Inspiron 16 7610 Touchpad, running list

Update from me: Dell Tech support has offered to replace the trackpad for a second time.

I appreciate the service, though I am skeptical it will resolve the issue.

The social media, forum, and online tech support teams have been doing their jobs. Kudos to them. I wish the engineering and QA/QC teams had done theirs. Whatever the reason for the trackpad failures on these machines, they should have never been sold as they are, or Dell should issue courtesy recalls or exchanges for the lifetime of the laptops. This problem really makes a laptop just a portable desktop.

I'll report back once the new trackpad is installed and if the new trackpad fails again in the future. Again, I am really skeptical the physical trackpad is the problem, but it's possible I simply got two defective trackpads in a row.

Here are some video link showing my issue. This *exact* same behavior has been present in two trackpads with this machine.

Dell Inspiron 7610 Trackpad issue - Mouse cursor jitter demonstration - YouTube

Dell Inspiron 7610 Trackpad issue - Mouse cursor sticking - YouTube

The exact same issue I have, with exact same videos. I was also able to replicate it in BIOS:
https://youtu.be/0p5jF5AnJig
Currently on my my 3rd touchpad. I do not believe this 3rd one will be better than the previous 2. So far I had no issues after the replacement, but the previous ones lasted for ~1 month before the problem kicked in. I'm in the 2nd week with the current one...

Thanks, @Plejstocen . I'm sorry you're having an identical experience. Hopefully the engineering teams will take note.

I'm not sure what else to do. The Dell engineering and QC teams have just completely failed on this laptop. Courtesy exchanges for different but similarly priced models need to be offered. It's the only solution I can think of at this point.

Please report back if your third trackpad fails. The QC and engineering teams need to know this is a systemic issue. It's either something structural to the computer design, or trackpads with a disastrously high failure rate. Either way, they've completely botched it.

Again, kudos to the tech support and customer service teams reading all these complaints and dealing with the shortcomings of their Dell colleagues. What a mess.

Adding more data to my post from 2/2/22. I opened a ticket with Dell on that day. A Dell tech came out a couple of days later and replaced the touchpad. Three days later the touchpad started acting erratic again. I re-opened the case. Again, a Dell tech came out and replaced both the motherboard and the touchpad. It has been roughly three days later and today that touchpad once again started acting erratically. I've re-opened the case again.

I, too, have this problem and I am incredibly disappointed in Dell and their willingness to allow customers to suffer with this problem unresolved. As a computer consultant by trade, I have to give consideration to what brands I will recommend to my clients. For years, Dell has been my safe, go to brand for purchase, but lately, not so much. This is my second laptop that needed a repair and for the first one, a XPS 13 7390, Dell refused to fix it as it was a problem with the bottom cover. A rubber strip came off and you couldn't use the laptop without damaging the furniture beneath it. But Dell said it was a cover and covers aren't covered. Too bad for me. It was not accidental damage. They just didn't care. But this is much worse and may mean I have to replace this laptop.  I purchased it new from Dell, but it was behaved until after the return date. The problem is erratic, but at the most important times it fails. I was online with my business bank trying to resolve a problem and then just as I needed to look something up, guess what! Yes, you guessed it. It failed.  

I personally think that it is a problem in the BIOS. Perhaps a memory value that gets stepped on or something else that gets corrupted. I say that as I can boot into the BIOS, reset the BIOS settings and it will, after rebooting, behave . . . for a while. And, I have the model without the added GPU. So, minimal heat generation inside and I have the power usage set to the lowest usage levels. Nothing seems to solve the problem. What this will mean for me is that I will likely have to get a replacement. I can't sell it as it is defective and I won't cheat someone. I can't think of anything else to do with it that won't involve the trackpad. So, even though this perfectly fit my needs, it seems that it will just sit until some day when Dell finds a fix. Will the replacement be a Dell? Not if I can find something else that meets my needs at my price. 

Hi, I have also problem with touchpad. 

I removed battery 2 hours ago and I works.. I will test it for few weeks.

Touchpad version: 2H1918-03330I Rev A

Controller: Elan 33370A - 3J00 2120 BG215AA

I could also put ESD bag between Battery and touchpad if it turns that works without battery. 

My computer showed the same thing while I was on the phone with support. They still proceeded to waste my time by reinstalling BIOS, which I already tried to do on my own. Less than 24 hours later and the trackpad is freezing again. I tried to be aggressive on the phone about wanting to return and replace for a different model, but it seems like I will have to go through the multiple trackpad replacements others have to be taken seriously. 

The most frustrating thing is that this showed up 3 days after the return period, so now I am stuck with it and having to deal with support who pretend like thousands of people are happy with this model and this issue is only occurring for a select few.

A little update from me. Since I removed battery (4 days ago), touchpad problem did not occur. I have Win11 and Linux Mint. Now, the question is if this is mechanical or elektro-magnetic issue... but it seems that we are going to find solution without Dell experts.

Add me to the list as well of people experiencing this faulty trackpad issue. It worked fine for a couple weeks and has progressively gotten worse. The trackpad also doesn't look "seated" correctly either, and makes quite a noise when being depressed ('clicking') on the left side. It's become so bad it's completely unusable, forcing me to use a mouse to use the laptop. What a disappointment this build is, because otherwise I love the way the laptop runs. But it's beyond ridiculous at this point that Dell is not issuing a recall, removing it from the market, or issuing a refund. There is clearly something with the hardware that's completely faulty. 

Dell has been a major disappointment to me, and based on this experience I can't see me buying another of their products in the future if they continue to ignore everyone with this clearly common complaint.

I have a similar issue, I bought the laptop and started using it after 2 months when the issue popped up and called them and they sent a technician home to change the touchpad. Now after 20 days it reoccurred, although the promised if it reoccur to exchange it by a new laptop because it is a well known issue on the internet, I called three days ago they said another part should be changed and now they figured out the problem first change was a mistake, but I asked for refund. Today I called again to track the refund they are like it is not a hardware issue contact our software department although I haven't downloaded anything on the laptop but it is something I can do for sure. But they said I have to pay for the service because my three months old laptop doesn't have a software support guarantee. It is so sad, to see all these online complains on the same model and with the same problem and Dell is running away from it and is still offering this product in the market, and hiding behind their virtual support who say nothing but false information. If you want to sell the big stock you have at least get clear about the problem and customers can choose if they accept a defect. Shame!

I too have this same intermittent problem with my 16 Plus 7610 (no surprise there) but I don't believe this is a hardware problem with the touchpad as many are suggesting here.

I can confirm that using a wireless mouse produces the exact same issues at the same time as the issue occurs with the trackpad.

This is almost certainly a software issue, or if it is hardware related, it's to do with the USB controller.

Very strange that you are the only person to say using a mouse produces the same problems? The only way I could reliably complain to Dell about this issue using my laptop was with a mouse. Considering it is also happening in the BIOS suggests it is not software.

Same problem here: randomly, the cursor starts moving in all directions as soon as I touch the touchpad, and it becomes unusable. unable to steer cursor. On the other hand, with a mouse connected via USB, no problem with the cursor. Only the touchpad is affected. everything has been updated, Bios, Firmware, drivers. I tested all the possible Windows settings for the touchpad and the mouse, and all the solutions proposed previously in this thread: it does not change anything. DELL's diagnostic tools don't find a problem either. Only workaround: close then reopen the cover. The cursor becomes controllable again, but the problem returns for no apparent reason after a while, sometimes a few minutes, sometimes more. It is incomprehensible to have this type of problem on a new computer, to have so many people affected and that DELL does not offer a solution. 

Just chiming in that I'm having the same problem. Identical to the videos others have posted. I got the Inspiron 16 7610 at the beginning of November. Here's my timeline:

12/8: trackpad problems showed up

12/31: Dell technician replaced trackpad but could not get the battery reseated. I had to send in my laptop to Dell.

2/16: began having the same trackpad problems again

2/22: another technician replaced the trackpad again

3/4: began having the problems again

The issue pops up seemingly randomly and don't appear to be related to what I'm doing on the laptop. Once the problem begins happening, if I restart the computer it goes away temporarily (but begins again shortly after restarting). It's wildly frustrating considering I spent so much money on it, but at least I'm not the only one having the issue.