Why Is My Laptop Touchpad Not Working All of a Sudden?

[lindamary]

My laptop touchpad not working has become a huge problem—no clicks, no movement. Could it be disabled, a driver issue, or a hardware fault? What’s the best way to diagnose and fix it?

 

[jimmy]

Sounds like your touchpad might just be disabled accidentally. On a lot of laptops, Fn + F5 / F7 / F9 toggles it on/off. I’ve turned mine off so many times without realizing it.
If that doesn’t work, check Device Manager → Mice & other pointing devices and see if the driver is showing a warning symbol. Updating or reinstalling the driver usually fixes sudden issues.

 

[ArthurMex]

Bro I swear these touchpads have a mind of their own. One minute they’re fine, next minute they’re like “nah, I’m done working today.”
Before you panic, try plugging in a mouse, restart the laptop, and see if the touchpad wakes up. 80% of the time it’s Windows acting dramatic.

 

[Lisa]

People keep saying “it’s the driver,” but honestly, hardware faults are common too. My HP laptop’s touchpad cable got loose just from daily use. If the keyboard or palm rest feels a bit weird recently, the internal ribbon cable might have popped out.
Don’t waste time reinstalling drivers if you recently dropped the laptop or opened it.

 

[captainghost]

Also check Windows Settings → Touchpad because sometimes updates randomly turn settings off. Happened to me after a Windows 11 update touchpad gestures were disabled for no reason.
If you see the toggle turned off, flip it back on and restart.

 

[jameswill8520]

Replying to the person above bro, Windows doesn’t “randomly disable gestures.”
It’s almost always the user or a messed-up driver.
Anyway, OP, try booting into BIOS and see if the touchpad works there. If it doesn’t, that’s a clear sign it’s hardware, not software.