Chromebooks started small, but to this date, they have advanced beyond comprehension, both in price and specifications. The latest Samsung Galaxy Chromebook with a 4K Ultra display costs just about $1000 and judging from that price point, and Chrome OS has indeed come a long way. This is why you’ll see touchscreens slapped on most modern devices today, and these Chrome-powered systems have become no exception as time progressed.
However, if you happen to crack your screen accidentally on one of these touch-enabled Chromebooks, or you think that this functionality comes in the way of your work, you might want to turn it off for the better. Luckily, you can do that in a few simple steps, and this article is a tutorial on exactly that. Let’s get to it then.
Turning Off the Chromebook’s Touchscreen
Allow the following steps to explain how it’s done.
1) Begin by copying and pasting “chrome://flags/#ash-debug-shortcuts” in the address bar of your Chrome browser. Once you do that, press the “Enter” key.
2) After that, a new page should load for you. This is a dedicated page for “Experiments” that are mostly just accessibility features, such as the one in question. Moving on, you should see the “Debugging keyboard shortcuts” option highlighted in yellow because of the link we provided you. Right alongside it will rest a toggle for enabling it. Click on the toggle and tap on “Enabled” to continue.
Enabling Keyboard Shortcuts Debugging
3) Once you enable the keyboard shortcuts debugging, a prompt will appear from the bottom of the screen, telling you to restart your device to apply changes to the system. Click on “Restart” here and allow your system to reboot.
Restarting Device
4) When your device boots back up, log back in and get to the home screen. Here’s the part you’ve been waiting for, and you’ll be quite surprised how simple it is. All you have to do now is press the “Search + Shift + T” keys together, and your touchscreen will be disabled. As easy as that.
If you ever want to re-enable your device’s touchscreen, you’ll have to press the combination of keys mentioned above again, and your Chromebook will be back to its full functionality again.
Bonus Tip
Want to disable your touchpad as well for some reason? After the third step in the tutorial above, press the “Search + Shift + P” keys together, and your cursor will no longer be able to move. Your touchpad will go out of order as soon as you do that.
Likewise, if you have to enable it again, press those keys one more time, and your touchpad will come to life.
