How to remove auto-replacement on Xiaomi: setting up the keyboard

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face a situation where the system tries to “guess” a word that the user wanted to type, but does it extremely incorrectly. Auto-replacement, designed to speed up typing, can actually turn a harmless message into a set of incoherent phrases or, worse, distort the meaning of important correspondence, especially when using specific terms, names or slang that is not embedded in the standard vocabulary of the system.

Fortunately, MIUI or HyperOS provides a flexible enough tool to control this process, so you can not only completely disable the function, but also fine-tune its behavior by deleting specific words from memory or preventing the system from correcting text without your knowledge, which allows you to maintain a balance between the speed of printing and the accuracy of the input.

In this article, we will discuss how to remove auto-replacement on Xiaomi using standard system tools and third-party applications.We will look at the settings of the popular Gboard keyboard, which is often preinstalled on global firmware versions, as well as the native MIUI keyboard, typical for Chinese versions and some regions.

Disable autocorrection on the standard Gboard keyboard

Most of Xiaomi’s global smartphone versions have Google’s Gboard keyboard installed by default, a powerful tool that has its own prediction and correction algorithms independent of Android’s system settings, and you need to log into the deep settings menu of the keyboard itself to manage them.

Go to Settings → Additional Settings → Language and input. Here you will see a list of available keyboards. Select Gboard and find Text Correction. This is where the basic controls of how you type in are hidden. You need to find the Auto Replace switch and deactivate it, and it will prevent the system from changing your written words on its own.

However, a complete shutdown can reduce the speed of printing, so it is worth considering alternative options, for example, you can leave hints above the keyboard, but prevent automatic replacement without pressing, To do this, you can configure the "Hints" or "Auto-Addition" option on the same Text Correction menu, leaving them active but removing aggressive autocorrection.

• 🔍 Go to the keyboard settings via the system menu, not through a long tap on the space to see all the options.
• 🚫 Turn off the Auto Replace switchboard so that words can only be changed when you expressly request them.
• ⚙️ Use the Personal Word Manager to remove erroneously stored terms that the system compulsively suggests.

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If you type in multiple languages frequently, make sure that auto-replacement is disabled for each active language on the list, otherwise text will be corrected in one language and not in another.

It's important to note that Gboard is constantly learning based on your communication style, and if you've ignored a replacement several times, the system may stop imposing it, but if you want a guaranteed result, manually disabling the function is the only reliable way.

Set up and disable auto-replace on the MIUI keyboard

Users of Chinese firmware versions or those who prefer Xiaomi’s native keyboard will face a slightly different interface. The MIUI keyboard (or Sogou in some regions) has its own features of storing dictionaries and prediction algorithms. The process of disabling here also begins with the system settings menu.

On the way → Settings → Language and input, select the MIUI Keyboard. In the menu that opens, look for the section related to Enter or Input Settings. This can be "Self-correction" or "Smart fix." Taking a tick off or moving the slider to an inactive state will turn off intrusive text correction.

Note that some versions of the HyperOS shell may have slightly redesigned menus. If you don't find a paragraph in the general settings, try going to the settings directly from the keyboard interface. To do this, click on the settings icon (often looks like a gear or slider) on the top of the keyboard when it's active in any application.

Special attention should be paid to the functions of "Replace text" or "Abbreviations". In the MIUI keyboard, you often find the ability to create your own abbreviations, which the system automatically unfolds into full text. Check this list to make sure that there are no erroneous entries that can interfere with normal operation.

Removing learned words and resetting the dictionary

Even after autoreplacement is disabled, the keyboard can continue to offer incorrect options based on previously entered data, because the user's vocabulary is kept separate from the system correction settings, and to get rid of intrusive sentences completely, you need to clear this vocabulary.

In the Gboard keyboard settings, go to Additional and find Reset or Clear Data, and you can select the option “Delete learned words” to return the dictionary to factory status by removing all slang expressions, names and specific terms you’ve previously entered.

For the native MIUI keyboard, the procedure is similar: look for the Recovery and Reset or Personal Data section in the keyboard menu. There will be a user dictionary clearing button. This is especially useful if the phone has moved to another user, or if machine learning algorithms have gotten confused and started offering absurd replacements.

⚠️ Before resetting your dictionary, make sure you don't lose important abbreviations that you use all the time. After cleaning, you'll have to re-train your keyboard to your type and specific words.

Once the dictionary is cleaned, the system will start learning again, and in the early days of use, you may notice that the hints have become less accurate, but this is a temporary phenomenon. After a week of active use, Xiaomi will again adapt to your communication style, but without the old mistakes.

Using third-party keyboards for full control

If standard MIUI and Gboard settings don’t work, or if the interface seems overloaded, you should consider installing a third-party keyboard. Apps like Microsoft SwiftKey or Yandex Keyboard offer more flexible autocorrect settings and often work better with Russian in other regions.

To install a third-party solution, download the app from the Google Play Store or GetApps. Once installed, Android will request permission to use the new keyboard. Follow the link in the settings, activate the new keyboard, and select it as the main one in the Language and Input menu.

Third-party keyboards often have separate, more intuitive menus to manage auto-replacement, for example, SwiftKey allows you to configure separate correction profiles for different languages, which is extremely convenient for bilinguals, you can leave auto-replacement for English and completely remove it for Russian.

• 📱 Download the keyboard application from a trusted source (Play Market).
• 🔐 Provide the necessary permissions to access the clipboard and network (to download language packets).
• 🔄 Switch to a new keyboard via notification panel or keyboard combination.

Using alternative input could also solve performance issues if Xiaomi's standard keyboard slows down on older device models.Lightweight keyboards consume less RAM and process pressing faster.

Fine auto-complement setup and hints

Disabling auto-replacement completely isn't always the best solution. Many users confuse auto-replace (automatic word change) with auto-addition (a word sentence for quick insertion). Once you remove the first function, you shouldn't ignore the second one, as it greatly speeds up the set of long phrases.

In the keyboard settings, find the section that handles hints or predictive input. Here you can adjust the height of the hint bar, the number of options offered, and even their style. The optimal setting is when the keyboard offers options but does not apply them without you touching them.

You should also pay attention to the Autocapitalization feature, which automatically makes the first letter of a sentence capitalize. If you type in lowercase often (for example, in messengers or when entering codes), this feature is also better to turn off in the text correction menu.

Remember that different apps can behave differently, and some instant messengers or email clients may have their own dictionaries or spell check rules that override Xiaomi’s system settings.

Solving problems with sticking and false positives

Sometimes the problem isn't with the software settings, but with the hardware or the screen calibration, and if auto-replacement works by itself when you haven't even touched the keys, or if the keyboard is printing itself, maybe it's the sensor.

Check if you have a low-quality protective film on the screen that can create static electricity or distort touches. Also try recalibrate the sensor through an engineering menu or special applications, although this is rarely done on Xiaomi and mainly through hidden tests.

If the problem only manifests itself in one particular app, try clearing its cache. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find a problematic app (like Telegram or WhatsApp), select Memory and click Clear cache.This won't delete your data, but will reset temporary files that may have caused a keyboard conflict.

⚠️ Warning: If the screen reacts to touch incorrectly in certain areas, this may be a sign of a “broken” touchscreen, in which case the software settings of auto-replacement will not help - you will need to replace the display module.

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If software methods don’t help, the problem may be in the hardware of the screen or the protective glass causing interference to the sensor.

In extreme cases, when nothing works, you can reset the keyboard to factory settings, which will bring all input settings back to baseline, like when you buy a phone, but it will require reconfiguration of all languages and preferences.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)