9 Solutions on How to Fix iPhone Keyboard Not Working

Some of the iPhone users have complained that their iPhone keyboard is not working properly and is behaving weirdly, including iOS 14 keyboard lag, iOS 14 keyboard not appearing, iPhone types on its own, the keyboard would dismiss, etc., which are happening on the new iPhone 12, earlier iPhone 11 or other models. If you are in such kind of situations, you will probably want to get it sorted out as soon as possible as without a keyboard there really isn’t much you can do on your iPhone.

There could be various reasons behind the keyboard issue on your iPhone. Maybe there is an issue in the operating system of your device or maybe the keyboard app itself has some issues that are preventing it from properly functioning. The following guide shows some of the ways to fix the iPhone keyboard glitches, so you can get the keyboard to work again and be able to type and send your messages.

Also Read: How to Fix iPhone Not Alerting Me of Texts >

Solution 1: Fix the Keyboard Lagging Issue on Your iPhone

While typing a message or writing down a note your keyboard starts to lag and doesn’t work as smooth as it should, you probably have the lag issue that can easily be fixed by applying the following fix.

What basically stands between you and a smooth keyboard is the dictionary words that the keyboard has acquired over time. Resetting the keyboard dictionary will resolve the issue and the following shows how to do it.

Step 1. Go to Settings on your iPhone 12/11/X/XS (Max)/XR or any other model for that matter and tap on General followed by Reset. The reset menu will open on your screen.

Step 2. On the reset menu screen, you will find the option Reset Keyboard Dictionary. Tap on it and follow the on-screen instructions to reset your keyboard dictionary.

Once the dictionary is reset, you can start typing on your iPhone and you won’t have the keyboard lagging issue anymore on your device.

Solution 2: Update to the Latest iOS Version

Normally, the new iOS version will try to fix some bugs and issues in the earlier. And Apple will release software updates regularly. Open Settings and tap on General > Click Software Update and iPhone will check for update. If there is an available one, click Download and Install to get the latest iPhone operating system.

And iOS 14.3 is available now, which includes support for Apple Fitness+ and AirPods Max, some new features. Also, bug fixes will be updated for your iPhone, including the keyboard would dismiss when adding a list in Reminders while using VoiceOver.

Solution 3: Uninstall and Reinstall the Problematic App on Your iPhone

If it is a certain app that you have the keyboard issue with, it’s likely the app is problematic and not your keyboard and so you should consider reinstalling the app on your iPhone for that matter.

Sometimes a laggy app could cause problems with your keyboard and make you think it’s your keyboard that’s not working whereas the truth is otherwise. What you can do in this situation is uninstall the app on your iPhone and then reinstall it from the official app store. It will install a fresh and updated copy of the app that will hopefully not have the keyboard issue.

Solution 4: Disable the Reachability Feature on Your iPhone

If you don’t already know, the Reachability feature on your iPhone makes it easy for you to use your iPhone with a single hand as with the double-press of the Home button it brings everything in access to your hand.

The feature could be the culprit here and could be causing issues with your keyboard as it moves down the entire screen including the keyboard when enabled. To turn it off to fix the keyboard issue, head to Settings > General > Accessibility and turn the toggle for Reachability to the OFF position. The feature will be disabled on your iPhone.

Solution 5: Turn the Zoom Feature Off on Your iPhone

The Zoom feature on your iPhone also involves the keyboard and you may want to try turning it off to see if your keyboard then starts working properly. It’s pretty easy to disable the zoom feature on an iPhone and below is how you do it:

On your iPhone, head to Settings > General > Accessibility > Zoom and turn the main toggle to the OFF position. It will disable the feature on your iPhone.

Solution 6: Disable Reduce Motion to Fix GIF/Emoji Keyboard Not Working Issue

If you’re having trouble typing emojis or GIFs using the default keyboard, you may want to try disabling the Reduce Motion feature to see if that resolves the issue for you.

All that you need to do is open the Settings app and head to General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion and turn the toggle for the feature to the OFF position. You may then try typing an emoji or a GIF and see if that works for you.

Solution 7: Reset the iPhone from the Settings Menu

If the keyboard just doesn’t appear at all while trying to type something on your iPhone or if the iPhone keyboard letters are not working at all, you should consider reset all settings on your device and reset it from the scratch. It’s fairly easy to do that and the following shows how.

On your iPhone, open the Settings app and tap on General followed by Reset. You will find an option saying Reset All Settings. Tap on it and follow the on-screen instructions to reset your device.

Keep in mind that doing the above will wipe out everything on your iPhone so make sure to have backup copies of your important data or you will end-up losing your precious data.

Solution 8: Restore Your iPhone to Fix the Keyboard Not Working Issue

If you have not restored your iPhone for a long time, maybe it is asking you to do so now in the form of keyboard issues. It’s pretty easy to restore an iPhone, all thanks to the iTunes app that is freely available for both Windows and Mac machines.

All that you need to restore an iPhone is the iTunes app. Get the app installed on your computer, connect your iPhone to your computer and select your device in the app, click on the Summary tab and choose Restore iPhone.

Follow the on-screen instructions and your iPhone will be successfully restored.

Solution 9: How to Fix iPhone Keyboard Not Working without Data Loss

If your keyboard not working properly, like iPhone keyboard not showing, typing wrong letters, keeps switching or other problems caused by system errors, then you can try a complete iOS system recovery tool – AnyFix. This software is designed to help Apple users to solve iOS/iPadOS/tvOS Problems in any situation. So if your iPhone keyboard is not working because of some system errors or glitches, for example, you just updated to the latest iOS version, AnyFix can help you out this issue. Here are some main features of it:

• It helps you fix the most common and get your device back to normal without data loss.
• Also, it can fix complex system issues, even the most comprehensive system issues.
• Besides, it’s capable of fixing 200+ iTunes errors, such as iTunes connection/backup/restore and other errors.

Here are the steps you can follow to fix keyboard issues:

Step 1: Download and install AnyFix on your computer > Then launch it and choose System Repair from the interface below.

Step 2: Choose 50+ iPhone Problems and tap Start Now.

Step 3: Now, you need to select a repair mode for your iPhone. Normally, Standard Repair mode supports the most common system issues and without data loss. So here we take this mode as an example, choose it and tap the Standard Repair button to continue.

Step 4: AnyFix will check your iPhone model and you need to click Download to get a matching firmware. When download finished, just tap on Fix now.

Step 5: It will ask you to enter recovery mode if you didn’t enter before. Now, follow the steps on the interface to put your iPhone in recovery mode.

Step 6: Once your iPhone entered recovery mode, AnyFix will automatically start to repair your device. Wait a while and when the recovery process is completed, you will see the completed page as below.

The Bottom Line

The iPhone keyboard not working is a common issue amongst the users of this Apple device and there are many ways you can fix the issue on your device. Follow the methods we have given above and you should be able to get rid of the issue on your iPhone. And AnyFix can help you out without data loss via the standard repair mode, especially when you updated to a new operating system. Just download and try this repairing tool to fix the most common iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/iTunes issues.