Many users of budget but reliable smartphones face difficulties in typing when interface elements become too small. Owners of the Xiaomi Redmi 8 model often wonder how to make the input area more readable, since the standard 5.47 inches of the screen does not always allow comfortable typing even for people with good vision. Increasing the keyboard is not just a matter of convenience, but a necessity to reduce eye strain during long correspondence.
The MIUI operating system that you have installed on your device has several levels of zoom. These can be about the height of the letter panel itself, and the size of the characters displayed on it. It is important to understand that standard system tools can only change the scale of the font throughout the interface, which will affect the keyboard, but not always efficiently. For fine-tuning, it often requires recourse to third-party solutions or specific parameters within the application itself to enter.
In this article, we will discuss in detail all the available ways to increase input elements on your gadget. We will look at the standard Android settings, the capabilities of the MIUI shell and third-party applications that will help solve the problem. You will learn to customize the interface to your individual needs, making the process of communication as comfortable as possible.
Standard scaling settings in MIUI
The first thing a Xiaomi Redmi 8 owner needs to do is check the basic display settings. MIUI offers a global font size change that automatically applies to all applications, including the standard Gboard or MIUI Keyboard. To access these options, go to the Settings menu → Screen → Text Size. Here you will see a slider, moving which to the right will increase all text elements.
But you have to consider that changing this parameter affects the entire interface of the smartphone, and the menu, messaging and system notifications will also get bigger, and that can lead to less information being displayed on the screen at the same time. If you want to just zoom in on the keyboard, this may seem redundant, but it's the safest and doesn't require any additional software.
Some versions of the firmware also have the feature "Size of interface elements" on the Settings → Screen → Size of interface elements. Unlike font, this parameter affects the size of buttons and indentations, which can indirectly increase the height of the rows of the keyboard. Experimenting with these two sliders, you can find a balance where the keyboard becomes more convenient and the rest of the interface does not lose functionality.
- 📱 Global font increase affects all applications of the system.
- ⚙️ The size of interface elements changes the scale of buttons and indentations.
- 👁️ The combination of settings helps to find the optimal balance for vision.
⚠️ Note: With maximum font enlargement, some buttons in the settings menu may shift or crop, making navigation difficult.
Customization of heights and themes in Gboard
Since most Xiaomi Redmi 8 devices have Google’s Gboard keyboard installed by default, it is the settings that provide the most customization options. Unlike the system settings on the screen, you can change the height of the input panel without touching the rest of the interface. To do this, open any application that requires text input and click on the gear icon in the top keyboard panel or go through Settings → Additional settings → Language and input → Keyboard Management → Gboard.
In the keyboard menu, find Settings → Preferences → Keyboard Height. There are five levels of zoom available, from "Small" to "Very Large." The choice of "Very Large" or "Big" visually stretches the keyboard vertically, making the buttons themselves higher and wider, making it much easier to hit the desired characters, especially for people with large fingers or trembling hands.
In addition to physical height, size perception is influenced by the theme of the design. Dark themes with bright, contrasting letters often seem larger and readable. In the Themes section, you can choose a ready-made version or create your own by changing the color of the keys and borders. Using bold font in the theme settings also adds visual weight to the characters, making them more visible.
☑️ Setting up Gboard
Remember, it can take a few minutes to get used to the keyboard change, and the fingers' muscles are tuned to a particular row location, and a sudden change in geometry can temporarily slow down the speed of printing, but after a couple of days of using the larger format, you'll notice that the number of typos has decreased and your eyes are less tired.
Use of third-party keyboards for maximum size
If standard MIUI and Gboard tools don't work, Google Play apps come to the rescue. There are keyboards designed specifically for people with low vision or those who prefer extremely large controls. One of the leaders in this niche is the Big Button Keyboard app.
The main advantage of these apps is that you can independently adjust the size of each button and font, you can make the keyboard almost on the entire screen, leaving only a small area to display the input text, a unique feature that standard Android tools do not provide.
Once you install the app from the store, you need to activate it in the system. Go to Settings → Additional settings → Language and input → Current keyboard and select the installed application. You also need to give permission to access, which the system will request automatically when you first start.
| Annex | Substantive function | Difficulty setting up | Impact on the battery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gboard | Basic height increase | Low. | Minimum |
| Big Button Keyboard | Extreme button size | Medium | Average. |
| Large & Big Font | Increase in system font | Low. | Minimum |
| Huge Keyboard | Maximum symbol size | Low. | Low. |
Security of Third-Party Keyboards
Increase the font of prediction and hints
Often the problem is not the size of the letters on the buttons themselves, but the fine print of the word prediction string that sits above the keyboard. On the Xiaomi Redmi 8, this line can be barely discernible in bright sunlight or for users with farsightedness. Fortunately, there is a separate setting in the Gboard settings for this zone.
To increase the prompt font, open the keyboard settings and go to Settings → Preferences. Find the prompt font size (or similar, depending on the translation version). The switch lets you choose between "Small", "Medium" and "Large." Selecting a large size will make the proposed words more noticeable, which will speed up typing by pumpkin.
You should also pay attention to the autocorrect function. When autocorrect is enabled, the keyboard can visually highlight the corrected word, which also helps control the text. If the font still seems small, try turning off the display of hints for a particular language, leaving only the main one, which sometimes changes the layout of the prediction line for the better.
- 🔍 Separate font setting for the prompt line.
- 📝 Selecting a large size improves the readability of the proposed words.
- ⚡ Quick access to settings through a long comma tap.
Remember, the font size in the prediction bar also depends on the overall system font. If you set the maximum text size in the basic Android settings, the prompt bar in Gboard will also get bigger, even without the internal keyboard settings, which is an example of how system and application settings interact with each other.
Compatibility issues and display bugs
When trying to zoom in on Xiaomi Redmi 8, users may encounter visual artifacts, which is because the device’s screen resolution is 720p and the pixel density is not very high. When zooming heavily, fonts can become blurry or “teared,” and buttons can go beyond the screen.
One of the common problems is that the keyboard overlaps important elements in applications. If you set the keyboard too high, in some programs the input field may not move high enough and you will not see the typed text, in which case it is recommended to reduce the height of the keyboard by one step or switch to a standard size, leaving only the enlarged font.
⚠️ Note: On some versions MIUI After updating the height setting system, the keyboard can be reset to standard ones.
Another nuance is applications that aren't optimized for large fonts, where keyboard buttons can overlap the interface, making it impossible to click on either send or close. If you're faced with this situation, the only way out is to temporarily zoom in or use voice input.
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If the interface becomes unreadable after enlarging the font, you can quickly return everything back through the recovery mode. Go to Safe Mode (clamping the off button), where the standard settings apply, and reset the scale parameters.
Alternative methods: magnifying and voice input
When the software methods for enlarging the keyboard on the Xiaomi Redmi 8 are not effective enough, you should pay attention to the built-in Android accessibility features. One of them is the Loop, which allows you to triple tap on the screen to enlarge a certain area, which is useful for a one-time refinement of fine text or check the entered data.
You can activate the magnifier in Settings → Advanced Settings → Special Features → Loop. By enabling this service, you can zoom in on any part of the screen, including the keyboard, in high detail. It doesn't change the size of the keyboard all the time, but it allows you to see details as needed without distorting the rest of the interface.
The most radical and effective way to get rid of the small keyboard is to switch to voice input. The Gboard keyboard has a built-in microphone that recognizes Russian and other languages with high accuracy. Pressing the microphone icon allows you to dictate long messages, completely ignoring the size of the buttons. This not only solves the problem of vision, but also greatly speeds up typing.
It’s also worth mentioning the ability to connect a physical keyboard via USB-OTG. Xiaomi Redmi 8 supports this standard. By connecting a regular computer keyboard through an adapter, you’ll get a physical tactile response and the ability to type, looking at a large monitor or just by touch, which completely eliminates the problem of the small screen.
- 🔊 Voice input allows you to completely ignore the size of the buttons.
- 🔍 Lupa helps to consider small details on demand.
- 🔌 Support USB-OTG It allows you to connect a physical keyboard.
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The combination of voice input for long texts and a standard keyboard with a larger font for short answers is the most effective strategy for comfortable smartphone use.