Acer touchpad not working? Here’s how to fix it

Your Acer® laptop’s touchpad is essential for smooth navigation—until it suddenly stops responding, leaving you stuck. Whether your cursor won’t move, gestures aren’t working, or the touchpad is completely unresponsive, there are several potential causes, from outdated drivers to incorrect settings. 

Asurion Experts are tech's best friend. We’ve seen it all, and can help fix it all. Here's how we recommend you fix an Acer touchpad that’s stopped working.

Common Acer touchpad problems

Acer touchpad issues typically fall into one of two categories:

1. Acer touchpad not responding

An unresponsive touchpad won't respond to gestures you use to navigate your Acer laptop. You may find it impossible to control your cursor or select items on your screen. Outdated drivers, software conflicts, and settings issues may cause an unresponsive touchpad.

2. Acer touchpad stopped working after update

Sometimes, system or app updates may cause problems with your Acer touchpad. If you noticed the issue immediately after installing an update or app, that's likely the cause. 

How to fix a non-responsive Acer touchpad

If your Acer laptop's touchpad has stopped responding, there are several potential causes, from outdated drivers to misconfigured settings. Here’s how to troubleshoot and fix the issue.

Check touchpad settings

It's possible you disabled your touchpad accidentally or that its settings are incorrect. Follow these steps to review Acer touchpad settings.

1. Press the Windows and I keys at the same time to open the Settings menu.
2. Navigate to the Bluetooth & Devices menu. Select Touchpad. 
3. Confirm Touchpad is toggled On. Click the drop-down menu and verify the Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected option is checked. 
4. Review the Gestures & interaction menu settings to verify they reflect your preferences. 

Update touchpad drivers

Hardware manufacturers occasionally issue driver updates. If you don't have the most recent update, it may impact touchpad performance.

1. Right-click the Start menu. Click Device Manager. 
2. Expand the menu in the Mice and other pointing devices category. 
3. Right-click the touchpad device and select Update driver.
4. Select Search automatically for drivers to allow your device to find available updates online.
5. After installing the update, restart your device and try the touchpad again. 

Reinstall the touchpad driver

If there are no touchpad driver updates, or they don't fix the issue, try reinstalling the driver from scratch.

1. Right-click the Start menu and select Device Manager. 
2. Click the Mice and other pointing devices category to show available drivers.
3. Right-click the touchpad driver and select Uninstall device. 
4. Follow the on-screen prompts to uninstall and reinstall the touchpad driver. 

Test in Safe Mode

If you’ve tried the software updates without success, it may be time to boot in Safe Mode. Safe Mode launches the Windows operating system with only essential functions, allowing you to test your touchpad and isolate problems causing it to malfunction. 

1. Click the Start icon > Settings > Recovery.
2. Click Restart now under the Recovery options heading. 
3. Click Restart now when the prompt appears. The Acer laptop will restart and enter the Windows Recovery Environment.
4. Click Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings.
5. Click Restart. Use the F4 key to Enable Safe Mode. 

When your desktop appears in Safe Mode, try using the trackpad as you usually would. Open available apps and move the cursor around. If the touchpad works, there may be an issue with recently installed software. You can try uninstalling recent apps to fix the conflict. To identify recent app installations, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start icon > Settings > Apps.
2. Select Apps & Features > Installed Apps. 
3. In the Sort by drop-down menu, select Date installed.

A list of recently installed apps should appear. Review the list and try removing apps installed right before you began having Acer touchpad issues. 

Check for BIOS updates

Your laptop's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) provides various runtime services that support the operating system and facilitate startup processes. If it's outdated, the Acer touchpad may stop working normally. See if there are any available updates using these steps.

1. Navigate to Acer's Drivers and Manuals webpage. 
2. Enter your Acer laptop's model number, serial number, or Serial Number Identification Number (SNID). You'll find all three numbers on the back of your laptop. 
3. Select BIOS/Firmware and click the Download link for any updates that are applicable to your system.
4. Open the folder containing the downloaded file. Right-click on the file and select Extract All.
5. Double-click the extracted file to start the installation.
6. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the process.  

FAQ

Why is my Acer touchpad not working after a Windows update?

A Windows update may have reset your touchpad settings or installed an incompatible driver. Try enabling the touchpad in Settings or updating the driver.

How do I enable my Acer laptop touchpad if it's disabled?

Press Fn + F7 (or the function key with a touchpad icon) to enable the touchpad. If that doesn’t work, go to Settings > Devices > Touchpad and turn it on manually.

Can a touchpad stop working due to a hardware issue?

Yes, physical damage, a loose connection, or a faulty touchpad can cause it to stop responding. If software fixes don’t help, a hardware issue may be the cause. Reaching out to an Acer repair pro to diagnose the root of the issue is suggested.

How do I use an external mouse if my touchpad isn’t working?

You can connect a USB or Bluetooth® mouse to your laptop for temporary navigation. Go to Settings > Devices > Bluetooth & other devices to pair a Bluetooth mouse.

Should I reset my laptop if the touchpad isn’t working?

A factory reset should be a last resort. First, try updating drivers, enabling the touchpad in Settings, and performing a hard reset (hold the Power button for about 30 seconds until it shuts off). If none of those work, a system reset may help.