Here’s how to adjust the action on your Chromebook trackpad [VIDEO]

DISCLAIMER: Right off the top I want to make it very clear that anything you do to your Chromebook that involves opening up the chassis will result in a void of your warranty. If you have any issues with your trackpad and don’t want to lose your manufacturer’s warranty, this process is not for you. If, however, you have reason to make some hardware adjustments to your Chromebook and aren’t concerned with warranty issues, this video might be right down your alley.

For many years I’ve been a bit of a trackpad snob. Favoring glass surfaces and sturdy click mechanisms, it is too often I find that Chromebooks don’t have quite the right feel to them. Usually this manifests in the trackpad hinge being configured a bit oddly and resulting in what I call a floating trackpad. When the spring mechanism of the trackpad hinge pushes up too harshly on the surface, it creates a scenario where there is travel in the trackpad before it engages the buttons underneath. This means users feel a sort of double-click every time they depress the trackpad. And it drives me nuts.

For many Chromebooks, there is a simple fix that can be done under the hood and with a bit of tweaking, you can dial in the trackpad action and have a far more solid feeling under your fingers. If this is something you’ve dealt with and been frustrated by, we have put together a video outlining how to fix it in many Chromebooks. Some devices have a slightly-different internal setup, so it won’t work on every single Chromebook. From my experience, however, this procedure will work on most devices.

While it is nearly impossible to write out this process with words alone, it is pretty straightforward to pull off. That’s why we made the video and I’d fully encourage you to check it out when you are in a spot to watch the whole process and perhaps try it for yourself. You’ll need a good screwdriver set, a pry tool, and a bit of patience. With a few small adjustments, your trackpad can be a whole lot more enjoyable to use and ultimately you’ll only be out about 20 minutes or so.

Again, I can’t stress enough that if any of this makes you question whether or not you should really disassemble your Chromebook, you probably shouldn’t. It will 100% void your warranty and if something else were to go wrong on your Chromebook, you’ll be out of luck. If that doesn’t really bother you, however, I’d encourage you to give this a go to really hone in the feel of your trackpad. If you have one of those wobbly, floating ones, you’ll be very glad you took the time to do so.