How to return the old keyboard to Xiaomi after the MIUI update

Updating MIUI often brings not only new features, but also drastic changes to the interface — including replacing the usual keyboard with a new version with a different design, button layout or even autocomplete logic. Many users of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO face the discomfort of losing favorite themes, changing the size of keys, and predicting text has become worse. Fortunately, you can return the old keyboard in several ways, from rolling back system updates to installing alternative solutions.

In this article, we’ll look at 5 proven methods that work on most Xiaomi devices (including MIUI 12/13/14 and HyperOS models). Importantly, some methods require administrator rights or USB debugging, so prepare your phone for experiments in advance. If you’re not sure about your skills, start with the simplest options (sections 2 and 3).

1. rollback of system keyboard update via MIUI

The safest way is to return the previous version of the standard Mi Keyboard through the built-in system tools, which works if the keyboard update was installed separately from the firmware (which is often the case with MIUI 13+).

Instructions:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 In the search bar, type “Keyboard” and select Mi Keyboard (or Gboard if you use it).
• ⚙️ Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select “Delete Updates».
• 🔄 Restart the phone – the keyboard will return to the factory version.

⚠️ Note: If the Remove Updates button is inactive, then the keyboard is integrated into the firmware.

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Before rolling back, back up the user's keyboard dictionary in Settings → Additional → Language and Input → Keyboard → Backup.

2.Install the old version of the Mi Keyboard manually (APK)

If the system rollback did not work, you can manually install the previous version of the keyboard through APK-This method is suitable for most Xiaomi devices, but requires permission to install from unknown sources.

Step-by-step:

1. Download the archive from APKMirror (choose the version for your model and firmware: 📦 Mi Keyboard 5.0.1 - for the MIUI 12 📦 Mi Keyboard 6.1.0 - for the MIUI 13 📦 Mi Keyboard 7.0.2 - For the MIUI 14 (Prior to HyperOS Update)

Settings → Applications → Special access → Installation of unknown applications

APK

Settings → Language and input → Current keyboard

⚠️ Attention: Installation APK From third sources, it can cause conflicts with the system. Before installing, check the hash file on the VirusTotal website.

3. Switch to Gboard or alternative keyboards

If the old Mi Keyboard failed to return, consider alternatives.Gboard by Google is the most popular option among Xiaomi users, as it offers flexible customizations of themes, gestures and text prediction.

How to install and configure Gboard:

• 📲 Download Gboard from Google Play.
• 🔧 Activate it in Settings. → Language and input → Current keyboard.
• 🎨 Go to the Gboard settings (cog icon on the keyboard) and select: 🖼️ Theme: Material Design (reminiscent of the old Mi Keyboard) ⌨️ The size is “medium” or “high” (as in the case of the MIUI 12) 🔤 Prediction – Turn off “Show History-Based Proposals” if it interferes.

Other proven keyboards for Xiaomi:

• 🔹 SwiftKey is the best text prediction, but requires learning.
• 🔹 Fleksy – Minimalist design with gestures.
• 🔹 Chroom – for fans of customization (support for those of the MIUI).

Install the app from Google Play|

Activate in language and input settings |

Select a theme similar to Mi Keyboard|

Disable unnecessary sentences of text |

Check the voice input.-->

4. Reset keyboard settings to factory

Sometimes the problem isn't the keyboard version, but the misaligned settings. A factory reset can bring back the look and feel of the Mi Keyboard, even if it's still a new version.

How to reset your settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Mi Keyboard.
2. Click on “Storage” → “Clear Data” and “Clear Cache”.
3. Return to the main menu of keyboard settings and select “Resetting” (if there is such a item).
4. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Note: Clearing the data will remove the user dictionary and saved themes. If you care about this data, export it first through the keyboard settings. → Additionally. → Export of settings.

5. Install the old keyboard via ADB (for advanced)

If none of the previous methods worked, you can resort to manually reinstalling the system APK via ADB. This method requires an unlocked bootloader and root rights (or at least enabled debugging over USB).

Instructions:

1. 🖥️ Install Android SDK Platform-Tools on the computer.
2. 📱 Put the debugging on. USB on the phone: Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (Click 7 times to become a developer) → Settings → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB.
3. 🔌 Connect your phone to your PC and execute: Adb devices (your device should appear).
4. 📁 Download. APK The old version of the Mi Keyboard (see section below) 2) and rename it in miui_keyboard.apk.
5. 🔧 Execute commands: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.miuiinputmethod exit adb install -r -d miui_keyboard.apk
6. 🔄 Reboot the phone.

If the keyboard does not appear in the list of available ones after reinstalling, check the integrity of the APK and repeat the steps with the cache clearing (adb shell pm clear com.miui.miuiinputmethod).

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The ADB method is the most reliable, but it's risky. Wrong commands can cause system applications to fail. It's recommended only for advanced users!

6. rollback of all MIUI firmware (extreme case)

If the keyboard was changed along with a major MIUI update (for example, when you switch to HyperOS), the only way to return the old version is to roll back the firmware entirely.

• 🔄 You are ready to lose all data (or have backups).
• 📱 Your model supports downgrade (check out Xiaomi Firmware Updater).
• 🔧 You've got the loader unlocked.

Step-by-step:

1. Download the desired firmware version (for example, MIUI 13 instead of MIUI 14) from the official website or archive.
2. Unpack. ZIP-file in a folder with fastboot tools.
3. Put your phone in Fastboot mode (press the Power) + Vol− switch off).
4. Run the command: fastboot flashall [firmware name].zip
5. Wait until the phone is finished (the phone will reboot automatically).

⚠️ Attention: Firmware rollback can cause the device to lock (especially on newer HyperOS models). 4PDA or XDA-Developers.

FAQ: Frequent questions about returning the old keyboard to Xiaomi