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How to Bring Up Your Android Keyboard (Easy Guide)

How to Bring Up Your Android Keyboard (Easy Guide)

The keyboard app on your phone is probably one that you use more than anything else. In most cases, you won’t think twice about opening up your keyboard. However, it is one of the most reliable ways that you can navigate through your Android phone. So what can you do if your keyboard stops showing up? That can really affect your ability to use the phone, so let’s see how you can fix this issue. 

You can fix your Android keyboard not showing up using these tricks:

  1. Restart your phone.
  2. Clear all of the local data.
  3. Uninstall updates for the app.
  4. Disable full-screen navigation

So if you are interested in learning how to make your keyboard appear again, why not go through this easy guide? We’ll show you the four ways you can fix this problem in absolutely no time at all!

What To Do When Your Keyboard Disappears

Imagine you are sending a text to your best friend. You may not think about it, but even getting to the messaging app may need you to rely on the keyboard. However, if your keyboard refuses to show up, what can you do? There are actually shortcuts to fix this issue, and we’re going to explain them one by one: 

Restart Your Phone

One of the first things you can try to get your keyboard to appear again is to restart your phone. Once the phone has undergone a restart, you can try out typing on the phone again. In the case that this doesn’t work, check the default keyboard settings. Here’s how:

  1. Go to Settings on your phone
  2. Choose General or System
  3. Select Language and Input.
  4. Choose the Gboard as the default keyboard. (Gboard is the default keyboard that is available on Android devices).

This should reinstate your keyboard, but if it still doesn’t work, if you are using any other keyboard except for the default, we recommend switching back. There may be an issue with a third-party keyboard that is causing the glitch. 

Clear App Local Data

No matter what type of keyboard you use, you need to remember that the keyboard is an app. Therefore, just like any other app out there, it is prone to developing minor glitches here and there. It doesn’t matter whether you are using the built-in keyboard or something else; there is always a chance that you can run into problems.

However, you can resolve these problems by clearing the local app data. Local app data is all of the information that you have stored on your device about that app. Once that clears, you may lose some information like saved words, but it’s worth it because it can restore your keyboard as it should be. So, if you want to clear the local app data on your Android phone, you need to follow these steps:

  1. On your Android phone, open up the Settings menu.
  2. Tap and select the option ‘Apps.’
  3. Expand the list so you can see all of the apps.
  4. In the list, search for the name of your keyboard, and open that option.
  5. Now, you need to tap the ‘Storage’ option. 
  6. Select the link ‘Clear data.’
  7. Once you clear all of the data, you can restart your device.

Hopefully, this should resolve the issue at hand. However, if it doesn’t, you can always move on to the next step to try and fix these problems. 

Uninstall Keyboard Updates

Another thing that happens when you use an app is that you get access to app updates. So, it is possible that glitches are coming in from a recent update. In that case, you can try uninstalling the updates. Depending on the kind of keyboard you use, you could even uninstall the entire application. However, in some cases, you cannot do this, but resetting to default settings is the best option. Here’s how to do this on your phone: 

  1. Open up the Settings menu on your Android phone.
  2. Go to the apps list, and choose your keyboard.
  3. Select the 3 dots on the side to open up a menu.
  4. From here, select the option to ‘Uninstall updates.’
  5. Select uninstall to confirm your choice.
  6. Now, you need to restart your phone.
  7. If the app is showing up, that means your update was the issue.

You can also uninstall the keyboard app and install the keyboard again on your phone using some other app instead. 

Disable Full-Screen Navigation

One of the final things you can try out is to disable full-screen navigation gestures. You may be wondering what that even has to do with the Android keyboard. However, some Android users say that the issue always comes about when the full-screen navigation option is switched on. 

This may mean that there is a possible glitch between the devices and the system’s features. So, we recommend that you switch off this option and see if it fixes the problem. However, if this does not work, you will need to contact Google or the provider’s customer support helpline. They can then help you fix the issue and advise on any possible glitches or conflicts. 

Things You Can Do With Your Keyboard

So, if you have the function of your keyboard back, what can you do with it? Here are some of our favorite keyboard shortcuts for you to try out on your Android phone. 

Related: The 7 Best Keyboards with USB Passthrough

Controlling Your Cursor

One of the most frustrating things is typing and realizing you need to go all the way to the beginning of a sentence to fix something. Luckily, you can do that with ease using your keyboard. Just touch the space bar, and drag your finger to the left or right, which moves the cursor. 

Access Special Characters

If you want to get to the special characters in just one swipe, there is a way to do this. Press the 123 key and slide p to see all of the numbers and characters in one place. Swipe up without lifting your hand to the character you want to add, and you can do it all in just one move!

Change Capitalization

If you realize later that you forget to capitalize something, don’t worry. Just tap the shift button after highlighting the word you need to capitalize. This will immediately switch to the Sentence case, meaning the first letter of the first word will become capitalized. If you tap the shift key again, it will become all caps, so you don’t have to retype for any acronyms.

Conclusion

Now you know all about the different ways you can restore your keyboard and how to make the best use of your keyboard once you do! We hope this article has helped you make greater use of your Android keyboard.