Two-finger scrolling is a built-in feature in almost every laptop and is very easy to use. It is even more comfortable to use than a mouse scroll, and many users have made it their default scrolling method.
However, two-finger scrolling can stop working for various reasons sometimes. Subsequently, it makes navigating your laptop with the touchpad very difficult, especially for people with a habit of regularly using this feature.
If this is exactly the problem you are facing, we’ve got you covered on how to solve this issue in Windows and Mac.
How to Fix Two Finger Scroll Not Working on Windows?
Fixing the two-finger scroll not working is very easy in Windows. However, before you jump into the fixes, ensure your touchpad is working fine and your cursor is unlocked.
Follow the steps below one by one to see which one works for you.
Enable Two Finger Scrolling from Settings
The reason for this feature not working could have been due to it being disabled. It could be caused by any new software you installed or some changes you made to your computer.
Anyway, here’s how you can enable this feature from settings.
- Access the start menu and launch Settings.
- Go to Devices and choose Touchpad in the sidebar,
- In the right panel, under Scroll and zoom, turn on Drag two fingers to scroll.
- If it is already on, turn it off and on again.
Update or Reinstall Drivers
The touchpad scroll not working could be due to its drivers failing to work properly. It could have been corrupted or not properly installed.
In this case, updating your driver will help fix the issue. Furthermore, the touchpad has several related drivers, and you need to update all of them.
Here’s how you can do it.
- Launch the Run box by pressing Windows + R shortcut key.
- Enter
devmgmt.msc - In Device manager, go to Human Interface Device and right-click on HID-compliant touch pad.
- Select Update driver and choose Search automatically for drivers.
- In Human Interface Device, do the same for I2C HID Device driver.
- Now, in Device Manager, double-click on Mouse and other pointing devices.
- If there are multiple drivers, you need to locate the touchpad one. Right-click any of the drivers and select properties.
- In properties, beside Location, look for on I2C HID Device.
- If you see it, this is the driver you need to update. If not, do the same for the other driver and locate the one with it. (Some drivers have touchpad written in their name, in which case you won’t need to follow this step to locate it.)
- Update the driver using the method above.
If updating all the touchpad-related drivers didn’t work, you can try reinstalling them to see if it fixes the issue. If there is any kind of problem with the driver, reinstallation will replace it with a new clean copy of the driver.
- Launch Device Manager using the method above.
- Locate all the Touchpad-related drivers as shown above.
- Right-click it and select the Uninstall driver option.
- Confirm Uninstall.
- Do the same for all Touchpad-related drivers.
- Restart your PC.
After restarting your computer, the system will automatically start downloading drivers for the hardware with no drivers.
Enable from Registry Editor
You can alter Registry settings to help resolve the issue of touchpad scroll malfunction. While this method is a bit complicated, we will walk you through the process step by step.
Before we begin, don’t forget to back up your Registry to keep a working copy of your Registry settings if anything goes wrong.
Here’s how you can perform this method.
- Launch the Run utility using Windows + R hotkey.
- Enter
regedit - In Registry Editor, navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Synaptics\SynTP\Win10 - (The Synaptics key may not be in your Registry, depending on your computer’s touchpad hardware. Check with your manufacturer for the corresponding key.)
- Locate the
2FingerTapPluginIDand3FingerTapPluginIDentries in Registry and double-click them. - Make sure the value fields are blank.
- Now, set the following values for the different entries.
2FingerTapAction: 2 (for right-tap) or 4 (for middle-tap)3FingerTapPluginActionID: 0MultiFingerTapFlags: 2 or 33FingerTapAction: 4 - Exit Registry Editor and restart your computer.
Change Mouse Pointer
While this may not seem like a proper fix, many users have successfully resolved this issue using this method. Changing your mouse pointer is very simple.
Follow the steps below to do it.
- Launch Settings from the start menu.
- Go to Devices and select Mouse option from the sidebar.
- In the right panel, tap on Additional mouse options.
- Go to the Pointers header.
- Pick a mouse pointer of your choice from the dropdown menu under Scheme.
- Click on Apply and OK.
If you like your previous mouse pointer, you can switch it back after the touchpad scroll starts working. If this method doesn’t work, try the other fixes.
How to Fix Two Finger Scroll Not Working on Mac?
You can also easily fix this issue on Mac. However, like Windows, check if your cursor has been locked first.
Now, here are the possible fixes for this issue in Mac.
Enable from System Preference
First, make sure that the touchpad scrolling is enabled from system preference. While you may not have turned it off, it may have automatically turned off due to some software or someone else making changes to your computer.
Here’s how to do it.
- Tap the Apple menu on the top and launch System Preferences.
- Navigate to Accessibility>Pointer Control
- Click Trackpad options and make sure the Scrolling option is enabled.
- You can also choose to enable or disable inertial scrolling on the trackpad. This causes the scrolling to slowly come to a stop even after your fingers are off the trackpad.
Using Terminal to Enable Scrolling Properly
If the above method doesn’t work, you can use the command line in the Terminal to enable scrolling. If you’ve made any changes to your computer that may have interfered with two-finger scrolling, this command re-enables trackpad scrolling properly.
Follow the steps below to perform this method.
- Open Spotlight by using Command + space shortcut key.
- Search Terminal and open it.
- Enter the below-given command in Terminal:
defaults write -g com.apple.trackpad.scrollBehavior 2 - Exit the Terminal.
- Restart your laptop.
