I’ve learned that not everyone loves or prefers a touchscreen device, no matter how convenient they may be.
It’s not just the touchscreen, though. The Chromebook’s touchpad can also be annoying or hard to use and get in the way for some people. Typing without lifting your hands off the keyboard space can also cause strange things to happen, like clicking out of text fields or away from the page you want to be on.
Disable Your Chromebook’s Touchpad
- Press the Search or Launcher key on your Chromebook’s keyboard.
- Type or paste chrome://flags/#ash-debug-shortcuts in the search bar and press Enter.
- Type keyboard in the search bar, open the Debugging keyboard shortcuts drop-down menu, and select Enabled.
- Select Restart or Relaunch to continue. That’ll reboot your Chromebook and disable its touchpad.
Re-Enable Your Chromebook’s Touchpad
- You can re-enable your touchpad without entering the Chrome Flags menu or rebooting your Chromebook.
- Press Search + Shift + T on your keyboard to turn your Chromebook’s touchpad back on.
- Touch, tap, or swipe your Chromebook’s touchpad and check if it works. Reboot your Chromebook if the touchpad doesn’t detect touch or swipe gestures.
FAQ
Why is there no touchpad setting on my Chromebook?
You may have inadvertently turned off the touchpad, and if that’s the case, all you need to do is turn it back on. Change how the touchpad works. Go to Settings > TouchPad and turn off features like tap-to-click, touchpad acceleration, and touchpad speed. Changing that behavior might get the touchpad working again.
Why is there no option to turn off touchpad?
Right-click on the Windows Start button and go to Settings. Then, navigate to Devices and go to Touchpad from the left-sidebar. Turn off the Touchpad toggle to disable the touchpad. You may only see the touchpad’s sensitivity settings, which means that you can’t disable it in the Settings app.
Why isn’t my touchpad working?
On Windows 10, head to Settings > Devices > Touchpad. This is under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad on Windows 11. Here, make sure you have the Touchpad slider enabled. There’s also a box below this labeled Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected, as mentioned above.
What function keys enable TouchPad?
Some laptops have a hotkey that activates/deactivates the touchpad, so check your laptop’s manual to see if it has a FN + F1-12 hotkey that will enable it instead of going through the Settings > Touchpad menu.