Are you on your phone right now? Let me guess because your laptop’s mouse is frozen. A frozen mouse is one of the most annoying things in the world. And it mostly tends to happen when you need to use it the most. A laptop’s mouse or the touchpad, to be precise, works similarly to a computer’s mouse and if you are into gaming you should get the best fps gaming mice available in the market.
How to Unfreeze Your Laptop’s Mouse
The laptop’s mouse also gets stuck, similar to a computer’s mouse. There are many ways a laptop mouse might freeze. It might be stuck in one place or might freeze while you’re typing. Sometimes it freezes and disappears like a rabbit in a magician’s hat. Or it’ll dance all over the screen as if high on something.
Turning it Off and On
What’s the first solution that comes to your mind? Restart your laptop, right? But your mouse is stuck! Well, no worries, as you can do this using keyboard commands. Just follow the steps below, and you should be good to go.
Step 1
Press the “Ctrl,” “Alt,” and “Delete” keys simultaneously. This will open up a window that’ll give you options like restart or using task manager. But you still can’t use them without your mouse. So, moving on to step 2.
Step 2
Now press “Alt” and “U” together.
Step 3
Press R, and your laptop will restart. Restarting will get rid of any bugs or problematic software that might be affecting the touchpad’s function. But if the problem persists, no worries as we’ve got you!
Enable Trackpad Using Function Keys
Maybe your trackpad is stuck because you accidentally disabled it. Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. So how does one fix this problem? Simple, press the “Fn” (Function) key. It’s usually present at the bottom of your keyboard between Ctrl and Alt. Press the “Fn” key with either F5, F7, 58, or F9. One of the keys will re-enable the trackpad if it was accidentally disabled.
You might be wondering why there’s such a range of keys for the same function. This is due to the different manufacturers. A key that might enable your trackpad might be doing a completely different function on another laptop. I just enabled so many unnecessary functions trying to check which one worked for me (T.T). Hence, if the keys don’t enable your trackpad, press Fn again to disable the function that the key performs.
The Software Might Be the Problem
Maybe the problem isn’t the trackpad itself but the Trackpad software. You can solve this issue by ending the task in the “Task Manager” and re-enabling the software. This might get your mouse to unfreeze. To do so, proceed accordingly:
Step 1
Press “Ctrl” + “Alt” + “Delete” simultaneously. Using the arrow key, select “Task Manager.”
Step 2
Locate the exact name of your touchpad software with the help of arrow keys.
Step 3
Press “E” to end the task. After ending the task, hold “Alt + F” to open the “File Menu” in Task Manager.
Step 4
Press “N” and type the exact name of your laptop’s trackpad software name, word for word. Afterwards, press the “Enter” key, and you should be good to go.
Updating Trackpad Driver
If following the previous method did nothing, then maybe your trackpad’s driver is outdated. Yup! Like every other driver, trackpad drivers can go out of date as well and might need updating.
Step 1
Press the “Window” key and type “Mouse Settings” in the search bar and “Enter.”
Step 2
Use the “Tab” key to navigate to “Additional Mouse Options”. After which, press “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “Tab” to further navigate to the “Hardware” tab.
Step 3
Using the arrow keys, highlight your trackpad. Then “Tab” down to “Properties” and press “Enter.”
Step 4
Use “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “Tab” to navigate the tabs to “Driver.” Using “Tab,” navigate to “Update Drivers” if the option exists and press “Enter.”
Step 5
The final step is to restart your laptop by pressing “Ctrl” + “Alt” + “Delete.” Then “Alt” + “U” and then pressing “R.” Once your laptop restarts, your trackpad should be back on track.
Uninstall the Driver
The heading might’ve given you a shock, right? But you might need to do so if your trackpad is still frozen. Don’t worry, as you’ll still be able to use your mouse as your laptop’s OS (Operating System) will re-install a generic driver for you. So how do you uninstall a trackpad driver? By following the steps below:
Step 1
Press the “Window” key and type “Mouse Settings” in the search bar and “Enter.”
Step 2
Use the “Tab” to navigate “Additional Mouse Options.” Once done, use “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “ Tab” to navigate the “Hardware” tab and highlight the Trackpad using the arrow keys.
Step 3
“Tab” down to “Properties” and press the “Enter” key. After that, use “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “tab” to navigate the tab to “Drivers.”
Step 4
Use “Tab” to navigate down to “Uninstall Device” if it’s an option available to you and press “Enter.”
Step 5
Restart your laptop using (you guessed it) “Ctrl” + “Alt” + “Delete,” then “Alt” + U, and lastly, “R.”
Check for Physical Damage
After pressing keys like a pianist to get your trackpad to work, it might not still be working. Maybe the issue isn’t with the software. Maybe the problem is because of some external damage to the hardware. Maybe you spilled something on it or used it too aggressively.
In this case, it’s best to have a professional take a look at it. If you don’t see any visible damage on the outside, getting it professionally checked is better. They’ll know what to do with the device and fix any problems that might’ve been unknown to someone who isn’t exactly aware of the internal workings of a laptop.
Use an External Mouse
The last resort to this issue is to get an external mouse to use instead. As the mouse has nothing to do with the trackpad, you’ll be able to use it without a hassle. Also, they come in various designs so you can choose the one you like. What’s more, you can even choose how to connect it with your laptop. Whether you want to connect it using a USB cable or via Bluetooth is all up to you.
Related Mouse Guides: Mechanical vs Optical Mouse | How to reset Logitech mouse
To Sum it Up
There’s nothing as important as a frozen mouse. It makes you feel as if your limbs have been tied together and rendered useless. So how do you get free? Use any of the methods mentioned in this article to get your control on your laptop’s trackpad. All the methods are explained in a step-by-step way so you can unfreeze your mouse in no time. If none of them seem to work in the end, then you might have to restore to using an external mouse.