Many users of Xiaomi Redmi 9 smartphones face a situation where the standard size of the keyboard is not convenient enough for fast printing, especially for people with large fingers or visual impairments who find it difficult to get on small buttons on a screen diagonal of 6.53 inches. Standard input settings often do not take into account the individual characteristics of the user, leaving little room for maneuver without deep immersion in the menu.
Fortunately, the Android operating system in the MIUI shell provides some flexible tools to personalize the interface, so you can change not only the height of the panels, but also the scale of the fonts, and even enlarge the entire screen for a comfortable interaction, understanding these mechanisms allows you to turn using a smartphone from a test to a pleasure.
In this article, we will go into detail all the available customization methods, we will touch on both the regular features of the virtual Gboard keyboard and the system settings that affect the display of text, and a competent combination of these methods will give the maximum result.
Basic Keyboard Height Adjustment in Gboard
The most obvious and frequently used method is to change the height of the input bar directly in the keyboard settings. Xiaomi Redmi 9 smartphones have a default Gboard from Google, which has a wide range of functionality. First, you need to activate the input field in any application to make the panel appear on the screen.
When you have the keyboard, you look at the top toolbar, and you have a four-square icon or a gear setting icon, and you click on it, and you get to the quick settings menu, where you have the height slider, and you move it up, and you increase the area of the buttons, making them more accessible to press.
⚠️ Note: With maximum increase in the height of the keyboard, it can overlap a significant part of the screen, which will make it difficult to view the typed text in messengers with a small input window.
If the standard slider isn't enough, go to the advanced settings. To do this, press and hold the comma or go to the settings via the phone menu. In the Settings → System → Language and input section, you can find more detailed parameters that affect the display of characters and indentations.
Increase system font for comfortable reading
Often the problem is not the size of the buttons themselves, but the small character font, which makes your eyes squint and strain. MIUI 12, which is based on Android 10, has a convenient mechanism for scaling system fonts. This affects all interface elements, including the letters on the virtual keyboard.
To change this, go to the Settings menu and select Screen. There you will find the text size option. Moving the slider to the right, you will see in real time how the text increases in preview. This is one of the most effective ways to make the interface readable without installing additional software.
And it's worth noting that the increase in font affects other apps, too, and WhatsApp messages, browser articles, and settings menus will also get bigger, which can lead to less information being placed on the screen, but the reading experience will increase many times over.
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Use the "Advanced Settings" feature in the font menu to adjust not only the size but also the boldness of the mark if the standard character weight is not enough for clear perception.
Using a magnifier regime for temporary increase
Redmi 9 owners have a built-in accessibility feature called "Lupa" that is designed for visually impaired people, but can be useful for anyone who wants to see the fine details of an interface or keyboard. Activating a magnifier allows you to zoom in on a certain area of the screen by double pressing or floating a button.
To enable this feature, go to Settings → Advanced Settings → Special Features. Find Loop and activate it in the list, and then a floating button may appear on the screen or the behavior of the touchscreen will change depending on the selected control mode.
You have to use a magnifier, and you have to use your finger zoom, just like you zoom in photos, but within the system interface, and it's not a permanent solution for printing large volumes of text every day, but it's a great tool for doing one-off things.
The secrets of the magnifying glass
Setting the font size and style inside the keyboard
Many users don't know that the Gboard keyboard itself has its own style settings, independent of the system. You can choose a theme where the characters will look larger or contrast, go to the keyboard settings and select the Topic section.
There are different design options available here. Some themes use bolder fonts or contrasting colors, which visually increases the size of the characters. Also in Settings → Preferences, you can turn on vibration when pressed, which will give tactile confirmation of input, compensating for visual inconvenience.
Special attention should be paid to setting autocorrection and predictive input. If you increase the size of word prompts above the keyboard, the typing process will become faster. To do this, select Text Correction and activate all available hint options in the Gboard settings menu.
| Setup parameter | Where to find out. | The effect |
|---|---|---|
| Panel height | Keyboard menu (icon 4 squares) | Physical increase of buttons |
| Systemic font | Settings → Screen → Text Size | Increase all letters in the system |
| Theme of the design | Gboard → Settings → Theme | Visual change of symbol style |
| Loop mode | Special facilities → Lupa | Temporary increase in the screen area |
☑️ Checking the keyboard settings
Third-party solutions and alternative keyboards
If the standard capabilities of Xiaomi and Gboard don’t satisfy you, you can always turn to third-party developers. There are many text-input apps in the Google Play Market that offer extreme size settings. One popular option is the Big Button Keyboard, which is designed specifically for people with poor eyesight.
These apps completely replace the standard input bar, and they often have a simplified interface with huge buttons that occupy one-third of the screen each, which radically solves the problem of hitting the right characters, although it takes time to get used to the new layout.
When installing third-party keyboards, Android security will issue a risk warning. This is standard procedure, as the keyboard has access to input data. Only download apps from trusted, high-rated developers to eliminate the risk of password theft.
⚠️ Warning: Installing unknown keyboards from unverified sources may lead to leakage of personal data, including bank passwords and correspondence.
Optimization-One-Handed Mode for one-handed control
For owners of big-screen smartphones like the Redmi 9, one-handedness is a problem, and MIUI has a one-handed mode that compresses the interface to the size of a small rectangle in the corner of the screen, allowing you to reach all areas with your thumb, including the keyboard.
You can activate this mode via Settings → Additional settings → One-handed mode. Once you turn the swipe down from the bottom of the screen (from the navigation bar or the Home button), it will reduce the image. The keyboard will also decrease, but will shift into reach, which for some users is more convenient than stretching your fingers.
This technique doesn't increase the physical size of the buttons, but it changes the ergonomics of interaction, so if your goal is to be comfortable with printing on the go or in transport, with the phone holding in one hand, this may be preferable to simple zoom.
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The combination of increasing the system font and adjusting the height of Gboard gives the best balance between the size of the buttons and the amount of visible information on the screen.