If your Chromebook cursor has vanished or the touchpad has stopped responding, work through the checks below in order. They start with the quickest fixes. Most of them don’t need a working pointer. The steps follow Google’s Chromebook Help guidance, and the outcome depends on whether the cause is a setting, a software glitch or hardware.
The quick recovery sequence
- Clean the touchpad. Wipe away dust, dirt or residue. Google lists this as the first check for an unresponsive built-in touchpad.
- Press Esc several times. This can clear a stuck state.
- Drumroll your fingers on the touchpad for about ten seconds. This is also in Google’s guidance.
- Restart. Turn the Chromebook off and on again.
- Check the touchpad setting (see below).
- Hard reset if the touchpad is still dead. This is a later step. It isn’t guaranteed to work, and it doesn’t tell you what went wrong.
- Contact the manufacturer if nothing works.
Control the pointer from the keyboard with Mouse keys
Mouse keys let you move the pointer and click with the keyboard. You can then work through the other fixes even with a dead touchpad. Turn them on at Settings > Accessibility > Cursor and touchpad. Google’s “Use Mouse keys to control your cursor” page lists the exact keys for moving and clicking, and these can differ by keyboard.
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If you can’t open Settings with the pointer, use the keyboard. Alt+Shift+S opens the status area. Tab to the Settings gear and press Enter. After that, move through the Accessibility pages with Tab, the arrow keys and Enter. Menu labels vary by ChromeOS version.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesIf the touchpad was switched off in settings
Chromebooks have a setting that disables the built-in touchpad. Open Settings > Accessibility > Cursor and touchpad and find the built-in touchpad control. Google documents three choices:
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| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Never | The touchpad stays on. This is the documented default. |
| Always | The touchpad is off. Google says to press Shift five times to turn it back on. |
| When a mouse is connected | The touchpad is off only while an external mouse is attached. |
If the touchpad stops working whenever a USB or Bluetooth mouse is attached, the third option is the likely reason. Set it to Never to stop that.
If the pointer works but you can’t see it
A cursor you can’t find isn’t a broken touchpad. In Settings > Accessibility > Cursor and touchpad, make the cursor larger or turn on cursor highlighting. Both are listed in Google’s accessibility guide. Then wiggle your finger on the touchpad and watch for the highlight.
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Use an external mouse as a stopgap
A USB mouse or a Bluetooth mouse that works with Chromebooks gives you a second pointing device while you troubleshoot. Check that its connection type suits your Chromebook’s ports or Bluetooth. A mouse doesn’t fix the underlying problem. It also won’t tell you whether the cause was a setting, software or hardware. Remember that the “When a mouse is connected” option can switch off the touchpad.
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If cleaning, the Esc and drumroll tricks, a restart, the settings check and a hard reset all fail, Google’s guidance is to contact the Chromebook manufacturer. This applies most strongly if both the keyboard and the pointer have stopped working, because you can’t use the on-device steps then. These steps are general ChromeOS advice, not a diagnosis for your model. On a school or work Chromebook, an administrator may restrict some settings, so ask your IT team.
Quick Recap
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