Loss of Trackpad function

[Rex Bouwense]

I have Lubuntu 18.04.3 installed on my Dell Inspiron 14-3452 laptop and I have been cruising dumb, fat, and happy for several years until the release of kernel 4.15.0-72. Since I use a wireless mouse when I am at home I did not notice that my trackpad was no longer functioning until I attempted to use it outside of my home. After research on the Internet and attempting various fixes, I thought perhaps I should check the kernel. When I booted from a previous kernel ( 4.15.0-70) the trackpad function was restored. While this is a work around is there a fix for the trackpad to enable me to use the current kernel for my distro.

[mörgæs]

I would expect 18.04.3 to run a kernel in the 5 series. Is the system fully updated?

[Rex Bouwense]

Yes the system is fully updated. However, it was installed as 18.04 and that version uses the 4.15 kernel. I don't believe the kernel is automatically upgraded as updates are released A fresh install would of course be using 5.xx.

[mörgæs]

I have an 18.04 installed 2019-03-24. Uname -a gives

5.0.0-37-generic #40~18.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Thu Nov 14 12:06:39 UTC 2019 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

The difference is probably that I installed the .1 version back then.

Anyway, it seems like a bug has been introduced into an old kernel. Have your tried a live boot of a newly downloaded 18.04.3 / 19.10 for comparison?

[Rex Bouwense]

Yesterday I had booted with a live Ubuntu 18.04.3 and this morning I just booted with a live Lubuntu 18.04.3 and the trackpad functions as it should. So apparently I have a choice of 1. reinstalling Lubuntu. 2. Installing a 5.xx linux kernel. or 3. Continue to use the 4.15.0-70 kernel until a new update is released.

[mörgæs]

If you go for 2) then the command is

sudo apt install linux-generic-hwe-18.04 xserver-xorg-hwe-18.04

[Rex Bouwense]

Gracias

[Rex Bouwense]

FYI there is a bug report filed: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1854798