DELL
Inspiron 15 5540
i5-120U
Touchpad Not Working Fix
Touchpad not working on the Dell Inspiron 15 5540 i5-120U means the built-in touchpad does not respond to touch, cursor movement, or click gestures. The Inspiron 15 5540 uses an ELAN precision touchpad. Common causes include the touchpad being disabled via keyboard shortcut, an outdated ELAN driver, or the Fn key lock disabling the pointing device.
Touchpad disabled by shortcut
Press Fn + F3 or the touchpad toggle key on the Dell Inspiron 15 5540 keyboard. Check the F3 key for a touchpad icon. Pressing it once disables the touchpad, pressing again re-enables it.
Touchpad disabled in Windows
Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Touchpad. If the Touchpad toggle is off, turn it on. This is a common accidental setting change.
Fix: Reinstall ELAN Touchpad Driver from Dell Support
Download the ELAN touchpad driver for the Dell Inspiron 15 5540 (Model P159G) from Dell Support. In Device Manager, uninstall ELAN Touchpad under Human Interface Devices (check driver deletion). Restart. Install the Dell ELAN driver. The Dell-certified ELAN driver includes precision touchpad gesture configuration and palm rejection settings specific to the Inspiron 15 5540 touchpad hardware. A Windows Update can replace the Dell-certified ELAN driver with a generic HID input device driver that disables gestures and reduces touchpad sensitivity.
Per Rohani Ismail, home baker using Dell Inspiron 15 5540 for recipe management: “Touchpad stopped working on the Inspiron 15 5540 after I pressed a key combination by accident. Pressing Fn + F3 turned the touchpad back on immediately. I did not need to reinstall any drivers.”
Fix: Check Touchpad in Device Manager
Open Device Manager → Human Interface Devices. Look for ELAN Touchpad. If it shows a yellow warning icon, right-click → Update driver → Search automatically. If the touchpad is listed without errors but still does not respond, right-click → Disable device, wait 10 seconds, then right-click → Enable device. This forces the touchpad controller to reinitialize and can recover from a frozen state that occurs after a driver update or Windows resume from sleep without requiring a full restart.
Fix: Update Dell BIOS
Download the latest BIOS for the Dell Inspiron 15 5540 (Model P159G) from Dell Support. BIOS updates include embedded controller firmware that manages the I2C bus connection between the ELAN touchpad controller and the Intel i5-120U platform. An outdated EC firmware can cause the touchpad to fail to initialize on wake from sleep, appearing as a touchpad that works only after a full restart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the touchpad not working on Dell Inspiron 15 5540?
The touchpad was disabled with Fn + F3, the Touchpad toggle in Windows Settings is off, the ELAN driver was replaced by a generic driver via Windows Update, or the touchpad controller is in a frozen state. Press Fn + F3 first, then check Settings Bluetooth and devices Touchpad toggle, then reinstall the ELAN driver from Dell Support.
Does Dell Inspiron 15 5540 support multi-touch gestures?
Yes. The Inspiron 15 5540 ELAN precision touchpad supports Windows 11 precision touchpad gestures including two-finger scroll, pinch to zoom, three-finger swipe for Task View, and four-finger tap for Action Center. These gestures require the Dell-certified ELAN precision touchpad driver. With a generic HID driver from Windows Update, only basic movement and click functions are available.
Can I disable the touchpad automatically when a USB mouse is connected on Inspiron 15 5540?
Yes. Open Settings → Bluetooth and devices → Touchpad. Under Cursor speed, find and enable Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected option, or uncheck it to automatically disable the touchpad when a USB mouse is plugged in. This setting prevents accidental touchpad input while using an external mouse on the Inspiron 15 5540.
Why does the Dell Inspiron 15 5540 touchpad stop working after sleep?
The ELAN touchpad controller is not fully reinitializing after a sleep-wake cycle. Disable USB Selective Suspend in Power Options to prevent the I2C touchpad bus from being suspended. Also update the Dell BIOS for embedded controller sleep-wake fixes that improve ELAN touchpad reinitialization after Windows resume from Modern Standby sleep state on the i5-120U platform.
Conclusion
Touchpad not working on the Dell Inspiron 15 5540 i5-120U is fixed by pressing Fn + F3 to re-enable the touchpad, turning on the Touchpad toggle in Windows Settings, reinstalling the ELAN touchpad driver from Dell Support for Model P159G, and updating the BIOS for touchpad sleep-wake reinitialization fixes. The Dell-certified ELAN precision touchpad driver is required for all multi-touch gesture functions beyond basic cursor movement and click.
Ryan holds a Computer Science degree and has over 20 years of hands-on experience with PC hardware, software, and driver troubleshooting. He is the author behind softwaredriverdownload.com, where he helps everyday users fix driver issues quickly and accurately. Ryan has personally tested most of the fixes on this site across a range of Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines.
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