How to Disable the Touch Screen in Windows 10

Steve Larner June 23, 2021

Touch screen functionality has steadily been integrated into more laptops and definitely in Windows 10 tablets. Desktops are also capable of touch interactions, as long as you have a touch screen monitor. Microsoft designed Windows 8 more specifically for touch screen devices. However, the mouse is still very prevalent, and it could be here to stay in the foreseeable future since touch screen laptops and desktops don’t seem to have really caught on.

How to Disable the Touch Screen in Windows 10

Regardless of your preference, this article shows how you can disable or switch off the touch screen in Windows 10.

Disabling the Touchscreen in Windows 10

Press Win key + X or right-click the Windows 10 Start Menu icon, and then select Device Manager.
Double-click Human Interface Devices to bring up the list of devices. You can also single-click the icon on the left to open the category.
Look for the touch screen device entry.
Right-click the HID-compliant touch screen item to open its context menu and select Disable device. A window then opens requesting confirmation to disable it. Press the Yes button to switch off the touch screen.

After completing the steps above, your touch screen should be inoperable, allowing you to use your mouse and keyboard without any accidental touch responses from your screen.

Enabling the Touchscreen in Windows 10

If you ever need to turn the touchscreen back on it’s almost the same process.

Go back into the Device Manager and right-click HID-compliant touch screen.
This time, select Enable device from the context menu to restore your Windows 10 touch screen feature. Note that you will also need to restart Windows 10 to activate the touch screen again.

Why Turn Off the Touchscreen?

For those that prefer to use a touchscreen instead of a mouse, you’re probably wondering why someone would want to disable this feature.

Malfunctioning touchscreen (“Ghost touch”) – If your screen is acting as if it’s being touched when it isn’t, then disabling this feature will save you a lot of frustration.
Unintended screen touching – If you have kids or animals, such as a cat, that like to interact with your devices unexpectedly, it’s probably a good idea to disable the touchscreen.

Additional FAQs

Why is my touchscreen acting like it’s being touched?

Sometimes referred to as ghost touching, this occurs when there’s either a loose connection, a faulty wire/cable, or a faulty digitizer (the part that you interact with on a touchscreen).

Start by cleaning the screen thoroughly, sometimes grease or other debris can cause the screen to malfunction. If that doesn’t work, restart the device and try again. Then, attempt to reinstall the drivers for the device. If all else fails, you might need to replace the digitizer.

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Now you know how to disable/enable your touchscreen in Windows 10. Feel free to leave your experience or insight on the matter in the comments below, share it with the community.