How to Disable the Touchpad on Windows 11, 10, and Mac (2026)

Aseem Kishore
·
4 min read

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Person seated at a laptop adjusting Bluetooth and touchpad settings on Windows, with a plant and books in the background.

Your cursor jumping to a random spot mid-sentence is a classic laptop frustration, and it’s worth a look at simply turning off the built-in touchpad. On Windows 11, Windows 10, and macOS, you can disable it in under a minute.

Fix #1: Disable the Touchpad in Windows 11 Settings

Use the Settings Toggle

The Settings toggle is the cleanest option, with no driver software or third-party tools required.

  1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
  2. Click Bluetooth & devices in the left sidebar.
  3. Select Touchpad.
  4. Click the Touchpad toggle at the top and switch it to Off.
Windows 11 Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad, with the Touchpad toggle at the top switched to Off

The touchpad deactivates immediately. No restart needed. This works even when vendor software like Synaptics or ELAN isn’t installed, as long as Windows has a basic touchpad driver loaded.

Fix #2: Use Device Manager if the Toggle Is Missing

If Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad doesn’t show the toggle, which is common on laptops running only a generic HID driver, Device Manager is the reliable fallback.

  1. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
  2. Expand Mice and other pointing devices. If the touchpad is not there, also expand Human Interface Devices.
  3. Find your touchpad, typically listed as Synaptics TouchPad, ELAN Touchpad, HID-compliant touchpad, or I2C HID Device. If several generic HID devices appear, check the device properties before disabling one.
  4. Right-click it and select Disable device.
  5. Click Yes to confirm.
Device Manager with "Mice and other pointing devices" expanded, a touchpad entry right-clicked showing the "Disable device"

To re-enable the touchpad, return to the same entry in Device Manager and choose Enable device.

Fix #3: Disable the Touchpad in Windows 10 Settings

Use the Settings Toggle

The path is slightly different on Windows 10, but the toggle is just as smooth.

  1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
  2. Click Devices.
  3. Select Touchpad from the left menu.
  4. Click the Touchpad toggle to switch it Off.
Windows 10 Settings > Devices > Touchpad with the Touchpad toggle switched to Off

If the toggle is missing on Windows 10, use the Device Manager method from the Windows 11 section above. The steps are identical.

Fix #4: Use the Fn Key for a Quick Hardware Toggle

Many Windows laptops include a dedicated touchpad key on the function row, a clever shortcut that requires no software settings at all.

  1. Look along the top row of your keyboard for a key with a small touchpad icon, usually a rectangle, sometimes with a finger or an X through it.
  2. Press Fn + that key to disable the touchpad.
  3. Press the same combination again to re-enable it.
Close-up of a laptop keyboard function row with the touchpad toggle key (showing a touchpad rectangle icon) highlighted

If pressing Fn + [touchpad key] doesn’t respond, your laptop may need the OEM driver package installed, or the Fn lock may be active; check your BIOS under Function Key Behavior.

Fix #5: Disable the Touchpad Permanently via BIOS/UEFI

For a firmware-level disable that survives driver reinstalls and full Windows resets, go into your BIOS settings.

  1. Restart your laptop.
  2. As soon as it powers on, press the BIOS key, usually F2, Del, or Esc. Check your laptop’s manual if you’re unsure which key.
  3. Navigate to the Advanced or Devices section.
  4. Find the option labeled Internal Pointing Device, Touchpad, or TrackPad.
  5. Set it to Disabled.
  6. Press F10 to save and exit.
BIOS/UEFI Advanced settings screen showing an "Internal Pointing Device" or "Touchpad" option set to Disabled

To reverse this, re-enter BIOS and set the same option back to Enabled. This is the only method that prevents the touchpad from reactivating after Windows Update installs a fresh driver.

Fix #6: Disable the Trackpad on macOS

macOS doesn’t have a standalone trackpad power toggle, but Apple documents an Accessibility option that ignores the built-in trackpad whenever an external mouse or wireless trackpad is connected.

  1. Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen.
  2. Select System Settings.
  3. Click Accessibility in the left sidebar.
  4. Scroll down and click Pointer Control.
  5. Turn on Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present.
macOS System Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control with the "Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present" toggle switched on

Once enabled, the built-in trackpad goes silent the moment you connect an external mouse. Nicely done. Unplug the mouse and it comes straight back, with no settings change required.

Using an older macOS? On Monterey and earlier, the path is System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse & Trackpad. The option label and behavior are identical.

Which Touchpad Method Should You Use?

The Settings toggle is the right starting point for most Windows users, via Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad on Windows 11 and Devices > Touchpad on Windows 10. If the toggle isn’t there, Device Manager is the next step. For Mac users, use Accessibility > Pointer Control when you want the built-in trackpad disabled only while an external mouse is connected.