How to Fix a Chromebook Touchscreen That's Not Working

When your Chromebook touchscreen stops working, it could be as simple as a dirty screen, but certain software and system settings can affect how the touchscreen works, too. Below are all the fixes we recommend for an unresponsive touchscreen on a Chromebook.

What Causes a Chromebook Touchscreen to Stop Working?

Chromebooks are easy to use and easy to fix. Here are the most common reasons that Chromebook touchscreens stop working:

• Software problems: Most Chromebook software issues can be resolved through a restart or a factory reset.
• Dirt or debris on the screen: If the screen is dirty, the touchscreen functionality may not work. The same is true if your hands are dirty or wet.
• System settings: The touchscreen may have been disabled accidentally, in which case you can fix the problem by re-enabling it.
• Hardware problems: The touchscreen digitizer or other hardware may have failed.

How to Fix a Chromebook Touchscreen That Doesn't Work

In most cases, you can fix the touchscreen on your Chromebook yourself. Follow these steps in order, testing the screen after each one to see if it works:

1. Restart the Chromebook. If the touchscreen stopped working because of a temporary software-related issue, a reboot is a great first step to try.

   Through that link are directions for how to hard reset the Chromebook, which you should also try if a normal restart doesn't fix the touchscreen.

2. Clean the screen. Shut down your Chromebook, and thoroughly clean the screen using a lint-free cloth. The steps are similar to cleaning the screen on an iPad. Be careful to remove any dirt or debris, food crumbs, or sticky residues, and dry the screen if it has any liquid on it.

   If the screen is filthy, you can use a cleaning solution specifically designed for LCD screens and a microfiber cloth. Use as little liquid as possible, and don't drip on the keyboard or allow the cleaning solution to run down behind the screen. Finish up by completely drying the screen with another microfiber cloth.

   Never use any cleaning product that includes ammonia, ethyl alcohol, acetone, or anything else that isn't designed for use with Chromebook touchscreens.

3. Clean and dry your hands. Before trying your touchscreen again, make sure your fingers aren't sticky and are free from dirt or the touchscreen may not function correctly.
   

   If a stylus or touchscreen-approved gloves work on the screen, then your fingers must be to blame.

4. Make sure the touchscreen isn't off. Chromebooks have the option to toggle the touchscreen on and off. If you accidentally do this, the screen will stop responding to your touch until it's turned back on.

   To activate the Chromebook touchscreen toggle, press Search + Shift + T.

   You might need to enable a Chrome flag for this shortcut to work. Navigate to chrome://flags/#ash-debug-shortcuts and enable Debugging keyboard shortcuts.

5. Update the Chromebook. The latest version of Chrome OS includes fixes for all known software bugs, one of which could be contributing to the touchscreen not working.

6. Reset your Chromebook to factory settings. If your touch screen still doesn't work, the next step is to reset it to factory settings.

   This process, called powerwashing, will remove all local data, so make sure you've backed up any local files to your Google Drive.

7. If your touchscreen still isn’t working even after a full powerwash, contacting the manufacturer or bringing your Chromebook to a professional for repairs might be a good idea. A technician is best equipped to deal with this sort of hardware issue.

   If your touchscreen is working, but it acts up by registering touches in the wrong place, that’s usually a sign of a hardware problem, too. So, in both cases, it’s likely something related to the physical components of your device.