Nitro 5 AN515-44 -- Touchpad lagging and the clicking doesn't work

muchomaas

Hello all,

I know this is a (too) common issue among Nitro and Aspire laptops, for what I'm seeing on the Internet. My Nitro PC is two and a half years old. Everything has always worked well, and it still mostly does, with the exception of the touchpad, which, a couple of weeks ago, started presenting a super annoying lag (it takes about 1 second to react to my commands). Sometimes its response is jittery, to the level it makes the touchpad borderline unusable. Also, it sometimes presents phantom commands, the clicking doesn't work, etc. It's really bad to use the PC this way.

I have a Nitro AN515-44 with Windows 10, 64 bit. The driver for the touchpad (ELAN I2C Filter Driver) is version 13.6.16.1.

• The touchpad is clean. I've cleaned it with alcohol. Made no difference on the lagging/jittering.
• The issue happens independently of the laptop being connected to a power outlet or not (and I don't use extension cords). Honestly, since it began, it's been there pretty much constantly, with varying levels of badness.
• I've tried disabling the device on the device manager and restarting the PC. Didn't solve it.
• As far as I could tell from the Acer Driver website, this (13.6.16.1) is the latest version of the driver. Somebody please tell me in case I'm wrong.
• I won't touch the BIOS, as I've seen in some posts out there, for a touchpad issue unless somebody has concrete proof that that is the way to go.

I know this is affecting a LOT of folks out there, and it's making my experience with the (for the rest, excellent) PC concretely worse. Please, Acer / Acer support team, show us an actual solution for this issue. Please do let me know if anybody needs more information (software/hardware) about my PC.

Thank you

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title and add issue detail]

JackE

I've tried disabling the device on the device manager and restarting the PC. Didn't solve it.

Try UN-INSTALLING the touchpad from the HID folder, NOT just disabling it.

Then exit Device Manager without trying to reinstall anything. Shut down Windows normally.

Turn it back on and let Windows automatically re-detect the pad and automatically re-install fresh copies of the driver.

JackE

I've tried disabling the device on the device manager and restarting the PC. Didn't solve it.

Try UN-INSTALLING the touchpad from the HID folder, NOT just disabling it.

Then exit Device Manager without trying to reinstall anything. Shut down Windows normally.

Turn it back on and let Windows automatically re-detect the pad and automatically re-install fresh copies of the driver.

muchomaas

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1241718#Comment_1241718

Hey JackE, that seems to have helped! I selected "Uninstall Device" and also opted to delete the driver. Then reset my PC right away. Now the touchpad isn't laggy anymore. Also, it's appearing on the Device Manager as a "HID-compliant mouse", not as an ELAN device anymore.

Thank you, I really appreciate it. Hope the touchpad stays good.

JackE

That's fine. Thanks for reporting back on your success. I suspect that somehow the Synaptic instead of the Elan driver got installed. Maybe due to an errant update a few weeks ago?

a_happy_laptop_user

It's unfortunate to hear that you're experiencing issues with your Acer Nitro 5 AN515-44's touchpad. Touchpad problems can be caused by various factors, and it's good that you've already tried some troubleshooting steps. Here are additional steps you can take to address the touchpad lagging and clicking issues:

1. Update Touchpad Driver:
   • Even if you have the latest driver version, try reinstalling or updating the touchpad driver. Sometimes, the driver may become corrupted.
   • Visit the Acer support website, enter your laptop's model, and download the latest touchpad driver available. Install it and see if it resolves the issue.
2. Roll Back Driver:
   • If the issue started after a recent driver update, you can try rolling back to the previous version.
   • Go to Device Manager, find the touchpad under "Mice and other pointing devices," right-click, choose "Properties," go to the "Driver" tab, and click "Roll Back Driver" if the option is available.
3. Check for Windows Updates:
   • Ensure that your Windows operating system is up to date. Sometimes, Windows updates include fixes for hardware-related issues.
   • Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, and check for updates.
4. BIOS Update:
   • Although you mentioned being hesitant about updating the BIOS, in some cases, a BIOS update can resolve hardware-related issues. Check Acer's support website for any BIOS updates specifically addressing touchpad problems.
5. Check for Hardware Issues:
   • If possible, connect an external USB mouse to see if it behaves normally. This will help determine if the issue is specific to the touchpad or if it's a broader system problem.
   • Consider performing a hardware diagnostic test if your laptop has built-in diagnostics.
6. Reset Touchpad Settings:
   • In Windows 10, you can reset touchpad settings to default. Go to Settings > Devices > Touchpad, and click "Reset" under the Reset your touchpad section.
7. System Restore:
   • If the issue started recently, you may consider using System Restore to revert your system to a point before the problem occurred. This won't affect your personal files but will roll back system changes.
8. Contact Acer Support:
   • If none of the above steps resolve the issue, it's advisable to contact Acer's support team for further assistance. They may provide additional guidance or recommend sending the laptop for service if it's still under warranty.

Remember to back up important data before attempting significant changes to your system. If you're not comfortable performing certain troubleshooting steps, seeking assistance from Acer's support team or a professional technician is a good option.

JackE

that seems to have helped! > >Hope the touchpad stays good.

That's fine. Thanks for reporting back on your success. 🙂

I suspect that somehow the Synaptic instead of the Elan driver got installed. Maybe due to an errant update a few weeks ago?

muchomaas

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1241795#Comment_1241795

Well, I guess that's not impossible. Could it be using the Synaptic driver even if the device appeared as Elan on the Device Manager, and the driver version matched that of what I see on the Acer driver website?

JackE

Probably not then. Are the driver date stamps now year 2006 under mice & hid folders?

muchomaas

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1241807#Comment_1241807

Yes. It was time stamped 2006. What also happened was, even though the touchpad was working better than before, it was still not great. So I got Windows to find the updated driver via Windows Update and now it appears as an Elan device again, version 13.6.16.1, and it seems to be working fine as far as I can tell. Maybe the original driver got corrupted by a Windows update?

JackE

So I got Windows to find the updated driver via Windows Update and now it appears as an Elan device again, version 13.6.16.1 > Maybe the original driver got corrupted by a Windows update?

Yes, OEM Elan might've somehow been corrupted. The 2006 Micr o soft version is very basic that might not have all the bells and whistles of the OEM driver but nonetheless can get usable functionality back.

I guess *** sometimes *** WinUpdate might actually fix something instead of break it. 🙂 Just to be safe though, search 'restore point' in Windows start menu. Click ' create a restore point' near top of menu. In the box that pops up, make sure System Protection is turned on so that an automatic restore point is created if an errant update strikes.