Multitouch fix for Alps touchpad

This summer I bought a new laptop, a Dell Vostro 3460. First thing I did was install arch linux.
Nothing wrong with it except one little annoying thing: multitouch was not correctly detected and the synaptics driver was not correctly loaded.
Luckily via the Arch linux forums a solution was found.

I’ll quote the procedure:

  • download latest alps source code from here (in case the page goes in 404 i have a stashed copy here)
  • unpack it and substitute the “alps.c” with this one (stashed version here)
  • copy the psmouse-alps-dst-0.x folder to your /usr/src directory
  • (as root) dkms add psmouse/alps-dst-0.x
  • (as root) dkms autoinstall
  • (as root) rmmod psmouse && modprobe psmouse

and multitouch should start working out of the box! Have fun!

(Thanks to user “post-factum” for the solution)

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54 thoughts on “Multitouch fix for Alps touchpad

  1. Miloš says:

    Thx a lot man. I’ve been searching for a solution almost a year now. Worked like a charm for Dell Inspiron N5110.

  2. beni22sof says:

    @Milos: Dit is work on Ubuntu? What distribution are you using?

  3. Two Fingure scrolling works on Dell N5110 running Ubuntu 12.10. Thanx for the fix! But touchpad has become sluggish. Modifying sensitivity in settings is not helping. Single tap requires a lot of effort. But thanx again!

  4. Florin9doi says:

    You forgot the credits, faggot.

  5. vdm says:

    Hi!
    First of all Thank you for that patch!
    Bit since I use Kernel 3.6 it’s not working. Please see the log:

    DKMS make.log for psmouse-alps-dst-0.4 for kernel 3.6.3-1.fc17.x86_64 (x86_64)
    Sa 3. Nov 11:02:29 CET 2012
    make: Entering directory `/usr/src/kernels/3.6.3-1.fc17.x86_64′
    CC /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/psmouse-base.o
    /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/psmouse-base.c: In Funktion »__check_smartscroll«:
    /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/psmouse-base.c:64:1: Warnung: return von inkompatiblem Zeigertyp [standardmäßig aktiviert]
    CC /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/synaptics.o
    CC /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/alps.o
    /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/alps.c: In Funktion »alps_process_bitmap«:
    /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/alps.c:352:3: Warnung: Links-Schiebe-Weite >= Breite des Typs [standardmäßig aktiviert]
    CC /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/elantech.o
    CC /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/logips2pp.o
    CC /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/lifebook.o
    CC /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/sentelic.o
    CC /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/trackpoint.o
    LD /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.4/build/src/psmouse.o
    MODPOST 0 modules
    make: Leaving directory `/usr/src/kernels/3.6.3-1.fc17.x86_64′

    Any hints how to get that working?

  6. אלעזר says:

    Thanks!
    Works well on my Dell Inspiron N5110 (R15?).
    The most important capability for me was to disable the tap-to-click feature – and it works, as well as the scrolling.
    Note that there is a more updated version of the source code of this module/patch in the same link that you pointed: psmouse-alps-dst-1.0.tbz – described as a kernel patch candidate.
    I tried this version without replacing alps.c with your version and it works for me. So I assume this new version already includes the patches of the alternative alps.c .
    Using Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise) running kernel 3.2.0-32-generic (x86_64).

    • vdm says:

      I found out that ‘psmouse’ is hard compiled in kernel 3.6.3-1.fc17.x86_64, that’s why I am not able to build the module successfully. I assume.

      • adidalax says:

        That’s correct for FC. They compile the damn thing in, so the only way to get this working is to recompile your kernel. Switch to Ubuntu and this will work for you though =)

  7. mp035 says:

    Thank you. This has been bugging me for so long. BTW I used version 1.1 of the package without modification and it works great.

  8. adidalax says:

    Interesting – I tried this on Mint 14 and actually only get the ability to scroll w/ the side of the touchpad.

    Are there options I have to set for this? I noticed on my Dell E6430u that came with Ubuntu 11 (Oneric) pre-installed, there’s actually a glidepoint driver package installed there and everything works beautifully. I’d like to run Mint but I really want multitouch to work =(

    Any feedback would be much appreciated.

    Thanks,

    J

    • Ciprian Tomoiaga says:

      I also use the last version of Mint.
      Hit Menu and search for Mouse and Touchpad settings. There should be 2 tabs now that the touchpad is installed: Mouse, Touchpad. In the Touchpad tab, you have some configuration options, one of which is the scrolling method (edge, 2 fingers)

      • FastLane says:

        I just picked up the 6430u and am using Mint 14. When I go to the settings for ‘Mouse and Touchpad’ I do not have a tab for ‘Touchpad’ – seems the sytem does not recognize it properly in xinput list. Any ideas on how to fix this?

  9. [...] After searching for an update on the psmouse-alps package, I found this helpful blog http://nwoki.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/multitouch-fix-for-alps-touchpad/ [...]

  10. motaro says:

    Omg, end of frustration. Thank you for this post, worked like a charm on my Dell Inspirion 5110

  11. Chris_C says:

    thanks for this! it even makes middle mouse button emulation work too so I’m scrolling and pasting like a happy teddy!
    I notice though that the line
    dkms add psmouse/alps-dst-0.x
    needed to be
    dkms add psmouse-alps-dst-0.x

    notice – not / after psmouse

    I used you stashed files on a fujitsu lifebook ah532 running 64bit Ubuntu 12.10

    once again thanks!

  12. Chris_C says:

    just as an addendum, scroll speed is still rather slow

    installing gpointer-mouse-settings seems to disable a whole bunch of features so that got uninstalled right quick!

    I noticed using synclient the accelFactor was set to .1 something, executing

    synclient AccelFactor=.75

    gives a massive acceleration boost (might be too much for some so experiment!)

    once you find a nice value that suits you, make a script and execute it with your session…

  13. hi,
    the linux user group at the university of muenster has published touchpad-drivers for latitude-notebooks e5x30 and e6x30 for ubuntu 64 bit:
    http://lugunimuenster.wordpress.com/studipc/
    hope this helps some with alps-troubles.
    happy new year!

    • Barry says:

      This was disatrous for me on 6430 with 64 bit 12.04 ubuntu latest update. I tried to uninstall with software center, but glidepoint does not show up as a simple install. I had to instead use synaptic package manager to remove, but that only made matters worse. I am having to use a plugin mouse, which works, but is also buggy. Any idea how I actually reverse the install procedure from lugunimuenster?

      • Linux User Group says:

        hi barry, please could you describe the problems you experience in detail? did you try to boot an older kernel at startup in grub-boot-menu? this may fix your problem.

  14. Anton says:

    this works on Dell Latitude E6330 with Ubuntu 12.10
    Thanks!

  15. Tim Staley says:

    I can confirm this works well on Dell Precision M4700 / Xubuntu 12.04.
    I used the latest version ( psmouse-alps-1.3.tbz ) which already includes updates to alps.c. Thanks to all involved in patching (and to you for this handy summary, my god the launchpad comments thread has gotten longwinded).

  16. arjunajith says:

    I have been looking for a fix in years, ever since 11.10 !
    Thank you so much. You helped me do it.
    #respect

  17. beni22sof says:

    Works for me too. Thank you.

  18. fuzzymonkey says:

    Great instructions. Thanks!

  19. Chris says:

    This provides better functionallity than the rare occasion I use some other OS as such is there anyway it could be included in the kernel? ??

  20. John says:

    You are a hero. Tried a number of other things, but couldn’t get this to work. Your solution solved my problem on a Fujitsu LH522 with an Alps v7 touchpad. Scrolling, multitouch all work, and the Touchpad tab showed up in the Mouse&Touchpad Preferences

  21. grinder says:

    Hey. I also tried to install the multitouch on Ubuntu 12.04, but I have problems.
    Here is my message
    ” sudo dkms autoinstall

    Kernel preparation unnecessary for this kernel. Skipping…

    Building module:
    cleaning build area….
    make KERNELRELEASE=3.7.4-030704-generic -C /lib/modules/3.7.4-030704-generic/build M=/var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.1/build/src psmouse.ko….(bad exit status: 2)
    Error! Bad return status for module build on kernel: 3.7.4-030704-generic (x86_64)
    Consult /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-dst-0.1/build/make.log for more information.”

    Any advice?

  22. [...] I decided to work to find out how fix this. I got the final answer from this post. It turns out that the kernel (3.5.0-26 at the time of writing this) does not support the Alps [...]

  23. SB_k says:

    It isn’t working for me :(
    Got this message when autoinstalling dkms.

    Building module:
    cleaning build area….
    make KERNELRELEASE=3.2.0-38-generic-pae -C /lib/modules/3.2.0-38-generic-pae/build M=/var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-1.3/build/src psmouse.ko….(bad exit status: 2)
    ERROR (dkms apport): binary package for psmouse: alps-1.3 not found
    Error! Bad return status for module build on kernel: 3.2.0-38-generic-pae (i686)
    Consult /var/lib/dkms/psmouse/alps-1.3/build/make.log for more information.

    Any help?

  24. xudis says:

    brilliant!! it worked. thank you very much…

  25. Saulo de Baco says:

    Hey Dude, working like a charm in my Dell Inspiron 14R 5420, running Debian Wheezy. Tks a lot from Brazil.

  26. bingorabbit says:

    I tried the 1.3 version directly from the first link you provided, and didn’t replace the alps.c as it caused a bad exit status:2 error, but the touchpad tab didn’t appear, is that normal?

    My Laptop is Dell N5110.

    Thanks in Advance.

  27. Dan Chant says:

    I have a Dell Inspiron 17R SE (7720) running Ubuntu 13.04 and the fix above doesn’t work on the lastest release. It worked under 12.10 and 12.04. Has anyone got this fix to work under 13.04?
    Thanks in advance.

    • grinder says:

      Hey. I have the same notebook running ubuntu 12.04, but I can’t be able to have the multitouch via the fix. Could you explain how did you make it work?
      Thanks in advance

  28. Rudolf says:

    all steps successfully, but after the last step
    ((as root) rmmod psmouse && modprobe psmouse)

    the touchpad stopped working.
    began to work after:

    sudo modprobe -r psmouse
    sudo modprobe psmouse proto=imps

    but without multitouch ((

    Dell N5110, Ubuntu 13.04, psmouse-alps-1.3 without replace the alps.c
    Any help?

  29. be1993 says:

    psmouse-alps-1.3.tbz worked for me on ubuntu 13.04 Dell inspiron 5323.
    thank you very much

  30. harry says:

    what about win 7 64-bit….?

  31. fabiofalci says:

    The link is broken!

  32. Saulo de Baco says:

    Working on a Dell Inspiron 14R 3550. I have tried changing the alps.c, but didn’t work. Then I used the original alps.c and worked fine. Tks.

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