How to fix the touchpad doesn't work in Linux

Over the years since its first launch, Linux has become easier to use. Previously, making this operating system work could also be considered a victory, but now we consider it obvious. However, things don't always work perfectly.

Laptops, especially new ones, may still have problems with Linux. Common problems related to WiFi and battery management, but the touchpad is also a common mistake. Unfortunately, these touchpad problems can be difficult to diagnose and fix.

Before you start

If the touchpad does not work and you are connecting to the mouse, check System Settings to make sure that the ' Disabled touchpad when mouse is connected ' option is not activated.

Basic troubleshooting

Assuming the touchpad is completely inactive, you can check if the system recognizes it. Try running the following command:

 cat /proc/bus/input/devices 

If the output is too long, you can use less instead of cat. You can also run the following command:

 cat /proc/bus/input/devices | grep -I touchpad 

You will see a result similar to the following:

 I: Bus=0011 Vendor=0002 Product=0007 Version=01b1 N: Name="SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" P: Phys=isa0060/serio2/input0 S: Sysfs=/devices/platform/i8042/serio2/input/input8 U: Uniq= H: Handlers=mouse2 event8 B: EV=b B: KEY=420 0 70000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B: ABS=11000003 

If you do not receive any output similar to the above, you will have to handle a kernel or hardware error that is completely unrecognized. On the other hand, if you see a message regarding touchpad, try the following command:

 xinput list 

If you get results from the xinput, that's good news. This means you need to install the appropriate driver or just configure it.

Before continuing, you can start with the mouse and use it to try the graphic touchpad settings menu. The location of this menu depends on the desktop you are using. Maybe simply the touchpad is not activated. If that's the case you're having it, just tick the box to activate it.

Find out which driver you need

Once you have a 'clue' from xinput, you may need to install the appropriate driver. Suppliers of popular touchpads include Synaptics, ALPS and Elantech.

On some modern Linux systems, installing the following packages will include support for the touchpads of the above vendors:

 xserver-xorg-input-libinput xserver-xorg-input-evdev xserver-xorg-input-mouse 

In some cases, you may need to install another driver package such as:

 xserver-xorg-input-synaptics 

Other ways to troubleshoot

The majority of Linux's touchpad problems are due to missing drivers. That means there are a few other options you may need to check.

On some laptops, the touchpad can be completely disabled in the BIOS. You can see it is listed by xinput, but does not work. Be sure to check this out before throwing your laptop into the trash.

Many laptops have a hardware switch to disable the touchpad. Typically, this feature works by holding down the Fn key plus one of the function keys on the keyboard.

Touchpad still doesn't work?

The last thing you can try if the touchpad is still inactive and you are using an older distribution is to try a newer Linux distribution. It will take some time and effort, but the new distributions possess newer kernels, which means better hardware support.

If you are using a new distribution and the touchpad still does not work, you must resort to the final option of using the mouse instead. A wireless mouse with a dongle is not an ideal choice, but it is better not to have any mouse to use. If you want to dig deeper, check out the list of TipsMake.com 's best gaming mice .

Wish you a successful troubleshooting!