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 does mean it’s possible to lock your HP laptop accidentally. If that happens, here are a few different ways to unlock a laptop with a touchpad.
HP Laptops with Synaptics Touchpads
If you have an HP laptop with one of its newer Synaptics Touchpads and the latest drivers installed, you may be able to unlock the touchpad with a quick press. Just double-tap in the top-left corner of the touchpad. You may see a little light in that same corner turn off. If you don’t see the light, your touchpad should now be working—the light displays when the touchpad is locked. You can also disable the touchpad again in the future by performing the same action. Some Synaptics Touchpads also respond to a long, five-second press in the top-left corner, so if the double-tap doesn’t work, try that instead.
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. If the small LED displays either yellow, orange, or blue, then the touchpad is locked. Double-tap the sensor to re-enable the touchpad. As with Synaptics Touchpads, this should turn the touchpad back on. You can lock it again later, using the same method, at which point the light should turn on.
HP Touchpad Locked and Unresponsive? Try This
If the above steps for enabling the touchpad don’t work, you can try a couple of additional methods that should work across all HP laptops and operating systems.
Control Panel
You can access touchpad settings in the Control Panel.
Device Manager
Another place to view touchpad settings is in the Device Manager.
