Go through these quick tips if popular third-party keyboards like Microsoft SwiftKey or Google Gboard are not working properly on your iPhone or iPad, forcing you to use the stock iOS keyboard.
I have been using SwiftKey on my iPhone and iPad since Apple first allowed third-party keyboards way back in iOS 8. While the experience has been mostly smooth, there have been instances when the keyboard won’t appear at all, leaving me with no on-screen keyboard to type, or forcing me to use the stock option (which I don’t really like).
If your third-party iOS keyboard of choice is acting up, here are seven quick solutions to fix this.
Select the third-party keyboard and switch to it
The first option is to head to iOS Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards and make sure SwiftKey, Gboard, or your keyboard of choice is added. In case it isn’t, tap Add New Keyboard and select it. Then, tap its name and allow full access.
After that, touch and hold the globe icon on the stock keyboard, then select SwiftKey or Gboard if it’s not already selected.
Try typing in a different app
There are times when the third-party keyboard won’t show up by design when you’re typing the passcode or entering other sensitive information. Just use the built-in Apple keyboard in these situations.
Also, switch to another app like Notes or Messages, and the third-party keyboard should work fine. If not, go through with the remaining solutions.
Update the keyboard app
Head to the App Store and update the third-party app. Here are the direct links for SwiftKey and Gboard.
Restart your iPhone
I have noticed several times that apps refuse to open, and the on-screen keyboard won’t appear on the iOS device after I use iPhone Mirroring. Sometimes, the keyboard doesn’t appear simply out of the blue. In nearly every case, simply restarting the iPhone fixes these issues.
Make sure all keyboard settings are correct
Open SwiftKey, Gboard, or the relevant third-party app, and go through its settings to ensure everything is to your liking.
Delete and reinstall the keyboard app
This is the sureshot way to fix the problem that has worked for me in the past when all the above solutions failed. But before you proceed, note that deleting the app will cause the keyboard to forget your typing behavior, tap map with behind-the-scenes customizations, learned words, predictions, and more, unless you were logged into the app and it was saving that data to the cloud (like SwiftKey does).
Update the device
In case you still can’t use the third-party keyboard, make sure your iPhone or iPad is running the latest version of iOS or iPadOS.
If nothing worked for you, consider resetting all iPhone settings and then deleting and reinstalling the app one more time.
Also, check out: Fix the stock keyboard not working on iPhone or iPad and resume typing