How to make small letters on the keyboard Xiaomi: full instructions

Owners of modern smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco often face a situation where the standard font size on the on-screen keyboard seems too cumbersome. This is not just an aesthetic question: large characters occupy a significant part of the usable area of the display, preventing you from seeing the context of correspondence or input text in the field above the keyboard, especially for users with small screens or those who are used to typing with both thumbs, holding the device horizontally.

MIUI and its more recent version of HyperOS provide flexible tools for personalizing input, but they are often hidden in the depth of the menu or require third-party solutions. In this article, we will discuss how to make letters on the keyboard smaller by changing the system font settings, the parameters of a particular keyboard or using alternative input methods.

It's worth noting that not all keyboards have an independent size setting for their letters. In most cases, changing the size of the letters is directly related to the overall font size of the system or the height of the input panel itself. Understanding these relationships will allow you to achieve the perfect balance between readability and compactness.

Set up system font in MIUI and HyperOS

The most effective way to reduce the size of the letters on the keyboard is to adjust the operating system’s global font settings. Because Gboard and the standard Miui Keyboard often sync with the system display settings, reducing the overall font will automatically make the characters on the buttons more compact.

Next, you need to find the visual design section. Depending on the firmware version, the path may be slightly different, but the logic remains the same. You need to find a paragraph related to text size or font style. Here you will see a slider that adjusts the scale of the display of interface elements.

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Screen. → Text size (or Additional).
• 🔽 Move the slider to the left to reduce the value to a minimally comfortable one.
• ✅ Click Apply or just go back, the changes will take effect instantly.

⚠️ Note: Reducing the system font will not only affect the keyboard, but also the size of the text in the menu, messages and browser. Make sure that the readability of the rest of the interface remains acceptable to you.

Once you change these settings, open any type of application, such as Telegram or Notes, and you will notice that the keys have become much smaller. If the standard minimum is not enough, you can try changing the font to a narrower one through the theme, but this is a more complex procedure that requires installing third-party themes.

Adjusting the height of the Gboard keyboard

Google’s Gboard keyboard is the standard for many Xiaomi devices outside of China and is often manually installed by users, and one of its main advantages is the ability to independently adjust the height of the input panel, which visually reduces the size of letters, making them more compact vertically.

To access these settings, open any application that requires text input to make the keyboard appear. Then click on the gear icon in the top toolbar or press the comma to enter the settings menu. You're interested in Settings, and then the Preferences or Keyboard Settings subsection.

Inside the menu, find Keyboard Height, and you'll find a range of options, from "Very Small" to "Very Large," and "Small" or "Very Small" will reduce the area of the buttons and the size of the characters displayed on them.

• 🔧 Open Gboard settings through the gear on the keyboard panel.
• 📏 Select Keyboard Height in the Options List.
• 📉 Set the value of “Little” to minimize the size of the letters.

It is important to understand that changing the height of the keyboard affects the proportions of the buttons. If you choose too low a height, the letters can become illegible or merge with the boundaries of the keys. The optimal solution is often to set medium or low height in combination with the reduced system font, which was discussed in the previous section.

Features of the Miui Keyboard configuration

The native Miui Keyboard, which is pre-installed on all of the company's smartphones, has its own set of settings that may differ from the standard Gboard. In recent versions of HyperOS, developers have added more customization options, including changing the style and size of the displayed elements.

To change the input settings, call the keyboard and click on the settings icon (usually the gear icon or slider icon at the top row). From the menu, select Settings or Additional. There may not be a direct font size slider, but there are options that affect visual perception, such as One-Hand Mode or changing theme.

Some of the themes for the Miui Keyboard are initially smaller and narrower, so by going to the Themes or Store section directly from the keyboard settings, you can design them with miniature letters, which is an indirect but effective way to solve the problem without losing functionality.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party keyboard themes, make sure they are compatible with your Android version. Incompatible themes can cause lags when printing or incorrect display of special characters.

If standard settings don't work, you can try turning off predictive input and auto-replacement. While this doesn't reduce the physical size of the letters, it removes the hint bar above the keyboard, freeing up space and making the input interface visually lighter and more compact.

Using a One-Hand Mode for Compactness

One-hand mode is a feature originally designed to make it easy to control large smartphones with one hand, but it also helps to visually reduce the keyboard workspace. When activated, the input panel shrinks and shifts to the right or left corner of the screen, making the letters subjectively smaller and more compact.

You can activate this mode right while you're typing. On the Gboard or Miui Keyboard, find an icon that resembles a hand or arrow in the corner of the keyboard (often hidden in the menu of additional characters or settings), and clicking on it will roll the keyboard down to a convenient size.

Xiaomi’s system settings also allow you to swipe activation of this mode. Go to Settings → Additional Settings → One-Hand Mode. You can choose to swipe down the bottom navigation bar or the Home button, which will instantly reduce the keyboard interface in any application.

• 🖐 Find the icon of one hand mode on the keyboard panel.
• 📐 Choose the compression side (left or right) for convenience.
• ⚙️ Set up swipe activation in system settings for quick access.

Alternative keyboards with flexible settings

If the standard Xiaomi and Gboard tools do not allow you to achieve the desired letter size, you should pay attention to specialized keyboards from the Google Play store. There are many applications that offer advanced customization, including independent change of font size, indentations and button height.

One of the most powerful is the AnySoftKeyboard or FlorisBoard (open-source) keyboard, which can be set by pixels to set the key height and font size, ignoring system constraints, ideal for users who need complete control over the interface.

Installing a third-party keyboard requires permission to access data entry. Once the application is installed in the Settings menu → Additional settings → Language and input, you need to activate the new keyboard and select it as the default keyboard.

⚠️ Note: When installing third-party keyboards, you trust them to enter passwords and personal information. Choose only proven applications with high ratings and a lot of downloads, for example, from well-known developers like SwiftKey or Gboard.

Also, look at the Microsoft SwiftKey keyboard, which is very adaptable and allows you to change topics where the font size may be different from the standard one. While there may not be a direct font size slider, choosing a minimalist theme often solves the problem of visual overload.

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Tip: Before you install a new keyboard, take a screenshot of your current settings or take a screenshot, which will help you quickly return to your usual settings if the new keyboard seems uncomfortable.

Frequent problems and their solution

During the setup process, users may find that the changes do not apply or appear incorrect, such as when the font is reduced, the letters may bump into each other or become unreadable, and it is worth checking whether the mode of increased contrast or color inversion is activated, which can distort perception.

Another common problem is resetting after a system update. MIUI and HyperOS are known for being able to return font settings to factory values when large updates occur. If you notice that the letters have become large again, just repeat the setup procedure in the appropriate section.

Sometimes the problem is with a specific application. Some communication programs have their own font settings inside chat rooms that can override system values. Check the settings inside the messenger itself if the keyboard has decreased and the text in the input field is huge.

• 🔄 Reboot your smartphone after changing system fonts to apply the changes.
• 📱 Check availability settings for included zoom in.
• 🗑 Clear the keyboard app cache if settings are not saved.

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The most reliable way to reduce letters is complex: reduce the system font in the screen settings and choose the minimum height in the settings of the keyboard itself.

To sum up, it’s possible to make small letters on a Xiaomi keyboard. By combining system settings, panel height options, and themes, you can create the perfect environment for fast and comfortable typing, even on devices with a screen size of less than 6 inches.