How to Enable or Disable Touchscreen in Windows 11

Why Turn Off Your Touchscreen?

You might want to turn off your touchscreen for a few reasons. It can stop accidental touches while you type. It can also be helpful if you have pets or kids who might touch the screen. You might prefer using a mouse and keyboard.

What Happens When You Turn It Off?

When you turn off your touchscreen, it will stop responding to your taps and swipes. Your computer will no longer detect any touch input. This means you will need to use a mouse, keyboard, or other input devices to interact with your computer.

Step 1Open Device Manager

First, you’ll open a tool called Device Manager. This program shows you all the hardware connected to your computer. We need it to find your touchscreen.

• 🖱️ Right-click on the ⊞ Start button (the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner).
• From the menu that appears, choose Device Manager.
• If you don’t see it, you might need to search for “Device Manager” in the Windows 🔍 search bar.

Admin Privileges Required: This step does not require admin privileges.

Step 2Find Your Touchscreen

Now that Device Manager is open, you’ll see a list of hardware types. Your touchscreen is a kind of “Human Interface Device.” These devices let you use your computer.

• Look for a category called Human Interface Devices.
• Click the small arrow next to it to see all the devices in that category.

Warning: Be careful not to turn off the wrong device! It’s unlikely to cause big problems if you disable the wrong thing, but it’s best to follow these steps to avoid issues with your keyboard or mouse.

Step 3Turn Off the Touchscreen

In the list under Human Interface Devices, find the one that says HID-compliant touch screen. This is the one we want to turn off .

• 🖱️ Right-click on HID-compliant touch screen.
• A menu will pop up. Click on Disable device.
• A message will ask if you are sure. Click Yes.

That’s it! Your touchscreen should now be off. Try tapping or swiping the screen. Nothing should happen.

Admin Privileges Required: This step requires admin privileges.

Step 4What If There’s More Than One?

Sometimes, you might see more than one “HID-compliant touch screen” listed. This is not very common, but it can happen.

• If you see duplicates, repeat Step 3 for each one.
• 🖱️ Right-click on each duplicate and select Disable device.

Tip: If you’re not sure which one is the main touchscreen, disabling all of them is usually safe. If one doesn’t work, you can always try another.

Step 5Turn Your Touchscreen Back On

Do you miss using your touchscreen? Or did you turn it off by mistake? Turning it back on is just as easy.

• Go back to Device Manager (follow Step 1).
• Expand the Human Interface Devices category (follow Step 2).
• Find the HID-compliant touch screen device you disabled. It might have a small down-arrow icon on it.
• 🖱️ Right-click on the disabled touchscreen device.
• Select Enable device from the menu.

Your touchscreen should now work again.

Admin Privileges Required: This step requires admin privileges.

Summary

Turning off your Windows 11 touchscreen is a quick process. You can disable it in Device Manager if it gets in the way. This helps prevent accidental touches. You can also easily turn it back on whenever you want.