How to Enable the Touchpad on Your HP Laptop: A Simple Guide

What to Know

• For Synaptics Touchpads, double-tap the top-left corner to disable and enable.
• Or, open Settings and search for touchpad. Toggle it on to unlock the touchpad.
• Alternatively, enable the touchpad in Device Manager through the Driver tab.

This article explains how to lock and unlock the touchpad for an HP laptop.

HP Laptops With Synaptics Touchpads

The first thing we suggest trying is a simple double-tap in the top-left corner of the touchpad.

This should work if your laptop has a Synaptics Touchpad. You'll know it's unlocked if the light in the corner of the touchpad turns off—try a longer, five-second press if a single tap doesn't work.

How to Disable the Touchpad on Windows 11

If you have a Synaptics Touchpad that isn't responding to physical taps, check for driver updates.

HP Laptops With a Touchpad Switch

Some older HP laptops include a dedicated switch next to the touchpad to toggle it on and off. You'll spot it through its indicator light—yellow, orange, or blue means the touchpad is locked. Double-tap the sensor to enable the touchpad.

As with Synaptics Touchpads, this should turn the touchpad back on. You can lock it again using the same method (the light will turn back on).

HP Touchpad Locked and Unresponsive? Try This

Another way to unlock the touchpad is through Windows. The Settings app includes a toggle for managing touchpad functionality, and Device Manager is the tool you need to fix a disabled touchpad.

Unlock the Touchpad in Settings

Follow these steps to locate the touchpad toggle in Settings:

1. Open Settings (press WIN+i) and select Bluetooth & devices (Windows 11) or Devices (Windows 10).

2. Select Touchpad.

   

3. Toggle Touchpad on.
   

   

Use Device Manager to Unlock the Touchpad

Device Manager houses all the controls for hardware, including the touchpad. Check its settings to confirm that it's enabled.

1. Open Device Manager. One way is to press the Start button and then search for it.

2. Double-click the Mice and other pointing devices category.

3. Double-click or double-tap your touchpad. The one in our example is called HID-compliant mouse, but we've also seen Synaptics HID TouchPad.

4. Select the Driver tab at the top of the properties window.

5. Select Enable Device to enable the touchpad, or Disable Device to disable it.

   

How to Turn on the Touchpad on HP Laptops

HP laptops have long offered various options for turning off a touchpad should you not want it to get in the way of your typing, gameplay, or various other activities—especially when using an external mouse.

That also means it's possible to lock mouse functionality by accident. If that happens, the directions above provide easy ways to unlock a laptop with a touchpad.

However, there are other things you can try if your touchpad still doesn't work.

How to Fix a Touchpad That's Not Working on Windows 10