How To Disable Touchpad When External Mouse Is Connected in Windows 11 & 10

Want to automatically disable the touchpad when an external mouse is plugged in? Here’s how.

By default, on Windows 10 & 11, the touchpad stays active even after connecting an external mouse to your laptop. This can lead to unwanted pointer movement whenever you accidentally brush against the touchpad. While some laptops have dedicated buttons or shortcuts to disable the touchpad, Windows itself offers a way to automatically disable it when an external mouse is connected. That way, you don’t have to manually turn off the touchpad every time you plug in your mouse!

In this quick and simple tutorial, I’ll show you three methods to disable the touchpad when an external mouse is connected. Let’s get started.

Good to know: How to change mouse pointer color and size on Windows 10

Automatically Disable Touchpad When External Mouse is Connected

On Windows 10

1. Open “Settings” using the “Windows key + I” shortcut.
2. Go to the “Devices” > “Touchpad” page.
3. Uncheck the “Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected” checkbox under the Touchpad section.
4. Close the Settings window.
   

As soon as you uncheck the shown checkbox, Windows 10 will automatically disable the touchpad whenever it detects an external mouse. To use the touchpad, simply unplug the mouse.

On Windows 11

1. Press “Windows key + I” to open Settings.
2. Go to the “Bluetooth & Devices” tab on the sidebar.
3. Click the “Touchpad” option.
4. Expand the “Touchpad” section on the right panel.
5. Uncheck the “Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected” checkbox
6. With that, Windows 11 automatically disables the touchpad when you connect an external mouse.

Note: On Windows 10 & 11, if you do not see the option to disable the touchpad, it is possible that your doesn’t support a precision touchpad.

Disable Touchpad on Connecting External Mouse Using Control Panel

If your touchpad uses external drivers such as ELAN or Synaptics, you can also configure it to disable automatically using the Control Panel when you plug in an external mouse. The good thing? This method also works with Windows 7 & 8.

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Search for “Control Panel” and open it.
3. Click the “View by” dropdown and select “Large icons“.
4. Find and select the “Mouse” option.
5. Go to the “ELAN” or “Device Settings” tab.
6. Now, find the “Disable when external USB pointing device plugin” or “Disable internal pointing device when external USB pointing device is attached” checkbox and select it.
   
7. Click the “OK” button to save changes.

From now on, Windows will automatically turn off the touchpad on connecting an external mouse.

Note: This option is only visible if the touchpad supports it. If you don’t see the option, your touchpad doesn’t support the feature.

Disable Touchpad on Connecting External Mouse Using Registry Editor

Important note: Before making changes, backup your registry.

If the first two methods don’t work, you can make a simple registry edit to force Windows to turn off the touchpad on connecting a mouse. Here’s how.

1. Open the Run dialog using “Windows key +R“.
2. Type regedit and press “Enter“.
3. Go to the following location.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Synaptics\SynTPEnh
4. Right-click the “SynTPEnh” folder.
5. Select “New” and then “DWORD (32-bit) Value“.
6. Name the value as “DisableIntPDFeature“.
7. Double-click on the newly created value.
8. Type 33 in the value data field.
9. Click the “OK” button to save changes.
10. Close the Registry Editor and restart your system.

After restarting, the registry changes take effect and Windows will disable the touchpad when you plug in the mouse.

Wrapping Up — Keeping Your Touchpad Off When Using a Mouse

In conclusion, you have three ways to automatically disable your touchpad when you plug in a mouse. For most users, the Settings app method is the easiest and should be all you need. If that doesn’t work, try the Control Panel or Registry methods. Remember, if you don’t see the touchpad settings in any of these locations, you may need to update your touchpad drivers. Regardless of the method you choose, the result is the same: no more accidental touchpad touches!

If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.