Faulty Touchpad

Elisa 0 Reputation points
2026-07-24T20:23:53.3933333+00:00

I have had issues with my touchpad mouse click sporadically not working. Sometimes I can click left or right-click and other times it won't click at all, no allowing me to click and drag on a slide bar etc. I've tried several suggested troubleshoot options. Does anyone else have this issue or know how to fix it?

Surface | Surface Laptop | Performance and maintenance
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  1. AI answer

    2026-07-24T20:24:09.7633333+00:00

    For a Surface Laptop touchpad that intermittently stops registering left-click, right-click, or click-and-drag, the supported fixes are:

    1. Check and adjust mouse settings. Go to Start > Settings > Devices > Mouse and review the click and scrolling settings.
    2. Install the latest Windows updates. Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and install available updates. This is recommended for keyboard and mouse improvements.
    3. Update the touchpad driver. The recommended method is Windows Update. Touchpad drivers can also be updated in Device Manager. In Device Manager, look for the touchpad under:
      • Human Interface Devices
      • Mice and other pointing devices
    4. Reinstall the touchpad driver if updating does not help. Reinstalling through Device Manager can force the latest driver to download from Windows Update. Look for the touchpad under:
      • Human Interface Devices
      • Mice and other pointing devices
    5. Test whether the issue is hardware-related. If the pointing device does not work reliably, test with another PC when possible. If it also fails there, replacement may be needed.
    6. For Surface-specific clicking behavior, confirm the touchpad is physically registering clicks correctly:
      • Press the left side of the touchpad for left-click.
      • Press the right side of the touchpad for right-click.
      • For drag operations, press and hold the left touchpad button down and then slide a finger, or tap, immediately tap and hold, then drag.

    If updating and reinstalling the driver do not resolve the intermittent clicking, the next supported step is to contact the device manufacturer for help.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. S.Sengupta 32,351 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-07-25T01:43:31.4266667+00:00

    Since you've already tried the standard driver/update fixes, a few things worth trying if you haven't:

    Settings > Devices > Touchpad > scroll down > Reset — resets the touchpad driver config back to defaults specifically.

    UEFI test:

    Shut down the Surface.

    Press and hold Volume Up, then press the Power button.

    Release Power when the Surface logo appears but continue holding Volume Up until the UEFI menu opens.

    Try using the touchpad there.

    If the clicking is still intermittent in UEFI, it's likely a hardware issue.

    If it works perfectly in UEFI, Windows, drivers, or software are more likely responsible.

    Safe Mode test — if it works reliably in Safe Mode, a third-party app or background service is interfering.

    If none of that helps, a full Surface Diagnostic Toolkit run or reimage via USB Recovery Image is the next escalation before hardware service.

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