How to fix Windows 10 touch screen not working

Windows 10 is great for touchscreen devices, especially thanks to the touch-designed apps specifically for Windows Ink Workspace. But your touchscreen has confusingly stopped working, the majority of the problems are due to incompatible drivers, after Windows 10 update and many other reasons.

Use Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter

Windows 10 has a bunch of fixes that can detect problems and apply automatic fixes. One of the troubleshooters that can be used to fix your touchscreen error.

Step 1. Press the Windows + R key combination, type cmd and press Enter.

Step 2. Next at the command prompt, type msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic and press Enter. The Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter will immediately launch.

Step 3. Just click Next to let the troubleshooter find and fix the problem automatically.

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Touch screen calibration

When your touchscreen screen responds slowly or records inaccurate gestures, recalibration may be necessary. Here is how to perform touch screen calibration.

Step 1. Open the Start menu and search for the keyword calibrate, in the results that appear, choose Calibrate the screen for pen or touch.

Step 2. At the Display tab, click Setup and follow the instructions.

Step 3. Once done, click Calibrate and continue to do the editing.

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Disable and reopen the touch screen

You may have tried to restart your computer, but if you cannot solve the problem try disabling the hardware device of the touch screen and turning it on again.

Step 1. Press Windows + X, select Device Manager.

Step 2. Double-click on the line Human Interface Devices to open the complete list of drivers.

Step 3. Right-click the HID-compliant touch screen option> select Disable device. Select Yes in the warning dialog box.

Step 4. Finally, right-click on the HID-compliant touch screen option and select Enable device.

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Change Power Management settings

Windows 10 usually tries to save battery power for your device, but sometimes these settings can be overwhelming and turn off your touch screen after a period of operation. While the touch screen turns back on automatically when a touch is detected, sometimes they don't work properly. Hence, you can turn off the touchscreen's power saving feature to see if this fixes the problem.

Step 1. Press Windows + X, select Device Manager.

Step 2. Double-click on the line Human Interface Devices to open the complete list of drivers.

Step 3. Double-click the HID-compliant touch screen option and click the Power Management tab.

Step 4. Uncheck the line Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.

Click OK and reboot the system.

Update driver for touch screen

Your touch screen problem can be caused by a faulty driver. Perhaps the driver is corrupted or needs an update.

Visit your device manufacturer's website (such as HP, Dell, or Acer) and download the driver directly from the official support site. Then proceed to install and try again.

Move to another location

This sounds weird, but give it a try. Other electronic devices nearby may interfere with the touch screen. It could be something you've plugged into the same outlet or because you have multiple computers in close proximity.

Try taking your touchscreen device somewhere else and try it. If the device works, electromagnetic interference is the cause.

To solve this, let's go back to the original position and turn everything off. Then, re-enable them one by one to see the cause of the problem. If none of them appear to be faulty, check nearby areas for the device that caused the problem.

Lesley Montoya

Update 19 April 2021