How to fold the keyboard on Android Xiaomi: the full guide

Many Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphone users face a situation where the on-screen keyboard takes up half of the display, overlapping important content or interfering with navigation. Standard system behavior involves automatically hiding the input panel when switching to another screen, but sometimes this mechanism fails, in which cases the user is forced to look for ways to force the virtual buttons to be removed in order to gain full access to the interface.

There are several proven methods to solve this problem, from simple swipes to deep configuration of system parameters. Keyboard freeze can be caused by software failure of a particular application, and features of the MIUI or HyperOS shell. Understanding the reasons allows you to choose the most effective way to solve the problem without rebooting the device.

In this article, we will take a look at all the current options for hiding the input bar, learn how to use standard gestures, where to look for hidden closing buttons and what settings can interfere with the normal operation of the interface, and consider specific scenarios, such as playing horizontally or using third-party typing applications.

Standard methods of hiding the keyboard in MIUI and HyperOS

The easiest and most obvious way to remove the input bar is to use system gestures. In most cases, the Android operating system automatically responds to touching an area outside the text field. If you're in a browser or messenger, just click on any free part of the screen to lower the keyboard, which is the basic interface algorithm that works in 90% of situations.

However, in some applications, especially those that use custom controls, a simple touch may not work. In such cases, you should pay attention to the bottom of the screen. Many Xiaomi models have a thin bar or button at the bottom of the keyboard or directly above it, often indicated by a down arrow or keyboard icon, pressing this element forcibly hides the input panel.

If you use gesture navigation instead of the classic three buttons, try swiping from the bottom edge of the screen upwards, which mimics the action of the home button and often causes the active application to lose focus from the text field, which leads to the keyboard being hidden. It is important not to make sudden movements so as not to fold the application entirely.

⚠️ Note: If the keyboard does not respond to touch and does not hide after pressing the back button, the data entry process may be stalled. In this case, you should not repeatedly press the screen, as this can lead to further destabilization of the system.

For users who prefer classic navigation, the one-stop solution is to use the back or home button on the bottom menu. A single short tap usually returns focus to the previous item or folds the active overlays, which include the on-screen keyboard, which is the most reliable method if the touchscreen works correctly.

Solving keyboard hanging problems

It's quite common for the input panel to stick to the screen and not want to disappear, which usually means that the application you're working on has lost touch with the system input service, and the input process can be suspended due to a lack of RAM or a conflict of software versions, and the first step in this situation should be to switch between running applications.

Try to open the multitasking menu by swiping from the bottom up and holding your finger (or pressing the corresponding button), and then select another application. After switching to another program, go back again. Often this simple maneuver causes the system to redraw the interface and reset the focus status from the text field, which removes the keyboard.

If the switching didn't work, you can use a more radical but effective method: lock the screen. Press the power button to turn off the display, wait a few seconds and unlock the device again. When you wake up, the system re-initializes the active interface elements, and the hung keyboard will likely disappear.

In rare cases, the problem lies in a particular application that is not handling focus events correctly. If the keyboard is only in one program, try clearing its cache. → All applications, select the problem program and click Clear → Clear the cache.This action is safe and will not delete your personal data.

Setting up the Gboard and Xiaomi Keyboard

Standard keyboards installed on Xiaomi devices have their own behavioral settings that can affect their visibility. If you use Google's Gboard, go to its settings through the Language and Input menu, and you can find options that regulate panel height, theme and mode-switching behavior.

In Xiaomi’s native keyboard, settings are also available through the gear in the top bar or through the system menu, and special attention should be paid to the “Advanced” or “Preferences” section. There are sometimes options associated with displaying the panel in horizontal mode or in specific applications, changing these parameters can solve the problem of the keyboard’s reluctance to hide.

It’s worth noting that updating your keyboard to the latest version through the Google Play store or GetApps often fixes software bugs. Developers regularly release patches that fix compatibility bugs with new versions of Android. If the problem has recently appeared, checking for updates is a must.

Hiding the keyboard in games and horizontal mode

Gamers often find that when a game or application is launched in landscape mode, the keyboard does not retract, blocking the view, this is because some games incorrectly tell the system that the text field has lost focus, in which cases standard methods may not work, and interference with the display settings is required.

In the MIUI and HyperOS shell, there is Game Turbo, which has its own notification and screen lock settings. Check if a problem app is added to the list of optimized games. Inside the game profile, there is often a sidebar where you can find a tool to block unnecessary interface elements or force the keyboard to hide.

If the built-in tools don't work, you can use third-party utilities to control the screen, but that requires caution. A safer method is to change the orientation of the screen. Turn the phone into portrait mode and back; this action forcibly reconfigures the interface and usually removes unnecessary elements. Also helps temporary Bluetooth shutdown if the phone is connected to a physical keyboard that can conflict with the on-screen.

⚠️ Note: Using third-party applications to block system elements in games may be considered by anti-cheat systems of online projects as a violation of the rules.

For some users, it's effective to turn off the screen autorotate in the notification curtain. Once you've fixed the orientation, you're eliminating random interface rearrangements that might get stuck. Once you've finished typing horizontally, temporarily turn on autorotating, flip the device over and return to the original position, which often resets the suspended status.

Use of third-party keyboards and alternatives

If Xiaomi's standard keyboard continues to misbehave, it makes sense to consider alternatives.The app store offers a variety of solutions, such as Microsoft SwiftKey, Typewise or Facemoji.These apps have their own rendering engines that can run more stable on your particular device.

Installing a new keyboard requires special permissions, and after downloading from the Play Market, you need to go into the language and input settings, activate the new keyboard and make it the default keyboard, a process that takes a couple of minutes, but can dramatically change the smartphone experience.

Third-party keyboards often have more flexible transparency and height settings, and you can set them up so that they become completely transparent in the background or shrink in size without interfering with view, especially for devices with small screen sizes or non-standard aspect ratios.

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When installing a third-party keyboard, be sure to check permissions to access the clipboard and contacts.Some predictive dial features require access to your correspondence history for training, which can be important for privacy.

Alternative keyboards are less likely to conflict with Xiaomi system updates, as they are developed independently of the MIUI shell. If you upgrade to a new version of Android and notice problems with text input, switching to Gboard is often the quickest solution without having to reset your phone.

Deep Diagnostics and Resetting of Input Settings

When none of the above methods work, and the keyboard continues to hang on the screen, blocking work, you have to resort to more serious measures, this may indicate damage to the system files responsible for input, first of all, you need to make sure that the system has enough free RAM.

Try resetting your keyboard to factory settings, and to do so, in the keyboard control menu, find "Reset" or "Restore by default," which will return all layout, theme and dictionary settings to their original state, eliminating possible configuration software conflicts.

As a last resort, if the problem is systemic and affects all applications, you may need to clean up the system application's Settings or Dictionary data, with caution, through the App menu → Show all applications → (three dots in the corner) → Show system processes. Find the input component and clear the data.

⚠️ Warning: Cleaning up system applications data can result in resetting all phone settings to factory settings or removing stored Wi-Fi passwords. Only do this if you are fully aware of the implications and have backed up important data.

Even if a full Hard Reset doesn't solve the problem, there's a high probability of a hardware fault with the touchscreen or the plume of the display, and in such cases, phantom presses can mimic keyboard activity, and a service center specialist's diagnosis will be the only correct solution.

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If software methods do not help for a long time, the problem may lie in the hardware of the touchscreen or plume, especially if chaotic pressing is observed.