How to Change Touchpad Scrolling Direction in Windows 11
Touchpad scrolling direction in Windows 11 controls whether swiping down on your laptop pad moves the page up or down. Natural scrolling makes the screen follow your fingers like a physical sheet of paper, while reverse scrolling moves the page in the opposite direction.
Most Windows 11 laptops arrive with reverse scrolling turned on by default. Switch this setting in less than a minute through the Settings app to match how you want to move through pages.
Change Touchpad Scrolling Direction in Settings
You can change touchpad scrolling direction using the main Windows 11 Settings app without installing extra software. Open Settings by pressing the Win and ‘I’ together, click ‘Bluetooth & devices’ on the left menu, and select ‘Touchpad’. From there, open the scroll and zoom section to switch between standard and reverse scrolling directions so the page moves the way you want.- Open Settings (press Win+I).
- Click Bluetooth & devices on the left side. Then click Touchpad on the right side. (see screenshot below)
- Click Scroll & zoom to open it. (see screenshot below step 4)
- Choose what you want in the Scrolling direction dropdown menu. Select Down motion scrolls up (the default) or Down motion scrolls down. (see screenshot below)
- You can now close Settings.
Option Two
Change Touchpad Scrolling Direction Using Registry
You can change touchpad scrolling direction using Registry Editor by modifying system values directly. This advanced method requires opening Registry Editor at 🗝️HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
Change Touchpad Scrolling Direction to “Down motion scrolls up”
This is the default setting.
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PrecisionTouchPad" /v ScrollDirection /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
Change Touchpad Scrolling Direction to “Down motion scrolls down”
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PrecisionTouchPad" /v ScrollDirection /t REG_DWORD /d 0xFFFFFFFF /f
Summary
Touchpad scrolling behavior in Windows 11 remains completely customizable. Switch between reverse and natural scrolling using the Settings app, or dive into the Registry Editor for a more advanced approach. Both routes put control over hardware response firmly in your hands.
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About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
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