Microsoft has been trying to improve the touchpad experience on Windows 10 laptops. Laptops with “Precision Touchpads” are optimized by Microsoft, support standard gestures, and can be configured from the Settings app. Unfortunately, PC manufacturers can opt out of using Precision Touchpads.
Now, there’s a way to install Precision Touchpad drivers even on laptops that don’t ship with them.We tested this on a 13-inch HP Spectre x360 (2015 model) and on a 14-inch Dell Inspiron 14z (2012 model). It not only worked on both laptops, it made the touchpads feel a lot better—in our opinion. At CES 2017, an HP representative told us that HP was looking at making it possible for users to choose between treating the touchpad as a Precision Touchpad and using the manufacturer-provided drivers. It looks like that’s now possible—unofficially, at least.
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How This Works
This works because, Precision Touchpad or non-Precision Touchpad, laptops generally have the same underlying hardware. The touchpad is usually made by a company named Synaptics or ELAN, and manufacturers choose to either use Microsoft’s Precision Touchpad standard or manufacturer-customized drivers and configuration tools.
Now, it’s possible to simply install Microsoft’s Precision Touchpad drivers on many PC laptops, which will make Windows treat the touchpad as a Precision Touchpad.
This will not work on every single laptop. You may encounter problems on some laptops; it just depends on the hardware.Many people feel the general movement and sensitivity of the Microsoft-customized Precision Touchpad experience feels better than the standard Synaptics or ELAN drivers.
You can check if your Windows 10 PC has a Precision Touchpad by navigating to Settings > Devices > Touchpad. If you see the “Your PC has a precision touchpad” text, you’re already using a PC with a Precision Touchpad. If you don’t see that, you’re not.
Have a Physical Mouse Ready, Just In Case
We recommend you have a physical mouse ready, just in case. You probably won’t need it, but we’ve seen reports that this process can cause the touchpad to temporarily stop working while you change its drivers on the Razer Blade and perhaps other PC laptops. Either a USB or Bluetooth mouse will work—just be sure you have something to use in case your touchpad stops working. Of course, you can always navigate your computer with your keyboard or even a touch screen, if it has one.
Download the Precision Touchpad Drivers for Your PC
You’ll need a different set of Precision Touchpad drivers depending on whether your PC uses a Synaptics touchpad or one made by ELAN. You can check from the Device Manager.
To open it, right-click the Start menu and select the “Device Manager” command.
Expand the “Mice and other pointing options” category. Check to see whether you have a “Synaptics” or “ELAN” input device. If the name of the…
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