How to return the keyboard on the Xiaomi phone: from simple ways to radical solutions

Why Xiaomi Keyboard is Losing and What to Do About It

You open a messenger or browser on your Xiaomi Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 or Mi 11, click on the input field — and the keyboard does not appear. The situation is familiar to many users of Xiaomi smartphones, and there can be several reasons for it, from an accidental disconnection in the settings to a system failure after the MIUI update.

In this article, we will look at all the possible ways to return the keyboard, from basic (reboot, enable in settings) to advanced (installing alternative keyboards, resetting settings). It is important to understand that the problem can be hidden in both software and application conflict, for example, after installing Gboard or SwiftKey, the standard MIUI keyboard is sometimes "forgotten" by the system.

If you've encountered this problem after you upgraded your firmware, don't panic. In 90% of cases, you can return the keyboard without drastic measures. Let's start with the simplest solutions.

1.Rebooting the phone is the first step to solving

It sounds trivial, but rebooting the device helps in 30-40% of cases when the keyboard disappears due to a temporary failure of MIUI. This is especially true for models with 6/8 GB of RAM, where background processes can conflict with system services.

How to Reboot Xiaomi if the Keyboard is Not Working:

• 🔄 Hold the power button. 10-15 seconds until the shutdown menu appears.
• 📱 Select “Reboot” (if the menu in English is “Reboot»).
• ⏳ Wait. 1-2 minutes, sometimes MIUI longer than usual loading system services.

If the keyboard doesn’t appear after the reboot, move on to the next step. On Xiaomi 13/14 Series models with HyperOS, you may need to adjust the input languages further – more on this below.

2. Check keyboard settings in MIUI

Often the keyboard is lost due to accidental shutdown in the settings. In MIUI 14 and HyperOS, the path to settings has changed, so follow the current instructions:

1. Open Settings → Additional settings → Language and input.
2. Click on “Keyboard Management”** (or “Current Keyboard” in older versions).

Some firmware (e.g. MIUI Global 13.0.6) may require resetting keyboard settings:

• 🔧 Go to the keyboard settings (long press on the space in the input field) → «⚙️ Settings»).
• 🗑️ Select “Resetting” or “Clear Data».
• 🔄 Reboot the phone.

If the keyboard list is empty or your keyboard is missing, it has been deleted, in which case you can go to the section on installing alternative keyboards.

⚠️ Note: Xiaomi with HyperOS (2026 model) may not have the “Additional Settings” section, in which case, look for “Language and Input” right in the main settings menu.

3. Installation of an alternative keyboard (Gboard, SwiftKey)

If the standard MIUI keyboard doesn’t recover, the best solution is to install an alternative. Google’s Gboard is the most reliable option, as it’s optimized for Android and rarely conflicts with Xiaomi’s firmware.

How to install Gboard:

1. Open the Google Play Store and search for “Gboard – Google Keyboard”.
2. Click “Install” and wait for the download to be completed.
3. After installation, open any input field (like WhatsApp), pull down the notification bar, and click “Select the input method.”
4. Select Gboard and allow access to the keyboard.

If Google Play is not available (for example, on Xiaomi for the Chinese market), download it. APK-Gboard file from the official APKPure website and install manually. Important: before installation, allow installation from unknown sources in Settings → Annexes → Special rights → Installation of unknown applications.

⚠️ Note: If after installing the alternative keyboard it does not appear in the list of input methods, clear the Settings app cache → Annexes → Application management → Settings (⚙️) → Clear the cache.

4. Reset keyboard settings and app cache

If the keyboard is installed but not working, the problem may be a damaged cache, and cleaning the cache and keyboard data often solves the problem without completely resetting the phone.

Instructions for the standard MIUI keyboard:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Press three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select "Show system processes».
3. Find the MIUI Keyboard (or Latinime for Gboard).
4. Click on “Storage” → “Clear Cache” and “Clear Data”.
5. Reboot the phone.

For Gboard or other keyboards:

• 📌 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Gboard.
• 🧹 Select "Storage» → «Clear the cache».
• 🔄 If it doesn’t help, click “Clear Data” (this will reset all keyboard settings).

If cleaning the cache didn't help, you might have damaged the system files, and then resetting the settings to the factory would help, but that's a last resort, because all the data would be deleted.

5. Resetting the phone to factory settings (extreme case)

If none of the previous methods worked, it leaves a complete reset, which will put the phone back out of the box, but delete all data, including photos, contacts and apps. On Xiaomi 12T and the newer models, it can take up to 10 minutes to reset due to data encryption.

How to reset:

1. Back up important data through Settings → About Phone → Backup or Mi Cloud.
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Select Reset All Settings (not to be confused with Reset Network Settings).
4. Confirm the action and wait for the completion (the phone will restart several times).

After discharge:

• 🔑 Set up your phone as new (or restore from backup).
• 📱 Check the keyboard in any application (for example, in SMS).
• 🔧 If necessary, install Gboard or other keyboard.

⚠️ Note: On some models (POCO F5, Redmi K60) After the reset, you may need to re-assign your Mi Account to unlock the bootloader!

💡

Factory reset is the last option. Be sure to try all other methods before you do, as reset deletes all data without the possibility of recovery (unless a backup was made).

6. Additional methods: Safe Mode, ADB and contacting the service

If the keyboard doesn't appear even after a reset, the problem may be deeper, such as corrupting system files or conflicting with other applications.

🛡️ Starting in Safe Mode (Safe Mode)

Safe Mode allows you to boot your phone without third-party apps, and if it's in this mode, the keyboard is running, it means that one of the apps you've installed is a problem.

How to turn on:

1. Hold the power button until the off menu appears.
2. Press the “Switch off” finger for 3-5 seconds and a suggestion to switch to Safe Mode will appear.
3. Confirm and wait for the download.

If the keyboard is working, delete the applications one by one until you find the culprit.

🖥️ Use of the ADB (for advanced users)

If you are familiar with Android Debug Bridge (ADB), you can manually enable the keyboard via the command:

adb shell ime enable com.android.inputmethod.latin/.LatinIME


adb shell ime set com.android.inputmethod.latin/.LatinIME

For Gboard, replace com.android.inputmethod.latin with com.google.android.inputmethod.latin.

🔧 Contacting the service center

If nothing helped, there may be a hardware problem (for example, the screen plume connector on Xiaomi Mix Fold or Black Shark models is damaged).

• 📍 Find the nearest center on the site mi.com/service.
• 📋 Check if the warranty is still valid (on most models). 12-24 month).
• 💰 The cost of diagnosis is usually 500-1000 ₽.

💡

Before visiting the service, make a full backup via Mi PC Suite (you can download it on the official Xiaomi website), which will save your data even if the phone does not turn on.

FAQ: Frequent questions about missing keyboard on Xiaomi