How to Fix Two Finger Scroll Not Working on Windows 10
Written by Rimvydas Iliavicius on
How to Fix Two Finger Scroll Not Working on Windows 10
A touchpad (also known as a trackpad) is a pointing device found on most laptops and used to control input positioning on a computer display screen.
A laptop touchpad can be used with an external mouse and often has the same two buttons below the touch surface. The second type of touchpad, known as a buttonless touchpad (or a clickpad), is becoming increasingly popular and does not have the traditional two buttons - the entire surface of the touchpad is one large button.
Scrolling with one or two fingers is a valuable touchpad feature. The two-finger scroll is a standard feature on Mac computers. However, you can also set it on Windows laptops.
For example, if you are using a Synaptics touchpad, you will find that the two-finger scroll feature is supported on this manufacturer's touchpad. The feature is usually disabled by default, so you need to enable it manually.
If a two-finger scroll is enabled but does not work, there might be problems with touchpad drivers. Drivers can become corrupted or faulty, and the device cannot function properly.
In this guide, we outline problems with the two-finger scroll feature and look at possible solutions.
Video Tutorial on How to Fix Two Finger Scroll Not Working
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Reinstall Touchpad Drivers
- Roll Back Touchpad Drivers
- Update Touchpad Drivers
- Change Mouse Pointer
- Check if the Two-Finger Scrolling Feature Is Enabled
- Edit Windows Registry
- Hard Reset Your Drivers
- Video Tutorial on How to Fix Two Finger Scroll Not Working
Reinstall Touchpad Drivers
A device driver informs the operating system and other software how to interact with particular hardware. If the appropriate driver is not installed, the device might not function properly. To reinstall touchpad drivers, use Device Manager.
To open Device Manager, right-click the Start button and select the "Device Manager" result from the contextual menu or type "device manager" in Search and click the "Device Manager" result.
In Device Manager, you will see a list of devices connected to your computer. Find the "Mice and other pointing devices" category and expand it, right-click touchpad and select "Uninstall device".
In the popped-up window, click "Uninstall". Ensure that you check the "Delete the driver software for this device" checkbox. Restart your computer. Windows will automatically install the missing drivers the next time you start Windows.
If for some reason Windows does not install the missing (uninstalled) drivers, go to Device Manager and right-click your computer name, and then select "Scan for hardware changes". This should detect missing drivers and install them.
Roll Back Touchpad Drivers
Roll Back Driver is a Windows Device Manager feature that is available in all versions of Windows. This feature enables you to uninstall the currently-installed driver of a hardware device and then install the previously-installed driver. This feature is typically used when the latest or newer drivers are not working properly.
The Roll Back Driver feature enables you to simply uninstall the current driver and replace it with the previous version within a few mouse clicks.
To roll back touchpad drivers, go to Device Manager, find the "Mice and other pointing devices" category and expand it, right-click touchpad and select "Properties".
Now, select the "Driver" tab, click the "Roll Back Driver" button, and follow the instructions. If the button is greyed-out and you cannot click it, a previous driver version has not been installed for this device. Restart the computer and see if the two-finger scrolling feature is now working.
Update Touchpad Drivers
If rolling back the touchpad driver does not solve the problem, you might want to update it. To update the touchpad driver, go to Device Manager, expand the "Mice and other painting devices" and right-click touchpad. Select "Update driver" from the contextual menu.
You will be asked if you want to search for updated driver software automatically or to browse your computer for driver software. If you select the first option, Windows will search your computer and the Internet for the latest driver software for your device.
If you select the second option, you must locate and install the drivers manually. Using this option requires having previously downloaded the driver on your computer or USB flash drive. We recommend that you select the first option and follow the instructions.
Another way to update or install new drivers for devices is to use third-party software such as Snappy Driver Installer. Snappy Driver Installer (SDI) is a powerful free driver updater tool for Windows that can store its entire collection of drivers offline. You can download Snappy Driver Installer from here.
Change Mouse Pointer
In computing, a mouse cursor or a pointer is a symbol or graphical image on the computer monitor or other display device that reflects the movements of the pointing device. In this case, the device is a touchpad. Some users have reported that simply changing the mouse pointer solved the problem, and the two-finger scroll feature started working again.
Here, we show how to change the mouse pointer in a few clicks. First, type "mouse" in Search and click the "Change your mouse settings" or "Mouse settings" result.
In the Mouse settings window, find and click the "Additional mouse options" setting on the right pane.
In the Mouse Properties window, click the "Pointers" tab and select "Windows Black (system scheme)" under "Scheme". If you wish, choose another scheme.
Click "Apply" to save the changes and see if this solves the problem with the two-finger scrolling feature.
Check if the Two-Finger Scrolling Is Enabled
Simply check if the two-finger scrolling feature is enabled. To do so, follow the steps mentioned earlier. In the Mouse settings window, click the "Additional mouse options" setting. In the Mouse Properties window, click the "Device Settings" tab and click "Settings...".
Expand the "MultiFinger Gestures" section and ensure that the "Two-Finger Scrolling" checkbox is ticked/enabled. Click "Apply" to save the changes made.
If you see a different menu, look for the "Two-Finger Scrolling" or other similar option and enable it. See if this solves the problem and whether the two-finger scrolling feature is now working.
Edit Windows Registry
Windows Registry is a collection of databases of configuration settings in Windows. It stores much of the information and settings for software programs, hardware devices, user preferences, operating system configurations, and much more. Many of the options exposed in the registry are not accessible elsewhere in Windows.
To edit the registry, use Windows Registry Editor. To open Registry Editor, open the Run dialog box (press Windows Windows key + R or right-click Start and select "Run") and type "regedit". Press Enter or click "OK".
Now follow this path: "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Synaptics\SynTP\TouchPadPS2". You will see a list of keys on the right pane.
Find the "2FingerTapPluginID" and "3FingerTapPluginID" keys on the right pane, double-click them and ensure their value data is empty.
Find "MultiFingerTapFlags" key on the right pane, double-click it and change the value data from 2 to 3.
Find the "3FingerTapAction" key on the right pane, double-click it and change the value data to 4.
Find the "3FingerTapPluginActionID" key on the right pane, double-click it and change the value data to 0.
Find the "2FingerTapAction" key on the right pane, double-click it and change the value data to 2 if you want to make the right-click work or to 4 if you want the middle-click to work.
Restart your computer and see if the two-finger scroll is now working.
Hard Reset Your Drivers
Hard resetting drivers will clear the driver instructions, and the laptop will reload all instructions from drivers and software on the Windows operating system. To hard reset drivers, first turn off the computer. Unplug all peripherals connected to your computer, unplug the computer from the power source and remove the battery.
Now press and hold the Power button for 10-15 seconds. Insert the battery pack and plug the computer into a power source. Turn the computer on. If you are asked how you want to start Windows on startup, choose the "Start Windows Normally" option and press Enter.
We recommend checking for Windows updates after these actions and seeing if the two-finger scrolling feature is now working.
We hope one of the above solutions solved the problem, and you can now use the two-finger scrolling feature without problems. If you know of other solutions to this problem not mentioned in our guide, please share them with us by leaving a comment below.
▼ Show Discussion