Windows computers with touchscreens are becoming more and more prevalent as a result of products like the Surface Laptop Go and the brand-new Surface Pro 7+. The verdict is still out on whether it improves or decreases productivity in laptops with conventional form factors, though. So there is no need to explore any further if you want to disable or switch off the touchscreen feature on your Windows 10 laptop. This article will demonstrate utilising the Device Manager (devmgmt), PowerShell, Command Prompt (cmd), and Windows Registry how to permanently disable (turn off) or enable the touchscreen on Windows 10. (regedit).
Disable Touchscreen in Windows 10 Laptops
This article will demonstrate how to temporarily or permanently turn off the touchscreen on a laptop, convertible, or ultrabook running Windows 10. You can re-enable the function if you change your mind and decide to give it another try by following the same procedures and selecting the same settings. Let’s look at three different ways to disable or switch off the touchscreen feature on your Windows 10 computer now without further ado.
Method 1: Using Device Manager
The simplest approach to enable or disable the touch feature on your Windows 10 device is through the Device Manager. Without using the command line or fiddling with the Windows Registry, it may be done in a few easy clicks.
- First off, right-click on the Start button (or press Windows key + X simultaneously) and select Device Manager on the popup menu.
Note:Both the Run dialogue box and the Command Prompt provide access to the Windows Device Manager. To do that, enter devmgmt.msc (without the quotations). Device Manager can also be accessed via the Control Panel.
- In the Device Manager Window, double-click on Human Interface Devices to expand it.
- Now right-click on HID-compliant touch screen and select Disable device . Confirm when asked. The touchscreen functionality will be disabled and you can tap on the display to confirm it.
- To re-enable the function, just right-click on the same entry and choose Enable device . The feature will be re-enabled and you will not get a warning this time around.
The end! Device Manager makes it simple to enable or stop the touchscreen feature on Windows 10 laptops.
Method 2: Using PowerShell
PowerShell, a command-line shell that was first made available with Windows 8, allows you to make a wide range of adjustments and modifications in Windows 10, including the option to enable and disable the touchscreen. It can be accessed from the same menu as method 1’s description.
- Right-click on the Start button (or press Windows key + X simultaneously) and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) on the popup menu.
- In the PowerShell window, enter the following command:
Get-PnpDevice | Where-Object {$_.FriendlyName -like *touch screen* } | Disable-PnpDevice -Confirm:$false. Now hit Enter.
- To re-enable the touchscreen function, execute the following command in PowerShell:
Get-PnpDevice | Where-Object {$_.FriendlyName -like '*touch screen*'} | Enable-PnpDevice -Confirm:$false
You now understand not only how to use PowerShell to disable the touchscreen feature on Windows 10 devices, but also how to use it to enable it.
Method 3: Using Windows Registry (Permanent Method)
The touchscreen in Windows 10 can also be turned on or off using the trusted Windows Registry. This is currently the only permanent way to turn off the touchscreen on a Windows 10 computer. That’s because, if the feature has been disabled using the other techniques, Microsoft is known to re-enable it with every significant release.
- Open the Windows Registry Editor. For that, search regedit in the Windows Search Bar and click on the first result.
- Using the left pane of the Registry Editor window, navigate to the following key:
Computer\HKEY_Current_USER\Software\Microsoft\Wisp\Touch
The touchscreen function will only be disabled (turned off) for the current user when using the aforementioned option. Select HKEY LOCAL MACHIN to turn off the feature for all user accounts on that computer. HKEY CURRENT USER should not be your default top folder.
- Right-click anywhere on the open space in the right pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value in the right pane and name it TouchGate (without quotes).
You’ll find an existing TouchGate entry if you choose LOCAL MACHINE in the previous step rather than CURRENT USER. Simply proceed to the following step in that instance.
- The new key (in case of CURRENT_USER) should have the hexadecimal value 0 by default [Data=0x00000000 (0)]. In case of LOCAL_MACHINE, double-click on the existing key to change the value to 0. In both cases, restart the computer for the change to take effect.
- You can re-enable the touchscreen function by changing the hexadecimal value to 1 (0 = touch disabled, 1 = touch enabled). Restart for the change to take effect.
That’s it. You now understand the three separate methods for turning on and off the touchscreen feature in Windows 10 devices.
Easily Turn Off Touchscreen in Windows 10
For some time now, touchscreen laptops have been popular at the high end of the laptop market. Now, more of these products are beginning to appear in the mid-range category. However, not everyone finds the function useful, despite the fact that Microsoft appears rather enthusiastic about it. In fact, some people genuinely think that it adds needless problems to conventional laptops and ultrabooks. We therefore hope that this tutorial was useful if you fall into such category.
While you wait, you can read our in-depth instructions on how to disable notifications on Windows 10 and how to remove advertisements from Windows 10 if you want to get rid of more of these annoyances from your computer. Don’t forget to view our article on how to quickly turn off User Account Control (UAC) in Windows 10 to further shield yourself from obtrusive pop-ups and interruptions. Check out our Windows 10 tips and tricks as well if you want to have more control over your machine.