Want to turn off the touchscreen on your Chromebook?
Sometimes, it’s necessary to disable the touchscreen on a Chromebook.
It’s not uncommon to disable the touch feature, and Chrome OS was designed with the ability to easily toggle the touch functionality on and off to your liking.
In this tutorial, we’ll go over how to easily turn off the touchscreen feature on your device.
It’s super easy to do and will take less than five minutes!
Let’s get started already.
Last updated: 4/20/18.
A basic requirement to get this working
There’s only one requirement in order to do this “trick.”
But it’s quick and easy, so don’t fret.
Whether it’s because you just prefer to use the touchpad (or a mouse) and find the touchscreen is unnecessary, or you cracked your screen and it’s now broken, you can easily disable the function.
(Did you really crack your touchscreen? Maybe you’d want to check out some of the Chromebooks with the best touchscreens– some of them have Gorilla Glass for extra protection!)
This works across all brands of Chromebooks- whether you have an Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, or ASUS.
The only requirement is that you have Chrome 48 or higher.
If you have no idea what this means, it’s the version of Chrome OS that you’re running.
You can check your current version of Chrome OS by doing the following:
- Launch the Chrome Browser
- Click on the menu in the top-right
- Go to “Help” and then click on “About Google Chrome”
- Look for your Chrome version in the popup window
If you’re running Chrome 48 or higher, this trick will work. If not, go ahead and update your Chromebook, first or else this won’t work.
Okay, now we can get started with the actual tutorial!
How to disable the touchscreen on a Chromebook
Now we’re getting to the good stuff.
Here’s how to turn off the touchscreen on your Chromebook. It involves just a few steps and should be very easy.
Just be sure to type in the commands exactly as shown- or else you’ll get an error page.
Step 1: Launch your Chrome Browser
This is self-explanatory. Just launch Chrome.
Tip: Did you know there are multiple ways to launch apps on your Chromebook?
- You can click Launcher the icon in the corner
- You can press the “Finder” key (magnifying glass key on your keyboard) to bring up the Launcher.
- You can also use your voice to search Google, search your Chromebook, and launch any installed app.
Step 2: Open a new tab
This is also self-explanatory.
Tip: You can press “CTRL + T” to launch a new tab quickly.
Step 3: Navigate to the debug shortcuts
Type in the following path into the address bar (without the quotes):
“chrome://flags/#ash-debug-shortcuts” and hit Enter.
You’ll see a list of debugging options for your Chromebook. We’re just interested in the one that governs your keyboard.
Step 4: Locate keyboard debugging
Scroll down and look for the entry titled “Debugging keyboard shortcuts.”
It should already be highlighted in yellow after you’ve performed the search. If not, you can quickly find it by pressing “CTRL + F” and typing it in.
Step 5: Enable Debugging keyboard shortcuts
Click on the “Enable” button to turn it on.
This feature basically allows you to control your Chromebook using some keyboard shortcuts.
It’s made for developers to be able to adjust options like turning the touchpad on and off and enabling and disabling the touchscreen function as well (just like what we’re doing).
Step 6: Restart your Chromebook
Go ahead and restart your device. Enabling this feature requires a restart.
If you’re feeling risky, try simply logging out and then back in. If it doesn’t work, go ahead and restart it.
Step 7: Toggle the touchscreen on and off
When you log back in to your Chromebook, you’re ready for some touchscreen-toggling action!
Just press the following keyboard shortcuts to control the touch functionality:
Press “Search + SHIFT + T” once to turn off the touchscreen
Press it again to turn the touchscreen back on
It’s that easy. You’re all set!
How to turn the touchscreen back on
If you want to disable the ability to toggle it, just disable the debugging feature by repeating steps one through five and leaving it disabled, and then restart your device.
If you get stuck or if you have any questions, just leave a comment and I’ll get back to you ASAP!
Getting errors?
If you can’t access this page, double-check your spelling.
It’s also possible that you’re not the administrator of your device. Be sure you’re logged in as the admin account.
Lastly, if you’re using a school or work Chromebook that’s enrolled in a network, it may be disabled by default. You’ll have to get in touch with your IT team to get it working. You can try to reset your managed Chromebook to unenroll it, but be sure to get permission first.
You can now toggle your Chromebook touchscreen at your command (literally)
Well, that about sums it up.
You can now easily turn the touch feature on and off whenever you want.
Sometimes if you prefer to use the touchpad or if you’re using an external Chromebook mouse, you can disable the touchscreen since it’s unnecessary to leave it on. It may even save you some battery power without needing for your device to constantly ping for touch.
If you’ve found this guide to be helpful, leave a comment and let me know as well =]. And consider telling a friend who could benefit from it as well.
Thanks for reading!
Hi! I have my students do this so they can use their chromebook as a light box and trace. But, for some reason, after doing the restart, they can turn off the touchscreen but their mouse has completely disappeared/their trackpad no longer works. Do you have a suggestion to fix this?
this was so helpful!!!! thank you so much. called Samsung and they couldn’t help me and refereed to the place I purchased the device.
Thanks Andy Z….great tutorial and answered a dilemma question…as buying a new CB for my 7th grade son who told me he can’t have a touchscreen because they need to trace things for school, and I was like it’s almost impossible to by a new CB these days that does not have a touchscreen, plus most likely if investing for a new CB you want to have for several years of course you’d want touchscreen ability! So now I know I can simply install this fix !
Thank you! Glad to know this still works. I was trying to trace something onto a piece of paper, and it kept moving and switching tabs! Now I can trace in peace. Do you know what the rest of the Ash debugging shortcuts are? I know Search + Shift + T toggles touchscreen, and in the comments I read Search + Shift + P toggles the touchpad, but is there a way to toggle the keyboard or any other shortcuts? Again, thank you so much for writing this article!
thanks it worked really helped with my Chromebook Chromebook 3100 2 in 1
so i want to turn on my touchscreen, i dont know if it has ever been turned off, but i read the rest and i dont know what to do if the first thing you want to do is turn it on, not off
hey thanks now i can play my games in peace
my touch screen does not toggle on off. It is off and I want it on. Please help!!
when I hit search, shift T, my mouse disappears and reappears if I touch the touchpad or spacebar.
Hey Mike,
If the shortcut hotkeys don’t work for you, you can still turn the touchscreen on by using the Chrome Settings menu.
You can enable touch using the menus like this:
Launch Chrome
Type in “chrome://settings” in the URL bar and hit Enter.
Search for “input” or “touchscreen” and find the option to enable.
Your settings should save automatically.
Exit the settings tab!
Let me know if you’re still stuck.
Thanks.
Thank you so much! Even the official page on acer didn’t have it right! My touch screen has been bugging so much and this finally fixed it
I turned off my touchscreen but i cannot turn it back on help!!!
Hey there,
Try toggling it back on using the touchscreen keyboard shortcut. It may have been toggled off and just needs to be reverted back on?
Let me know if you’re still stuck- you may need to check your Chrome settings for touchscreen controls if it’s still not working.
Thanks.
Andy, I have an acer chromebook (not work or school) and i followed the steps but I can’t seem to turn off the touchscreen. I don’t have the search button set as caps lock, it just doesn’t work. Not sure why. Thanks, Ron
Never mind Andy, I figured it out. Had to press shift+search before hitting the T. Thanks, Ron
it worked thanks!
can someone help me my touchscreen isnt working i tried brigtnes but it isnt working plssss help
It didn’t work… until I read thru the comments and realized that I also had the search key set as caps lock… flipped it back to search and now I can turn the touch screen off. Thanks! my chromebook screen cracked and it’s EOL is June 2020, so it really would not pay to have the screen replaced. Now it is functional again! Thank you! Really appreciate the tips.
Hey mct,
Stoked to hear you got your screen working after all! Let me know if you have any other questions =]. And thanks for the kind words!
after reseting the cromebook and turing off the debug shortcuts it still wont turn on the touch screen
Hey Johnathan,
Did you reset it as in you did a Powerwash (factory restart)? Are you able to get into your settings to see the current touchscreen input status (on/off?). Did this just start on its own? Have you ever had this problem before?
By chance, are you using a school or work Chromebook? There may be restrictions that prevent some user input settings to be modified.
Any information you can provide will help me get you an answer.
Thanks.
Hi. It did not work for me. I followed your steps. I have the hp Chromebook 14. Is there any other suggestions?
Thank you something helpful for once!
SPot on! I dropped my Asus Flip C100 chromebook and the screen cracked. Now I can actually work on it while I’m waiting for the new screen/digitizer. I appreciate your help here!
Hey Sean Froyd,
I’m happy you were able to temporarily disable the touch functionality- at least for now! Glad you got some use out of this tutorial =]. Thanks for the kind words.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks!
So helpful. I went by another website that kept telling me to do search + shift + P and i just gave up after a while. Thank you!!
You’re very welcome =]!
my touch screen is still on
My keys are all messed up and everything is a mess, how do I fix it?
Didn’t work, my screen worked fine then, my little girl did something and touch screen will not work..
also what is the search button???? Confused on this… Need my touch screen i guess to turn on
HI Andy – thanks very much for the info. My ASUS chromebook was driving me crazy with random ‘clicking’ on links and tabs. I had changed the touch pad to no avail and was about to buy something else out of frustration. Eventually found that the touch screen may be the cause and your tip has allowed me to isolate the problem. Great instructions!!!!
Hey Bob,
Glad to hear you got it fixed from this guide! Thanks a ton for letting me know!
If you have any other questions, don’t be afraid to leave a comment and I’ll try to assist.
Thanks again.
Andy Z. I have everything works except for the button combination. Could this be because I have the search button set as capslock?
Wow, really helpful! Thanks a lot!
Hey Matt,
Glad to help! Thanks for your kind words! This is why I write.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Thanks.
THANK YOU!!! 😉
Worked like a charm! Thank you
Hey MACDADDY,
Awesome! Glad to hear that!
Let me know if you have any other questions and I”ll be happy to help.
Thanks.
Didn’t work. I think the reason my touchscreen is locked onto ‘off’ is a glitch.
Is it stuck like that?
It isn’t working with my Chromebook
Hey Guilherme,
Do you get an error when you try to disable the touchscreen? Were you able to find the option in the settings menu?
Thanks.
This tutorial was clear and very helpful. Thank you. I cracked the screen on my Asus Flip. Besides rendering my touch screen useless, the screen will auto zoom in and out and click on links that are found along the crack in the screen. This made using my chromebook a frustrating affair. Now I can still use it for browsing and editing some stuff for work until I finally decide to replace it!
Hey David D.,
Thank you for the kind words! Using the touchscreen with a cracked Chromebook can only be nothing but disgruntled annoyance. That’s something that would literally make me throw it in the garbage or replace it because it’d drive me crazy. I’m sorry you had to deal with that and I applaud your patience for actually getting through it (and continue to). That takes some serious dedication.
Regardless, I’m glad you can now use it as a browsing device without the touchscreen annoyance!
If you have any other questions, let me know! This one was an interesting comment!
Thanks again.
Thanks for making this article!
I also figured out that if you have your search button designated as a shortcut for something else (in my case, caps lock), this won’t work. You will have to change the search button back to search in the keyboard settings.
Yeah, I thought that’d be the case when I was writing this many years ago! The search key is hard-coded to do only one thing- search!
Regardless, thanks for pointing this out. Your very comment could save some else hours of frustration!
Thanks again!
Hey Will C,
No problem! Thank you for the kind words =]!
Search Shift T is turning off touchscreen. Search Shift P is disabling the touchPAD
Hey Zane,
Thanks for pointing that out! Don’t know how I missed that one, geez. Updated the tutorial!
i cant turn the touchscreen back on it is not working
Hey,
Have you tried playing around with the brightness buttons? Does the screen just not respond to your touch?
its the same for me and the brightness buttons work too