touchpad settings not working

Hi emmanuel singh,

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve lost the access to two‑finger scrolling after a support session. Since Q&A Assist already covered the basic checks, I recommend you try them out first. If they don’t work, continue with more nuclear suggestions below:

1 - Check if this is driver issue and restore the correct one

• On your PC, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad
  • Check for Your PC has a precision touchpad at the top of the screen
  • If that text is missing, gesture support is disabled at driver level.
• Identify your PC model > Go to the manufacturer’s official support website
• Download and install the latest touchpad / pointing device driver > restart PC.

2 - Check if the touchpad device was disabled at firmware level

• Enter BIOS / UEFI:
  • Open Settings > System > Recovery > Advanced startup > Restart now
  • Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings > Restart
• Look for Internal pointing device / Touchpad / similar > Make sure it is Enabled

Disclaimer: If you are going to modify BIOS Settings, please back up all your personal files first to ensure you do not lose data.

3 - Reinstallation repair (keeping files and apps)

• Use built-in repair option:
  • Open Settings > System > Recovery > Fix problems using Windows Update
  • Click Reinstall now > follow the onscreen instructions to reinstall Windows.
• Perform an in-place upgrade:
  • Refer to Reinstall Windows with the installation media - Microsoft Support
  • Navigate to the bottom of the page and expand In-place Upgrade.  
  • You can also check out the instructions from one of the Moderators here: How to run In-place upgrade in Windows 11 - Microsoft Q&A

Disclaimer: Both Windows reinstallation and in-place upgrade will refresh your Windows files and operating system without removing files or applications. That being said, we always recommend that if you have important data, you should back it up first before making large system changes.

If the manufacturer driver is installed but gestures are still missing, this confirms a deeper configuration change, and reinstalling Windows is sometimes the only supported way to restore defaults.

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Follow these steps in order.

1. Check that the touchpad and two‑finger scroll are enabled
   • On Windows 11: Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad.
   • On Windows 10: Start > Settings > Devices > Touchpad.
   • Make sure Touchpad is turned On.
   • In the Scroll & zoom or similar section, ensure Drag two fingers to scroll (or two‑finger scrolling) is turned On.
2. If options are missing or still do not work, update the touchpad driver
   • Use Windows Update (recommended):
     • Go to Settings > Windows Update and install all available updates, including drivers.
   • Or use Device Manager:
     • Open Device Manager.
     • Look under Human Interface Devices and Mice and other pointing devices for the touchpad device.
     • Right‑click the touchpad entry and choose Update driver, then follow the prompts.
3. If updating does not help, reinstall the touchpad driver
   • In Device Manager, under Human Interface Devices or Mice and other pointing devices, right‑click the touchpad device and choose Uninstall device.
   • Confirm, then restart the PC.
   • Windows will reinstall the touchpad using the latest driver from Windows Update.
4. If two‑finger scroll is still unavailable
   • The previous support session may have installed or changed an incompatible driver or disabled the device at a lower level.
   • After completing the steps above, if the problem persists, contact the device manufacturer’s support so they can provide the correct touchpad driver package for that specific model.

References:

• Surface touchpad use and settings
• Precision touchpad tuning (touchpad-tuning-guidelines)
• Fix touchpad problems in Windows