Updating BIOS managed to improve the situation to the point where I can consistently make the touchpad work, although it is inconvenient.
Laptop: Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition (9333) OS: 16.04 LTS - updated from 14.04 LTS - updated from 12.04 LTS, which was the original OS and had touchpad working. Here's how I "made" it work. 1. Updated BIOS from A02 to A08 (latest for my model) - as per Dell's instructions[0]. 2. After reboot, `xinput` output finally had "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad", BUT it was still not responsive. 3. `sudo apt-get install evtest` (required for step #4). 4. Following the "Debugging Touchpad Detection"[1] I switch to VT (CTRL+ALT+F2) 5. Run `cat /proc/bus/input/devices` I find the touchpad name is `event5`. 6. Run `sudo evtest /dev/input/event5 > event` and do various gestures on the touchpad, then CTRL+C. 7. Switch back to X (CTLR+ALT+F7) - turns out the touchpad is now working. After rebooting touchpad is non-responsive, but if I repeat steps 6 & 7 - it starts working again. I'm not sure if this is reproducible on other models, but I hope this is helpful for further debugging. [0]: http://www.dell.com/support/Article/us/en/04/SLN284433/en [1]: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingTouchpadDetection#In_case_your_Touchpad_doesn.27t_work_at_all_.28No_response_from_the_Touchpad.29 -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Kernel Packages, which is subscribed to linux in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1629613 Title: [Dell XPS 13] SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad not recognized after upgrade from 14.04 to 16.04 Status in linux package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Bug description: * Touchpad doesn't work at all (No response from the Touchpad) * Tried using external mouse and it works fine * Cannot find "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" in "cat /proc/bus/input/devices" OS: Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS kernel version: 4.4.0-38-generic Laptop Model: Dell XPS 13 - 93333 To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1629613/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~kernel-packages Post to : kernel-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~kernel-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
