How to disable touchpad

How to disable or enable the touchpad on a laptop

The touchpad on a laptop is a convenient way to add the functionality of a mouse without needing an extra peripheral. When the touchpad is enabled or unlocked, the touchpad has the same functionality as an external mouse. When the touchpad is disabled or locked, the touchpad doesn’t work, preventing the mouse cursor’s accidental movement with your palm while typing. When disabled, the need for an external mouse is required.

The exact steps to enable or disable the touchpad may differ slightly, depending on the laptop’s manufacturer, so you may need to use some intuition to achieve your desired outcome.

If your laptop’s touchpad does not work after trying to enable it using the steps below, see: Why is my laptop mouse touchpad not working?

Steps to try first

TouchPad Button: Some laptops have a button near the top of the touchpad that lets you quickly enable and disable the touchpad. You can toggle the touchpad off and on with that button.

The icon associated with toggling the touchpad is often indicated by a rectangle with a line under it. It may also have a pointing finger or a circle near or over a rectangle.

How to disable the touchpad in Windows 8 and 10

Using a mouse and keyboard

Once the touchpad is disabled, you need an external mouse to navigate in Windows, or you can use your keyboard to navigate in Windows. See: How to navigate Windows using a keyboard.

Using a keyboard only

How to disable the touchpad in Windows 7 and earlier

Using a mouse and keyboard

If there are several devices listed in the Device Settings tab, you need to select the touchpad in the device list and then click the Disable button.

Once the touchpad is disabled, you need an external mouse to navigate in Windows, or you can use your keyboard to navigate in Windows. See: How to navigate Windows using a keyboard.

Using a keyboard only

How to disable the touchpad in macOS

With macOS, you cannot disable the MacBook trackpad until an external mouse is plugged in or connected via Bluetooth. Once you have a mouse connected, follow the instructions below.

When your external mouse is unplugged or otherwise disconnected, the trackpad is automatically enabled again.

How to disable the touchpad on a Chromebook

Disable touchpad tap-to-click functionality

The tap-to-click functionality for a Chromebook touchpad can be turned off while still allowing you to use the touchpad to move the mouse cursor. The steps below show you how to disable tap-to-click.

Disable all touchpad functionality

To completely disable the Chromebook touchpad, follow the steps below.

Once the touchpad is disabled, you need an external mouse to navigate on the Chromebook.

How to enable the touchpad in Windows 8 and 10

Using a mouse and keyboard

Using a keyboard only

How to enable the touchpad in Windows 7 and earlier

Using a mouse and keyboard

If there are multiple devices listed in the Device Settings tab, you need to select the touchpad in the device list and then click the Enable button.

Using the keyboard only

How to enable the touchpad in macOS

In macOS, the touchpad cannot be disabled entirely, but it can be temporarily disabled if a mouse is connected. If you have a mouse connected, disconnect the mouse and verify the touchpad is enabled and working again.

If you want the touchpad enabled even when a mouse is connected, follow the instructions below.

When your external mouse is unplugged or otherwise disconnected, the trackpad is automatically enabled again.

How to enable the touchpad on a Chromebook

Enable touchpad tap-to-click functionality

If the tap-to-click functionality for the Chromebook touchpad is disabled, follow the steps below to turn it back on.

Enable all touchpad functionality

To enable the touchpad, press the Search key + Shift + P keyboard shortcut.

If pressing the keyboard shortcut does not enable the touchpad, the advanced keyboard shortcuts are likely disabled. To enable those shortcuts, follow the steps below.

After the Chromebook restarts, try pressing the Search key + Shift + P keyboard shortcut again. If the touchpad still is not enabled and working, the touchpad may be defective and need to be replaced.

How to Turn Off Touchpad Windows 10

On a laptop, the in-built input device for the mouse pointer is known as a touchpad. Touchpads are completely usable and are excellent when it comes to using them for mouse pointer input. However, most people would still rather use a mouse than a touchpad to move their cursor around. If you connect a physical mouse to your laptop, though, you can’t have the touchpad working as an input device too (there would simply be a clash between the two and the touchpad might also become a source of unintentional input). For that reason, and for an array of others, people often need to turn their touchpads off.

Disabling a laptop’s touchpad is comfortably within the realm of possibilities, even on Windows 10 – the latest and greatest iteration of the Windows Operating Ssytem. Before you move on to turning the touchpad on your Windows 10 laptop off, you should definitely have an alternative input device for your mouse pointer connected. If you only want to have your computer’s touchpad turned off while you have a mouse connected to it, you’d be better off following disable touchpad. If you want to permanently turn your touchpad off, however, you are most certainly in the right place.

There are a number of different ways you can go about disabling touchpads on Windows 10, and which one you use simply depends on your specific circumstances or basically whichever way ends up getting the job done for you. Without further ado, the following are some of the absolute most effective methods you can use to disable a touchpad on Windows 10:

Method 1: Disable the touchpad in Settings

Windows 10 brought with it the ability to turn your laptop’s touchpad on or off directly from the Operating System’s Settings utility. If you would like to disable your touchpad from Settings, all you need to do is:

Method 2: Disable ETD Control Center from running at startup

For many laptops, the touchpad is controlled by a program known as ETD Control Center, a program that starts up every single time your computer boots up, and it is when this program is running in the background that your touchpad works. That being the case, users who do have ETD Control Center on their computers can disable their touchpads by simply preventing the program from running at startup. Users who don’t have ETD Control Center on their computers, however, would be better off giving any of the other methods listed and described here a shot. To use this method, you need to:

Once you do so, ETD Control Center will no longer run when your computer boots up, which means that your touchpad won’t work either.

Method 3: Disable your touchpad in Device Manager

Every device connected to a computer has a listing in the Device Manager, and it is in the Device Manager that you can disable devices that are connected to your computer, preventing them from working. The same can be done in this case to disable your laptop’s touchpad. To disable your touchpad in Device Manager, you need to:

Method 4: Use Touchpad Blocker to disable your touchpad

If absolutely none of the methods listed and described above have worked for you, have no fear – you can still use a third-party application to disable your touchpad. One such application that you can use goes by the name of Touchpad Blocker. Touchpad Blocker is a free, lightweight piece of software that can be configured to run at startup and allows users to turn their touchpad off by simply pressing a specified key combination on their keyboard (with the only catch being the fact that the program needs to be running – in the background or in the foreground, doesn’t really matter which – for it to be able to do so).

When you turn your touchpad off using Touchpad Blocker, the touchpad remains disabled until you either turn it on by pressing the specified key combination again or restart your computer. If you would like to acquire and use Touchpad Blocker, you need to:

Touchpad Blocker is a completely lightweight and non-intrusive application – it runs in the background (can be accessed from the Notification Area, though), so you won’t even know it’s there.

How to Disable the Touchpad on Windows 10

No longer using the Windows 10 touchpad? Turn it off

What to Know

This article explains how to disable a laptop touchpad in Windows 10. Additional instructions cover how to adjust touchpad sensitivity and how to reset touchpad settings.

Why Disable the Touchpad in Windows 10?

Some users prefer using a mouse because it’s generally more comfortable. Others with touchscreen-enabled PCs may prefer to tap and swipe their laptop screens like a tablet.

While working on a document, you might want to temporarily disable the touchpad to avoid accidentally tapping something or moving the mouse pointer while typing on the keyboard. A touchpad’s proximity to the keyboard makes it more vulnerable to these kinds of accidents.

Make sure you have a mouse connected and ready to use before disabling the touchpad. Depending on the device, there may or may not be a manual key you can press to turn it back on.

How to Disable the Touchpad on Windows 10

Check to see if there’s a physical key on your laptop to disable/enable your touchpad’s functionality. The key may have an icon resembling a touchpad. You will likely have to hold the Fn key as you press it.

If your device doesn’t have such a key, follow these instructions to disable the touchpad from your Windows Settings:

Select the Windows icon in the lower-left corner of your screen, then select the gear icon to open Windows Settings.

Alternatively, type settings in the Windows search box and select Settings from the list of options that appear.

Select Devices.

Select Touchpad in the left pane, then switch Touchpad to Off.

To automatically turn off the touchpad when you plug in your mouse, uncheck Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected.

If you want to change the touchpad’s level of sensitivity, scroll down to Touchpad Sensitivity. You can also choose what happens when you tap the touchpad, and when you Scroll and zoom.

Scroll down farther to customize Three-finger gestures and Four-finger gestures.

Scroll to the bottom of the screen and select Reset to restore the touchpad’s default settings.

How to disable your laptop touchpad

The touchpad has been the standard laptop pointing device for years. Since touchpads are built into a laptop, they work well when you don’t want to carry around another pointing device. Even when a mouse or another pointing device is available, some users prefer the feel of a touchpad above anything else. But whether you love touchpads or just tolerate them, they still get in the way sometimes. When you’re typing on a laptop’s keyboard, it’s common to brush against the touchpad and inadvertently send the cursor flying across the screen. You don’t need to put up with that, however—here’s how to turn it off.

The easiest way to disable a touchpad depends on the hardware. The good news is that manufacturers of modern laptops have tried to address the issue up front. On some notebooks, you’ll find a physical switch to disable and enable the touchpad; look around the laptop’s edge for it. The PC might also offer a keyboard shortcut (such as pressing Fn and F7 simultaneously) to disable the touchpad, or perhaps pressing a certain area of the touchpad itself will turn it off. Check your laptop’s documentation for specific methods.

How to disable a touchpad in software

Some manufacturers provide ways of customizing and disabling the touchpad through software.

1. Look for a touchpad icon in the notification area (lower-right corner). Double-click or

You can disable your touchpad from the notifications area.

right-click it to browse the touchpad options; disable the touchpad from here if possible.

2. If you don’t find a touchpad icon in the notification area, type control panel in Windows search bar. Go to Hardware and Sound, and under Devices and Printers, click Mouse. The Mouse Properties window will open; you might find a tab in that window where you can disable the touchpad.

Going through Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Mouse can reveal a Mouse Properties window.

3. Look for a touchpad software entry in the Start menu if you can’t find it in the notification area or under Mouse Properties.

One more option

If you don’t see a way to physically disable the touchpad or to disable it through software, you still have another option.

1. Click Start.

2. Type device manager into the Search box. In the Device Manager, expand Mice and other pointing devices.

Look for your mouse in the Device Manager, to disable its touchpad.

3. Right-click the touchpad’s entry. In the menu that pops up, click Disable.

4. Confirm your choice in the pop-up window.

Make sure you have another pointing device available before disabling the touchpad.

If you find touchpad software installed on your laptop, you might be able to adjust the settings and eliminate the touchpad’s annoying behavior without disabling it. For example, some touchpad software allows you to change the sensitivity of the touchpad, ignore palm presses, and automatically disable the touchpad when the system detects an external mouse.

Some useful third-party touchpad-management programs are available at no cost. If you don’t have touchpad software or if your current software isn’t cutting it, explore alternatives. For example, a tool such as TouchFreeze or Touchpad Pal can disable the touchpad whenever it detects that you’re typing, and re-enable the touchpad once you’re done.

5 Ways To Disable The Touchpad In Windows 10/8.1/7

Last Updated on April 13, 2020 by admin 40 Comments

Touchpad (also known as a trackpad) has been around for over two decades now but the fact is most laptops that ship with Windows don’t offer great touchpad experience. Only a handful number of Windows laptops ship with a good quality touchpad. It’s because of this reason, most users plug in a mouse while using a laptop for productive work.

If you’re the kind of user who prefers connecting a mouse to your laptop to get the job done, you might want to disable the touchpad when a mouse is connected to the laptop.

While some notebooks ship with a tiny physical button to quickly enable or disable the touchpad, most of the notebooks don’t include this functionality. In order to turn off the touchpad, you need to either use a third-party tool or disable the touchpad under Device Manager.

Follow one of the given below methods to completely disable the touchpad on a laptop running Windows 10.

WARNING: If you don’t have a mouse nearby, please don’t attempt to disable the touchpad using one of these methods, as once the touchpad is disabled, you’ll need a mouse to work on the machine. Also, you need to connect a mouse (not required if you know how to navigate to the Device Manager and enable the touchpad using the keyboard) in order to enable the previously disabled touchpad. And if you’re on a Mac, please follow our how to disable MacBook’s trackpad guide.

Tip: If you want to automatically turn off the touchpad when a mouse is connected, refer to our how to turn off the touchpad when a mouse is connected guide.

The following directions are applicable to Windows 10. However, some of them might work on Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 7 as well.

Disable the touchpad from Settings in Windows 10

If your laptop is equipped with a precision touchpad, you can turn on or off the touchpad from within the Settings app in Windows 10. The precision touchpad offers more touchpad gestures and settings. Here is how to turn off the touchpad via Settings in Windows 10.

Step 1: Navigate to Settings > Devices > Touchpad.

Step 2: Turn off the Touchpad option to disable the touchpad and its settings. If the Touchpad option doesn’t show up (as shown in the picture), it’s because your laptop is using a non-precision touchpad.

Disabling touchpad using the native Device Manager

Step 1: Open Device Manager. To do so, simultaneously press Windows logo and R keys to open the Run command, type Devmgmt.msc in the box, and then press enter key.

Step 2: Once Device Manager is there on your screen, expand Test (if it’s not already), and then expand Mice and other pointing devices to see HID-compliant mouse entries.

Step 3: Right-click on the first HID-compliant mouse entry and then click the Disable option. Click Yes button when you see “Disabling this device will cause it to stop functioning. Do you really want to disable it?” warning message to disable the touchpad.

In most cases, disabling the first HID-compliant mouse should disable the built-in touchpad. But if the touchpad is working even after disabling the first entry, disable other HID-compliant mouse one after another.

In order to enable the touchpad again, you need to right-click on disabled HID-compliant mouse entry and then click enable option.

Enable or disable touchpad in BIOS

While not all OEMs offer an option in the BIOS to enable or disable the touchpad, most laptops have an option in the BIOS to turn on or off the touchpad. For instance, there is an option in my ThinkPad BIOS to enable or disable the touchpad. Boot into BIOS to check if an option is present.

Turn off the touchpad with the help of TouchPad Blocker

There are a couple of free tools out there to help you disable the touchpad on a laptop running Windows but we recommend TouchPad Blocker as it not only lets you type as fast and accurate as you can (by locking the touchpad input for a small period of time after a key is pressed) but also allows you enable or disable the touchpad with a keyboard shortcut.

TouchPad Blocker resides in the system tray area of the taskbar, meaning you can quickly access all features and options with a click. Visit the developer’s page to download the executable. Please click on the black-colored Download button on the download page in order to download the program.

Prevent accidental clicks using Touchfreeze

If you’re looking for a program not to disable the touchpad but to prevent accidentally changing the mouse cursor position that happens when your palm or wrist touches the touchpad while typing, Touchfreeze is the software you need.

Unlike TouchPad Blocker, Touchfreeze doesn’t include many options but it does its job very well. In simple words, when Touchfreeze is running, it locks the touchpad for a very small period after hitting a key. I have been using this software for the past two years and can confirm that it works as advertised. It’s a must-have program if you type a lot on your laptop. An option is available to load the program with Windows as well.

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Comments

It didn’t work for me on an old Windows 7 Toshiba Satellite A305, usually there should be a tab on mouse options on control panel, but somehow tab for disabling touchpad isn’t there, device manager didn’t disable it either, it disabled mouse and I enabled back with touchpad lol. Function key doesn’t work, it works for disabling Wi-Fi, dimm brightness, etc., but curiously only FN+F9 (enabling/disabling touch pad) isn’t working, as a pretty old device it’s difficult to find its drivers to reinstall them, curiously while was writting this I thought of a possible conflict so went to check Revo Uninstaller to deduct if any software listed could be the cause and found a Toshiba software and opened its location folder, it was TOSHIBAValueAddedPackage, then I followed its root folder ‘TOSHIBA’ which has several folders, in one named ‘TBS’ (I’m gonna guess it is Toshiba Buttons Support) I’ve found EXE files with icons and names related to FN keys and there it was TouchpadED, I double-clicked it and an icon with the touchpad disabled symbol popped up out of the screen. I wasn’t going to leave a comment, but just in case someone else is looking for a solution to deactivate touchpad on a Toshiba Satellite and the FN keys aren’t working anymore to disable/enable this or any other feature as it was my case after days looking for a solution until I came here, look for Toshiba folder in ‘Program Files’ in ‘C:’, then open TBS (Toshiba Buttons Support) folder, in there you will find the same FN keys in ‘.exe’ format (TBSWireless, Brightness, Dimmer, TBSSoundMute, etc.), in fact I was able to fix the flash cards with TBSBtnCfg (Button Setting Assingment), if before it wasn’t working… now when I press FN key I can see flash cards on screen as a guide.

I’m sure my cat did not hit any of those steps when he disabled my touchpad.

Christopher Boucher says

The majority of web results beat around the bush with the default W10/Devices method. Your advice was clear and concise plus I appreciated the methods offered, there’s always another way to get things done so thanks for going the extra steps.

johnny blair says

I tried everything I could find to disable the touchpad on my HP laptop. Nothing worked. Sometimes the advice suggested a button or setting that never showed.

Finally, I noticed that my touchpad was an “Elan” brand. Click START scroll to “ELAN” Touchpad settings Click, a box opens with a disable button. Click it. Done.

Why a HP laptop has a different brand name touchpad is a mystery, to use a nice word.
None of the advice I found mentioned looking for Elan.

SWAIN DSILVA says

THANK YOU BRO YOU REALLY SAVED MY LIFE

Thanks for the article – Touchpad Blocker is exactly what I’m looking for!

To disable mouse pad
Go to Device Manager (Rt click on start)
Expand “mice and other pointing devices
Disable “Synaptics piniting device”

Izabella Marshall says

I thought I had tried everything and I was about to give up disabling touchpad, and then I tried the first suggestion on this page with the two HID-Compliant Mouse or whatever! I tried the top one and it controlled the mouse, but the second one turned off the touchpad!! Thank You Sooooooo Much. I’m not sure who I am talking to, but you rule! Thanks Again!!

I have the same problem with matthias :

“Hallo i have tried all the options above, non of them can disable my touchpad after i got the new windows 10. futhermore when i try to disable HID-Complaint mouse i do not get the option to disable it, only to uninstall it. if i unintall it still working and wants me to restart my computer where is downloads it again. the programs that this artical suggests dosnt help either”

None of these work now since the latest Win10 update. The malicious bastards at Microsoft have completely disabled any ability to disable the touchpad any more. The only way to disable it now is to physically remove the laptop cover and pull out the wires to the touchpad.

The only thing that worked was what davea0511 says

January 30, 2018 at 12:21 am

Disable touchpad easy
Restart hold F2
In Bios select internal pointer
Select Disable
Save and Exit
No more touchpad

Didn’t help me, kept working, and as I understand it for everyone else a reboot restores functionality. What did work was this (for win 10:)
(1) go into windows settings
(2) devices (no, this is not device manager)
(3) click “touchpad” on the left menu
(4) click “additional settings” on the far right side of the dialog box (under “related settings”)
(5) go to the “Device Settings” tab if it isn’t already active, and
(6) click the “Disable” button.

These 7 steps allowed me to disable my touchpad (Dell laptop, Windows 10):

Win Start button
Type in “device manager”
Select Device Manager to open it
Click down arrow to left of “Mice and other…” to expand
Right click Dell Touchpad
Disable device
Yes

THANK YOU SO MUCH! Nothing else has worked until I found this. Thank you!

Touchpad Blocker is really awesome, especially for some stupid HP laptops without a hotkey to enable/disable touchpad. And I think M$ should provide such hotkey in Windows.
Thanks for this great post!

intowindows.com/3-ways-to-disable-touchpad-in-windows/ seems to be great, with Touchpad blocker.

I’ve needed to stop the touchpad from reacting while I”m typing. I don’t know why windows removed that option!

I installed Freezepad but I couldn’t tell if it was working. It takes up less memory. I installed Touchpadpal too. That one bings when it blocks the pad, but I couldn’t see where it’s settings were.

I think putting all three on at the same time caused the system freeze I just got out of. But seems fine now…

I also find out that you need to open the devices setting and click on “Mouse & touchpad”, scroll down and click “Additional mouse options”. The mouse properties will be shown, click on ELAN or whatever there beside the “hardware”, then click “stop device” to disable your touchpad.

Thank God the 1st of 3 methods worked fine with my Samsung Laptop &Windows 10! But after trying the first HID… My Logitech WIRELESS MOUSE was disabled!
So I had to back track to get it going again. And then I right clicked on
“synaptic PS/2 Port Touch Pad” and clicked UNINSTALL! Voila! DEAD TOUCH PAD!

Also you don’t have to type if you use: Control Panel>Hardware & Sound>Devices & Printers>DEVICE MANAGER>Mice & Other Pointing Devices>Rt. click Synaptics PS/2 Port Touch Pad>UNINSTALL! Yippeeeeeee!

Just remember the KEY: “DEVICE MANAGER”

The tochpad blocker still not solve the problem. it needs to be activated when the system starts. So fore me it is easier fore med’ to deactivate the touchpad from windows entry rather than using this program. Sorry.

I gave up trying to disable the Windows 10 touch pad and keep the screen touch usability, plus the disabled touch pad comes right back on after sleeping or restart.

So, this is how to disable the stinking touch pad and keep the screen touch operable: tape stiff cardboard over the touch pad. It’s ugly but works as I want it to, not as Microsoft thinks I should want it to.

Lori Cameron says

To do it the correct and easiest way, read Geri’s solution posted on 9/26/16. Thanks Geri!

I like using the touch capability of the screen but use a mouse and want to turn off the touch pad, which constantly messes up my typing. It seems in Windows 10 the touch pad can be turned off, but it also turns off the screen. Now, how tough would it be to allow what I need. Microsoft wants to add all these “cool” features, but in the process forgets basic usability and needs of users in favor of developers, IMO, having fun.

On 9/26 Ceri made the following comment: While in Settings/Mouse & Touchpad, go to Additional Mouse Options. You should see a button for ClickPad Disable, click it. Don’t worry about what the message said just answer message OK. Your touchpad is now totally turned off and you’re external mouse device is only one working. I LOVE it.

My reply? I have had to do this “daily” for when the HP laptop sits idle or goes to sleep mode, when it refreshes, the touchpad is working again….so have to go back to Settings/Mouse & Touchpad, blah blah blah.

Very, VERY frustrating as my prior laptops had a button to push and kept it off. I will look to a different method as described elsewhere to try to totally disable

No disable option the way you describe but found a great way to turn it off completely so your external mouse is the only one operating (I need it cuz its always moving ((clutzy) /& clicking)
While in Settings/Mouse & Touchpad, go to Additional mouse settings. There you’ll find a button called ClickPad Disable. Click it – don’t worry about message (so long as your external device is connected) – click Yes. Click Apply and OK. Your touchpad is now totally disabled. I LOVE it.

While in Settings/Mouse & Touchpad, go to Additional Mouse Options. You should see a button for ClickPad Disable, click it. Don’t worry about what the message said just answer message OK. Your touchpad is now totally turned off and you’re external mouse device is only one working. I LOVE it.

it woks thanksssssssssssssssss

Thanks. The inbuilt Windows 10 ‘Mouse and Touch Pad Settings’ did not work for my (brand new) Dell (which does not have a separate touch pad driver anymore, but relies on Windows 10 to do the job), so your help in disabling a (rather crappy) touch pad was very welcome.

David Poissant says

“Disabling touchpad using native device manager worked great on my Dell Inspiron laptop. I’ve been fighting the touchpad since converting to Windows 10. Thank-you.

Even Lenovo tech support couldn’t help me and said it was impossible to disable the touchpad. Your first method worked perfectly and instantly. Thank you!

Help, I’m in windows 10, HP, ALPS pointing device is the Touchpad in my System?

HID Compliant Mouse is what is plugged into my computer. I can’t turn off the Synapticss SMBus Touchpad. Uninstalling the driver doesn’t disable the pad either.

None of the recommendations are working for me either (running Lenovo Laptop & Windows 10).

Aadya Paudel, what is the touchpad driver option on your computer? I search for touchpad and trackpad but i don’t find nothing. Turning off mouse devices stops my mouse, touchpad works on every moment.

Hi Matthias, i have the same problem. If you find answer faster please write it in comment.

Bui Thanh Huynh says

I find my way to disable touchpad in windows 10:

– Download manager at
hxtp://www.nirsoft.net/utils/device_manager_view.html
– Disable touchpad diver
– Restart
–

Aadya Paudel says

I have the same error as you. Have you solved it already? If you have please inform me.

Hallo i have tried all the options above, non of them can disable my touchpad after i got the new windows 10. futhermore when i try to disable HID-Complaint mouse i do not get the option to disable it, only to uninstall it. if i unintall it still working and wants me to restart my computer where is downloads it again. the programs that this artical suggests dosnt help either