iPhone keyboard not showing up? 8 fixes when it won't pop up

You tap the message box and nothing slides up. Or the keyboard appears for half a second and disappears. You cannot type a password, a search or a reply, and it feels like the phone has failed.

In most cases it has not. The keyboard is a piece of software that can be hidden, replaced or frozen. The fixes below start with the one that explains the most cases, which is a Bluetooth keyboard that is still connected, and move on to the less common ones.

iPhone keyboard not showing up: why it happens

• A hardware keyboard is connected. The iPhone hides the on-screen one when it senses a Bluetooth keyboard.
• A third party keyboard. A keyboard you added can freeze or lack permission.
• A frozen app. The app lost track of the text field.
• One-handed mode or a hidden bar. The keyboard is there but shrunk or moved.
• A software bug. Often after an update.
• Screen trouble. The keyboard shows but touches do not register.

Fix 1: Disconnect a Bluetooth keyboard

This is the one people miss. If a Bluetooth keyboard, a case with a keyboard, or a car system is connected, the iPhone assumes you are typing on that. The software keyboard stays hidden. A paired keyboard that is in range and still connected is enough.

If the keyboard comes back, forget the accessory, or turn off its power when you are not using it, so that it does not take over again.

Fix 2: Tap again and look for the hidden keyboard

Tap the text field once, wait a second, and tap it again. Some apps need a second tap to bring up the keyboard. In Safari, tap the address bar and then the search field.

• Touch and hold the emoji or globe icon in the bottom corner. If you see Keyboard Settings and the one-handed layouts, pick the centered keyboard.
• Rotate the phone sideways and back.

Fix 3: Force close the app

If the keyboard is missing in one app only, the app is the problem. Swipe up from the bottom edge and pause in the middle of the screen, then swipe the app up to close it. Open it again and tap the text box. On an iPhone with a Home button, double press the Home button first.

Then update it from the App Store. If it still fails, delete the app and install it again. Make sure you can sign back in before you delete it.

Fix 4: Remove or switch the third party keyboards

Keyboards from other companies, such as Gboard, can freeze or fail to load. Apple's keyboard works as a fallback, so remove the extras and test.

Some fields, such as password boxes, force the Apple keyboard on purpose. That is normal. For the rest of the typing options, see our guide to iPhone keyboard and Messages settings.

Fix 5: Reset the keyboard dictionary

A damaged dictionary can cause lag, odd suggestions and sometimes a keyboard that will not appear. Resetting removes the words your iPhone learned, which means you lose custom spellings and have to teach it again. It does not delete contacts, photos or messages.

Fix 6: Restart or force restart

Restart first. Hold the side button and a volume button, slide to power off, wait 30 seconds and turn it on. If the screen is frozen, a force restart works on a Face ID iPhone: press and release volume up, press and release volume down, then hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.

If the phone restarts again and again, see an iPhone stuck restarting.

Fix 7: Update iOS

Keyboard bugs come and go with versions of iOS, and Apple fixes many of them in small updates. Open Settings › General › Software Update and install what is offered. If your keyboard broke right after an update, read about iPhone problems after an update, and wait for the next release if no other fix works.

Fix 8: Check the screen and reset all settings

If the keyboard appears but the keys do not respond, the issue is touch, not the keyboard. Clean the screen, take off the protector and try again. Our guide to an iPhone touch screen that is not working covers that.

As a last software step, open Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Reset › Reset All Settings. It restores system settings without erasing your data. Back up first, and do not pick Erase All Content and Settings unless you mean to wipe the phone. Our iPhone backup guide shows how.

When the keyboard shows up, but looks wrong

Sometimes the keyboard is there, but not the one you expect. Check these before you reset anything.

• Pushed to one side: that is the one-handed keyboard. Touch and hold the globe or emoji icon, then tap the centered keyboard icon.
• Wrong language or layout: tap the globe icon to switch, or remove languages in Settings › General › Keyboard › Keyboards.
• No suggestions bar: touch and hold the globe icon, tap Keyboard Settings and check Predictive.
• Only numbers or symbols: tap 123 or ABC at the bottom left to switch back.

Passwords, websites and search boxes

A few places are known to be fussy. A password box in one app can ask for the Apple keyboard, and a web page may hide the keyboard until you tap the field a second time. If you cannot type in only one website in Safari, close the tab, open it again and tap the box. If the keyboard fails on one site only, the page code is the problem, and you cannot fix it from the phone.

If you type by voice instead while you sort this out, tap the microphone icon on the keyboard, if it shows, or on a Home button iPhone use Siri. It is only a workaround, but it keeps you moving.

Which symptom points to which fix?

• No keyboard in any app: Bluetooth, then restart, then reset settings.
• Missing in one app: force close, update, reinstall.
• Keyboard is tiny or on one side: the one-handed layout.
• Appears, then vanishes: third party keyboards and the dictionary.
• Shows but will not type: touch screen.
• Nothing helps: service.

How to keep it from happening again

• Turn off, or forget, Bluetooth keyboards you no longer use.
• Keep only the keyboards you need.
• Update iOS and your apps.
• Restart the phone now and then.
• Keep a backup, so a reset is never a worry.