If your touchpad or trackpad stopped working after an iPadOS update, don’t assume the trackpad is broken. The problem may be as simple as a loose connection, changed trackpad setting, Bluetooth issue, or a temporary software problem.
The quickest way to find the cause is to check what actually stopped working.
- No cursor at all: check the connection, power, pairing, and accessory connection.
- Cursor moves but won’t click: check click settings and test click input.
- Cursor and clicking work but scrolling fails: check scrolling and gesture settings.
- Gestures stopped working: check trackpad and accessibility settings.
- Magic Keyboard works but its trackpad doesn’t: reseat the iPad and check the connector.
- Bluetooth trackpad stopped responding: reconnect or pair it again.
Note: iPad uses iPadOS, although many people still search for this problem using “iOS update.”
Quick Fix: Touchpad Not Working After an iPadOS Update
Before changing several settings at once, try these in order:
- Disconnect and reconnect the trackpad.
- Check its power or battery if applicable.
- Turn Bluetooth off and back on for a Bluetooth trackpad.
- If you use a Magic Keyboard, remove the iPad and attach it again.
- Restart the iPad.
- Check the trackpad settings.
- Test movement, clicking, scrolling, and gestures separately.
- Test the trackpad in another app or webpage.
- Try another compatible pointing device if available.
- Use a dedicated touchpad test to identify which input is failing.
If one of these steps fixes the problem, you don’t need to reset the entire iPad or start changing unrelated settings.
First, Find Out What Is Actually Broken
A trackpad problem is not always a complete connection failure.
The cursor does not appear or move
Start with the physical connection, power, pairing, and accessory compatibility.
The cursor moves but clicking does not work
The trackpad is communicating with the iPad, so focus on click settings and click input rather than treating it as a complete connection failure.
Clicking works but scrolling does not
Check scrolling and gesture settings. The pointer can work normally even when a particular gesture does not.
Two-finger or other gestures stopped working
Check the trackpad and accessibility settings, then test the individual gesture.
This simple distinction can save you from changing settings that have nothing to do with the actual problem.
1. Disconnect and Reconnect the Trackpad
Start with the connection.
For a Bluetooth trackpad, disconnect it and pair it again if necessary.
For an Apple Magic Keyboard with a built-in trackpad, detach the iPad from the keyboard and attach it again. Make sure the iPad sits correctly on the connector and that nothing is blocking the connection.
After reconnecting, move the pointer and test a normal click.
If the cursor comes back, the problem was probably related to the connection rather than the trackpad suddenly becoming defective.
2. Check Power and Bluetooth
If you use a standalone Bluetooth trackpad, check its battery or power first.
Then check Bluetooth on the iPad.
Turn Bluetooth off, wait a few seconds, turn it back on, and check whether the trackpad reconnects.
Don’t keep toggling Bluetooth repeatedly if nothing changes. Move to the next step and isolate the problem instead.
Using a Bluetooth trackpad? Make sure the accessory is actually shown as connected before troubleshooting trackpad settings.
3. Restart the iPad
A restart is worth trying before making more complicated changes.
Disconnect the trackpad if necessary, restart the iPad normally, then reconnect the accessory.
After the iPad starts again, test:
- Cursor movement
- Normal click
- Scrolling
- Two-finger gestures
Test each function separately. This tells you whether the restart fixed the whole problem or only one part of it.
4. Check iPadOS Trackpad Settings
If the trackpad connects but behaves differently after an update, check its settings.
Depending on the connected accessory, look under:
Settings → General → Trackpad
or:
Settings → General → Trackpad & Mouse
Check the available options for:
- Tracking Speed
- Natural Scrolling
- Tap to Click
- Two-Finger Secondary Click
If tapping stopped registering as a click, Tap to Click is particularly worth checking.
If scrolling feels wrong, check Natural Scrolling and the available scrolling controls.
Don’t change every option at once. Change one setting, test the trackpad, and move to the next one only if the problem remains.
5. Check Pointer Control Settings
If the pointer appears but feels too slow, behaves strangely, or scrolling feels different after the update, check the pointer controls as well.
Look under:
Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control
Depending on your setup, you may find controls related to pointer appearance, pointer animations, scrolling speed, and trackpad behavior.
This is especially useful when the trackpad technically works but doesn’t feel the same as it did before the iPadOS update.
6. If Your Cursor Moves but Clicking Doesn’t Work
This is a different problem from a completely dead trackpad.
If the cursor moves normally, the iPad is receiving movement input from the trackpad.
Now test clicking separately.
Check whether:
- Normal clicking works
- Tap to Click works
- Secondary click works
- The problem happens everywhere or only in one app
If you want to check whether your browser is receiving touchpad click input, use the Touchpad Click Test.
This gives you a more useful answer than repeatedly restarting the iPad.
7. If Touchpad Scrolling Is Not Working
If the cursor moves and clicking works but scrolling doesn’t, don’t treat the trackpad as completely broken.
First check:
- Natural Scrolling
- Scrolling Speed
- Two-finger scrolling
- Whether the problem occurs in more than one app or webpage
Try scrolling in Safari and another app.
If scrolling fails everywhere, investigate the trackpad settings and connection.
You can also use the Touchpad Scroll Test to check whether scrolling input is being detected separately.
8. If Touchpad Gestures Are Not Working
Trackpad gestures are different from basic pointer movement.
For example, you may still be able to move the pointer and click while two-finger scrolling or another gesture fails.
Check the available trackpad and accessibility settings first.
Then test one gesture at a time instead of trying several gestures together.
If your main problem is gestures, use the Touchpad Gesture Test to investigate the input separately.
9. Magic Keyboard Trackpad Not Working on iPad
If you’re using an Apple Magic Keyboard with a built-in trackpad, troubleshoot the keyboard connection separately from a normal Bluetooth trackpad.
Start here:
- Detach the iPad from the Magic Keyboard.
- Check the connection area for visible debris.
- Reattach the iPad carefully.
- Make sure the iPad sits correctly on the connector.
- Restart the iPad if the trackpad is still unresponsive.
- Test the keyboard and trackpad separately.
If the keyboard works but the trackpad doesn’t, that’s useful information. It means you don’t necessarily have a complete Magic Keyboard connection failure.
If the entire keyboard and trackpad stop working together, focus first on the physical connection and accessory detection.
10. Bluetooth Trackpad Not Working on iPad
A standalone Bluetooth trackpad has a different troubleshooting path.
Check:
- Battery or power
- Bluetooth status
- Whether the trackpad appears as connected
- Pairing
- Trackpad settings
- Whether another Bluetooth accessory works normally
If reconnecting fixes the problem temporarily but it keeps happening, test the trackpad with another compatible device if you have one.
That helps separate an iPad-side problem from an accessory-side problem.
Touchpad Cursor Not Moving After an iPadOS Update
If there is no cursor at all, start with the connection rather than changing scrolling or clicking settings.
Work through these checks:
1. Is the trackpad powered?
Check the battery or power source where applicable.
2. Is the accessory connected?
For Bluetooth devices, confirm the connection. For Magic Keyboard, detach and reconnect the iPad.
3. Does restarting change anything?
Restart the iPad and test again.
4. Does another pointing device work?
If another compatible mouse or trackpad works normally, the original accessory becomes the main thing to investigate.
5. Is movement detected?
Use the Touchpad Movement Test if you need to investigate pointer movement separately.
How to Tell Whether the Problem Is Software or Hardware
The timing of the problem can give you a clue, but it doesn’t prove that an iPadOS update damaged the trackpad.
More likely to be a connection or software problem
- The trackpad worked before the update.
- Reconnecting changes the behavior.
- Restarting temporarily restores it.
- One function works while another doesn’t.
- Another compatible pointing device works on the iPad.
- The same trackpad works normally elsewhere.
Hardware becomes more likely when
- The same trackpad fails on another compatible device.
- The accessory has visible physical damage.
- The connection repeatedly drops.
- A specific physical area consistently fails.
- The problem remains after connection and settings checks.
The goal is not to guess. Test the accessory and the iPad separately.
Test the Exact Touchpad Function That Is Failing
You don’t need to run every test.
Use the one that matches your symptom:
- Complete touchpad check: Touchpad Diagnostic Test
- Cursor movement problem: Touchpad Movement Test
- Click problem: Touchpad Click Test
- Scrolling problem: Touchpad Scroll Test
- Multi-touch problem: Touchpad Multi-Touch Test
- Gesture problem: Touchpad Gesture Test
This is more useful than repeatedly testing the entire touchpad when you already know which function is failing.
Touchpad Not Working After Update: Quick Checklist
Before you reset anything, run through this list:
- Check power or battery
- Check Bluetooth if applicable
- Disconnect and reconnect the accessory
- Reattach the Magic Keyboard if you’re using one
- Restart the iPad
- Check Trackpad or Trackpad & Mouse settings
- Check Tap to Click
- Check scrolling settings
- Test cursor movement
- Test clicking
- Test scrolling
- Test gestures
- Test another app
- Compare with another compatible pointing device if available
When Should You Stop Troubleshooting?
If you’ve checked the connection, restarted the iPad, reviewed the relevant settings, and isolated the failing function but the problem continues, don’t keep changing unrelated settings.
At that point, test the accessory with another compatible device if possible.
If the same hardware continues to fail after those checks, Apple Support or the accessory manufacturer may need to inspect the device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my touchpad not working after an iPadOS update?
Reconnect the trackpad, restart the iPad, check the trackpad settings, and test movement, clicking, scrolling, and gestures separately. The exact fix depends on which function stopped working.
Why is my iPad trackpad connected but not working?
A connected trackpad can still have a pairing, setting, or accessory problem. Reconnect it, restart the iPad, check the trackpad settings, and test the input separately.
Why does my iPad trackpad move but not click?
Check the click settings, including Tap to Click where available. Then test click input separately with a touchpad click test.
Why is my Magic Keyboard trackpad not working?
Detach and reattach the iPad, check the physical connection, restart the iPad, and test the keyboard and trackpad separately.
Why is my iPad trackpad not scrolling?
Check Natural Scrolling and other available scrolling controls, then test two-finger scrolling in more than one app or webpage.
How do I know if my iPad trackpad is broken?
Test the trackpad on another compatible device if possible. If the same hardware fails after connection, settings, and software checks, the accessory may need further investigation.
Still Not Working?
Don’t treat every touchpad problem as the same problem.
First identify whether you’re dealing with movement, clicking, scrolling, gestures, connection, or the accessory itself.
Then run the matching diagnostic instead of repeating the same general troubleshooting steps.
Run the Touchpad Diagnostic Test →
For a specific problem, use the appropriate movement, click, scroll, multi-touch, or gesture test and troubleshoot from the result.