How to increase the size of the keyboard on Xiaomi Redmi 9: all the ways from standard to hidden

The small keyboard on Xiaomi Redmi 9 makes it difficult to type quickly and comfortably? buttons too tight and fingers constantly fall by? The problem is familiar to many owners of this smartphone - especially those who are used to big-screen devices or have thumbs. Fortunately, you can increase the size of the keyboard in several ways, and most of them do not require root rights or complex manipulation.

In this article, we will analyze all current methods: from standard settings MIUI You will learn how to scale the keyboard in Gboard, SwiftKey and other popular keyboards, as well as what to do if the system settings do not give the desired result — MIUI 12, 13 and 14, as the interface and options available may differ.

Important: Some methods only work for certain versions of keyboards or firmware. If your Redmi 9 has been updated to the latest MIUI, check the System Updates section first, sometimes new features appear after updates.

1. Standard keyboard settings in MIUI

To start with, the basic MIUI tools are built-in, and the manufacturer has provided basic options for scaling the keyboard, but they're often hidden in non-obvious menus. Here's how to find them:

Open any application where the keyboard appears (such as Messages or Notes).

1. Touch the gear badge (⚙️) on the keyboard panel to open its settings.
2. Go to Size and layout (or layout settings depending on version).
3. Find the slider Keyboard Height or Scale - move it to the right for zooming.
4. In some versions of MIUI there is a separate option button size – it can also be adjusted.

If these are not, then your keyboard does not support scaling through standard settings, in which case move on to the following ways.

⚠️ Attention: Redmi 9 with firmware MIUI 12 and below, the option to resize the keyboard may not be available in the Mi Keyboard system keyboard, in which case you will have to install a third-party keyboard (see Section 3).

2. Change the size of the keyboard through a special mode

MIUI has a hidden One-Hand mode that not only moves the keyboard sideways, but also allows you to slightly increase the size of the keyboard, which is suitable if you need to temporarily expand the input area:

The mode is activated as follows:

• 📱 Open the keyboard in any application.
• 👆 Press and hold the gear icon (⚙️) or emoji (if you have a Gboard).
• 🔄 In the menu that appears, select One-handed Mode (or One-handed Mode).
• ➡️ Drag the keyboard to the left or right edge of the screen – it will automatically increase to the left side. 10-15%.

The downside of this method is that the keyboard becomes asymmetrical, and some of the buttons can be hidden behind the edge of the screen, but it works without installing additional applications and is suitable for quickly entering short messages.

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If the one-hand mode is not turned on, check if the feature is activated in the phone’s main settings: Settings → Special Features → One-hand mode.

3. Installation of a third-party keyboard with scale setting

If standard methods don't work, the best solution is to install an alternative keyboard, and the most flexible settings are:

• 🔹 Gboard (from Google) – supports adjusting the height and width of keys, themes and gestures.
• 🔹 SwiftKey (from Microsoft) – allows you to change the size of the keys and the distance between them.
• 🔹 Chroom – keyboard with advanced customization options, including scale.
• 🔹 Fleksy – offers unique button extensions and adaptive size.

Let’s take a look at the Gboard (the most popular option):

1. Download Gboard from Google Play.
2. Activate it in the phone settings: Settings → System → Language and input → Current keyboard.
3. Open Gboard, press the gear → Settings → Size.
4. Adjust the slider Keyboard height (available values from 75% to 125%).
5. In the additional section, you can enable the floating keyboard and change its size manually.

Important: Gboard has a hidden option called Advanced Size Settings, which only appears after a few keyboard height changes, and allows you to zoom in horizontally and vertically more accurately.

Download APK from an official source (Google Play or developer site)|

Check the reviews about the stability of work on Xiaomi|

Disable Battery Optimization for Keyboard in MIUI | Settings

Make a backup copy of the user dictionary (if any)-->

4. Manual size resizing via ADB (for advanced)

If you're ready to experiment, you can change the system settings of the keyboard through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting the phone to a computer, but gives you more freedom than standard settings.

Here's the step-by-step instruction:

1. Turn on USB Debugging on your phone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times to become a developer) → Go back to Settings → Additional → For Developers → Debugging on USB.
2. Connect Redmi 9 to your PC and confirm debugging permission.
3. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (Mac/Linux) and type:

adb shell settings put secure default_input_method


adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.name.keyboard/.SettingsActivity

Replace the keyboard name with your keyboard package (e.g. com.google.android.inputmethod.latin for Gboard).

You can then manually change the scale parameters through commands:

adb shell settings put system keyboard_height_scale 1.3

Where 1.3 is the zoom factor (1.0 = standard size, 1.5 = 50% increase).

⚠️ Attention: Wrong commands ADB Before experimenting, back up your data through Settings. → Additionally. → Backup and reset. If the keyboard stops appearing after the changes, reset it through Settings. → Annexes → Application management → [Keyboard name] → Warehouse → Clear the data.

5.Use of special capabilities functions

MIUI has tools for users with visual problems that can be adapted to enlarge the keyboard, for example, the Screen Size feature allows you to temporarily enlarge any interface element, including the keyboard.

How to turn on:

1. Go to Settings → Special features → Screen size.
2. Activate the slider and set the magnification rate (e.g., 1.5x or 2x).
3. Open the keyboard and tap the screen three times, and it will expand with the rest of the interface.

The downside of this is that it scales the entire screen, not just the keyboard, but it's useful if you need to temporarily zoom in buttons to type long text.

Another option is the Large Text feature in the same Special Features section, which enlarges the font in all applications, including keyboards, but does not change their physical size.

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Features special features do not replace the full configuration of the keyboard, but can be a temporary solution if other methods are not available.

6. Alternative solutions: voice input and gestures

If you can’t enlarge the keyboard, consider alternative input methods:

• 🎤 Voice input: The Gboard and Mi Keyboard have a microphone button — press it and dictate the text. Recognition accuracy on Redmi 9 depends on microphone quality and noise level.
• ✍️ Handwriting: Some keyboards (e.g. SwiftKey) support finger-to-screen text input. This is convenient for short messages.
• 👆 Gestures: You can use Gboard to turn on the swipe, swipe the finger without taking it off the screen, and this reduces the need for precise clicks on small buttons.
• 🖥️ Connecting a physical keyboard: via Bluetooth or USB-OTG You can connect a full-size keyboard - this is important for long-term work with text.

To activate voice input in Gboard:

1. Open the keyboard settings (cogs → voice input).
2. Turn on the option of voice recognition offline, so that the function works without the Internet.
3. Click on the microphone in the keyboard panel and start talking.

Tip: for better recognition, use headphones with a microphone - they reduce the level of ambient noise.

7 Problems and their solutions

When you resize your keyboard on Redmi 9, you may have problems, and here are some of the most common ways to fix them:

If the keyboard is still too small after all the manipulations, check:

• 🔍 Is firmware updated? MIUI Update (some features appear after updates).
• 📱 Are there conflicts with other applications (for example, launchers or themes).
• 🔄 Have you reset your keyboard settings after rebooting (sometimes resetting helps).

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Redmi 9 with MIUI 14 has an experimental feature called Adaptive Keyboard, which automatically adjusts the button size to your type style. To enable it, go to Keyboard Settings → Experimental Functions.

FAQ: Frequent questions