Acer Swift 1 SF114-32 Unresponsive Touchpad

This is a common error that Acer users face and usually is not the result of a hardware failure. Instead, it can usually be caused by a driver glitch, settings change, or a software update.

Sometimes your laptop may seem unresponsive, or the screen stays locked in one frame for an extended period of time.

Try pressing Caps Lock to see if the light on the key turns on. If the light is unresponsive, the system is frozen. If this occurs, force the PC to restart.
If this does not work, try removing connected devices.
- This includes external keyboards, your mouse, any flash drives, hard drives, or other devices.

Sometimes your cursor is able to move but it behaves erratically, moving with different speeds, tapping randomly and clicking on items when you're typing. This can be fixed through adjusting your touchpad's sensitivity or disabling the tap to click function.

To adjust touchpad sensitivity:

Select the Start menu and click on Settings.
Select Devices.
Click on Touchpad in the menu on the left.
Choose the settings you want and close Settings.

To disable tap to click:

Select the Start menu and click on Settings.
Select Devices.
Click on Touchpad in the menu on the left.
Lower the sensitivity option or turn off the tapping options.
Close Settings to save these changes.

The Acer laptop, among others, can disable the touchpad using key combinations. The combinations of Fn + F2, Fn + F7, or Fn + F6 may cause this issue. The pop-up for this command is usually very small, if there is one at all.

Press Windows + I and open Settings.
Go to Bluetooth & devices, click Touchpad.
Confirm that the Touchpad toggle is set to On.
If it is On already, toggle it off, click the down arrow beside it, and click Reset under Reset touchpad settings and gestures to defaults.
Test your touchpad to see if it works.
Also ensure that Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected is checked for future uses.
If your laptop is running Windows 10, go to Settings, then Devices, then Touchpad. Make sure it is toggled on—if possible, reset the settings.

The driver in your laptop is a small bit of software that allows the touchpad to relay messages to the rest of the laptop. If the driver is outdated, missing, or corrupted, the touchpad may lose responsiveness, function, or it could freeze sporadically. To fix this, a Device Manager or driver updater tool can be used to solve this issue.

Run the built-in hardware troubleshooter to check if the touchpad is being blocked by apps, system conflicts, or has hardware issues.
Press Windows + S, type Troubleshoot, select Troubleshoot settings.
Select Other troubleshooters, scroll down and click Hardware and Devices.
Select Run and follow the instructions given there.
If no Hardware and Devices is found, respond accordingly:
Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog.
Type in msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic and Enter.
Select Next and run the troubleshooter.
Follow the instructions to detect the issues.

Sometimes, Windows updates install touchpad drivers that are generic and not fully compatible with the specific laptop’s hardware. This is a pretty common cause of touchpad issues directly following a Windows software update. To solve this, the user can roll the driver back to a previous version to resolve issues.

To check for any updates:
Press Windows + I and open Settings.
Click on Windows Update in the top right corner.
Click on Check for updates, install any updates that appear.
To roll an update back if the problem recently started:
Go to Settings, click Windows Update and then select Update history.
Scroll down and select Uninstall updates.
Look for recent updates related to drivers and uninstall them.

Some Acer laptops automatically disable the touchpad when an external USB device, like a mouse or wireless mouse is plugged in. This is done in hopes of preventing accidental cursor movement, but it sometimes does not turn back on after being unplugged. Check the settings to troubleshoot this issue.

Locate the Settings, then click on it.
Select Bluetooth & Devices, then search/select Touchpad.
Ensure the touchpad is toggled “On”.
Users may also want to Check the box that says, “Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected”, if this is something that is a reoccurring issue.

Sometimes the BIOS reverts to prior settings, stopping some services and starting others. The touchpad is usually restricted when this occurs. The easiest attempt to solve this issue is to complete a Default reset.

In order to compete the BIOS setup Default Reset, turn off the laptop and unplug the charger.
Turn on the laptop and immediately press F2 repeatedly to enter the BIOS menu.
Go to the Exit menu.
Select Load Setup Defaults (or press F9) to restore factory settings.
Select Exit Saving Changes (or press F10) and select Yes.

Sometimes different software components, like drivers, system services, applications, etc., clash. These conflicts can disrupt communication between the operating system and touchpad, which restrict its use. It is encouraged that you try updating your drivers, but if your issue is still not resolved, then try reinstalling the drivers on your laptop.

To update drivers:

Start by clicking on the Magnifying Glass in the taskbar.
Type Device Manager and press Enter.
Expand each device category to locate the device you want to update.
Right-click on the device you wish to update and select Update driver.
Select Search automatically for drivers.
If you have drivers that can be updated, Windows will install them.
In the System Setting Change window that pops up, you will be asked to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Select Yes to complete the process.