Touchpad jittering, lagging, and erratic

Also, forgot to add, external mouse works fine. 

First thing to check is the condition of the battery.  Remove the base cover and examine the battery carefully for signs of swelling.  If it's at all swollen, remove and dispose of it immediately, and order a replacement.  It's very common for touchpad problems to be the first sign of a swollen battery.

@ejn63​ hi, when I tore it down there was no evidence of the battery swelling out of its compartment at all, but I didn’t remove it to check further. I figured if it was swollen it would no longer be flush with the surround of its housing 

If the battery is OK, then it's time to replace the touchpad (if your system model allows that;  older ones do). If it's a newer system, it's the keyboard-palmrest assembly you'll need to replace.  You'll need to provide the model number (XPS 9550, 9520, etc.).

I too have had this exact issue since May, I have an XPS 15 9500, do you by any chance have the same model and have you found a fix yet other than replacing the whole touchpad?

This is an issue for me too, I've heard that the only solution is disabling touchscreen, but I am wondering if anyone has heard of another solution that doesn't require the removal of touchscreen functionality.

Similar to another user above, an external mouse works fine. Occasionally, the trackpad functionality returns to normal when I restart the laptop, but this is not a guarantee.

I'm using an XPS 15 9510.

I have the same problem on my Dell XPS 9510 Windows11 Laptop. I will never buy a Dell product again. It seems to me that Dell does not care to work through the bugs in there laptops to make sure they work properly before selling them to the public. A new expensive computer should not do this after buying it. The customer should not have to figure this problem out!

For anybody that has this similar problem.  I've experience on/off erratic touchpad issues for some years now and was ready to toss this laptop.  After reinstalling windows, drivers, unchecking power consumption boxes, and troubleshooting battery / overheating issues, I may have found the issue that has so far worked for my XPS 9730.  Grounding issues can present with some inconsistent and weird issues and (crossing my fingers) have worked so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xGq5gmKEAA&t=309s

I've researched this widespread issue and looks to have had similar problems for years without any fix or real troubleshooting.  Although so far I do not have any other issues, after this laptop goes out, I won't be getting a new Dell.

I thought it was me alone. At first Everything was okay but all of a sudden the touchpad started acting weird.

Will tell ever do something about this? 

Well this has been an issue for me but I did find a potential solution.

Go to Intel Graphics command center and turn off "Panel Screen Refresh".

I tried this and the mouse has not skipped for 3 days. Hopefully this is a permanent solution. Keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck all.

@keithldelltech​ 

Just to follow up the correct name is called "Panel Self Refresh".

Turning this off seems to stop the mouse from jumping around.

It is shown under power settings.

@keithldelltech​ cannot find panel self or screen refresh

It is under Power setting.

Unfortunately, this only worked for a couple days and the mousepad is jumpy again.

I have seen elsewhere that this is a Dell design issue and the mousepad collects static and needs to be grounded with a small wire. Did not try this and really don’t know the process. Good luck. I am going with something else besides Dell next time.

I've exact the same symtoms and im using xps 15 9520. external mouse works perfectly fine

Disabling the touchscreen device "solved" the issue