Touchpad Guides — Windows Files

To open the on-screen touchpad in Windows 11, first make its icon available in the system tray, then select that icon. The on-screen touchpad (also called the virtual touchpad) is a touchpad drawn on your screen that you can use to move the mouse pointer. It is handy on touch screens and on devices without a working physical touchpad.

Right-click the taskbar, open its settings, switch on the virtual touchpad icon in the system tray icons area, then select that icon next to the clock.
To hide it again, close the touchpad window, then switch the same virtual touchpad option off in the taskbar’s settings.
The physical touchpad has its own page under Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Touchpad.

You can fix touchpad issues in Windows 11 by checking the touchpad settings first and the driver second. Most problems, such as a switched-off touchpad, a slow cursor or taps that behave oddly, come down to a setting. If the touchpad is not working at all, a missing or outdated driver is the more likely cause.

Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Touchpad and make sure Turn the touchpad on or off is on.
If the problem remains, use Reset your touchpad to its default settings on the same page to restore the default touchpad settings.
If the settings don’t help, update the touchpad driver through Windows Update or Device Manager, or reinstall it in Device Manager.