How to Turn Off Touch Screen on Chromebook (2024 Guide)

Are you a proud owner of a Chromebook? People like these gadgets because they are simple and easy to use, but some features can be too much to handle at times. The touch screen is one of them. Turning off the touch screen can be helpful if you want to avoid touching it by mistake or just prefer using a mouse or keyboard. For this help, we will show you how to turn off touch screen on Chromebook step by step. We’ve put together a full summary of the most important information from a number of different sources.

Why Turn Off Touch Screen?

It can be helpful to have a touch screen on your laptop because it makes using the device easier. There are times, though, when you might want to turn off the touch screen. You might want to turn off your Chromebook’s touch screen for the following reasons:

Don’t touch things by accident: It’s easy to tap or swipe the screen by mistake, which can get in the way of your work or make you do something you didn’t mean to.
Stay away from distractions while typing: If you type a lot on your Chromebook, touching the touch screen by chance while you’re typing can be annoying and cause mistakes.
Choose between a mouse and a touchpad: Some users like to use a mouse or touchpad to interact and navigate, and turning off the touch screen lets them focus only on these ways.

How to Turn Off Touch Screen on Chromebook?

Disabling the touch screen on a Chromebook is a straightforward process. Although there are slight variations depending on the Chromebook model and operating system version, we have compiled a general step-by-step guide that should work for most devices.

Open the Chrome Browser

To begin, open the Chrome browser on your Chromebook. You can do this by clicking on the Chrome icon in the app launcher or by selecting it from the taskbar.

Access Chrome Flags

Once the Chrome browser is open, type chrome://flags in the address bar and press Enter. This will take you to the Chrome Flags page, where you can enable or disable experimental features.

Find the Debugging Keyboard Shortcuts Flag

On the Chrome Flags page, you will see a search bar. Type “debugging keyboard shortcuts” in the search bar to quickly locate the relevant flag. Alternatively, you can directly access the flag by pasting the following path in the address bar: chrome://flags/#ash-debug-shortcuts.

Enable the Debugging Keyboard Shortcuts Flag

After locating the “Debugging Keyboard Shortcuts” flag, click on the drop-down menu next to it and select “Enabled.” This will activate the flag and enable additional keyboard shortcuts for debugging purposes.

Restart Your Chromebook

Once you have enabled the flag, you will need to restart your Chromebook for the changes to take effect. To do this, click on the “Restart” button located at the bottom-right corner of the Chrome browser window.

Disable the Touch Screen Functionality

After your Chromebook has restarted, you can now use the new keyboard shortcut to disable the touch screen functionality. Press the following keys simultaneously: Search + Shift + T. This will toggle the touch screen off, and you will no longer be able to interact with your Chromebook using touch input.

Re-enable the Touch Screen

If you ever want to re-enable the touch screen on your Chromebook, simply press the same keyboard shortcut: Search + Shift + T. This will turn the touch screen functionality back on, allowing you to use the touch input as before.

Remember, Chromebook models may differ slightly in terms of the steps required to disable the touch screen. It’s worth noting that Chrome flags are experimental features that may affect your browsing experience.

In Summary

Chromebooks have a touch screen that can be turned off. This can be helpful if you don’t want to touch the screen by mistake or would rather use a mouse or touchpad instead. There are easy steps in this guide that will show you how to turn off touch screen on Chromebook.

We also gave you some useful touchpad tips to make your surfing experience better overall. You can now easily and quickly find your way around your Chromebook. Remember that turning off the touch screen is a personal choice, and you can always turn it back on whenever you want.

FAQs

Why isn’t the keyboard shortcut disabling the touch screen?

If the Search + Shift + T command isn’t working, you may need to enable the shortcut in the Chrome browser by following the steps outlined earlier. Alternatively, ensure that the Search key is enabled if you previously disabled it.