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You are here: Home / iPhone / How to Get Back the Emoji Keyboard on Your iPhone

How to Get Back the Emoji Keyboard on Your iPhone

By Dan Helyer 44 comments Last updated February 12, 2020

Emojis are everywhere. We use them every day to inject humor and emotion into our conversations. They’ve successfully transformed how we speak to each other digitally, which is why it can be so upsetting if emojis have vanished from your device!

We feel your pain here at AppleToolBox, so this post shows you exactly how to get back the emoji keyboard on your iPhone.

Pro Tip: The steps are all the same for your iPad!

Quick tips

quick tips 2019

Follow these quick tips to get your emoji keyboard back on your iPhone!

  • Press and hold the globe (world/earth) icon or the smiley face icon to access your emoji keyboard options
  • Install or re-install the emoji keyboard in the Settings App
  • Update your iOS or iPadOS, preferably using iTunes or the Finder app

Related Posts:

  • No Emoji Keyboard on iPhone, iPad, and other iDevices
  • Using Emoji Keyboard – Mac and iOS
  • iPhone Predictive Text, Emoji Not Working, How-To Fix
  • iOS: Emoji Emoticons Not Working on iOS, iPad, or iPod Touch

There are many reasons the emoji keyboard might have gone missing from your iPhone

A software update may have changed some settings, a bug in the iOS may be causing problems, or the keyboard may have been accidentally deleted.

Whatever the reason is, it shouldn’t take long to return to normal. We’ve outlined the process below, starting with the easiest solution and progressing to a full reset.

Follow this post, and you’ll be sure to have your emojis back in no time.

How to Get Back the Emoji Keyboard on Your iPhone

Make sure to select the emoji keyboard

  1. Open an app that uses the keyboard (Messages, Mail, etc)
  2. In the on-screen keyboard, press the globe or smiley face icon and hold down for a second or two (depending on the iPhone model, these icons might appear inside the keyboard or just below it)

    Globe icon keyboard selector on iPhone keyboard
    The Globe icon only appears when you have multiple keyboards to choose from.
  3. Wait for your installed keyboards to appear in a pop-up menu select emoji keyboard in Messages app
  4. Select emoji and voila!

Check that your device has the emoji keyboard installed

Next, let’s make sure the emoji keyboard is added to your iPhone settings. This is the most likely cause of the problem, follow these steps to set things straight:

  1. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard
  2. Keyboards > Add New Keyboard…
  3. Find and select Emoji

How to Add the Emoji Keyboard to Your iPhone

Remove and Re-Add the Emoji Keyboard

If the emoji keyboard was already added to your settings, try removing it and adding it back again. To do this, return to the Keyboards page and slide the Emoji option to the left.

Delete the Emoji Keyboard

  1. Launch the Settings > General
  2. Tap Keyboard > Keyboards.
  3. Swipe left on Emoji
  4. Tap Delete

This reveals a red delete button. Once deleted restart your iPhone.

Then, follow this process to add the emoji keyboard back again

  1. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard
  2. Tap Add New Keyboard
  3. Choose Emoji

What to Do if You Can’t Add Back the Emoji Keyboard

If the steps haven’t helped so far, try the troubleshooting tips below. It’s looking like there’s an issue in your software causing the problem.

Update Your Operating Software

The emoji keyboard has been around for years, so it shouldn’t make much difference in which iOS version your iPhone is running.

Screenshot of iPhone settings Software Update page

However, if those grinning yellow faces are still missing from your iPhone, it’s best to ensure you’re up to date.

We’re running the latest software here at Apple ToolBox and we found updating helps solve a lot of problems including no emojis!

Check you’re on the latest iOS by going to Settings > General > Software Update.

Reset Your iPhone Software

If you’re still without emojis, the final option is to reset your iPhone software. There are two options for doing this that we’ll explain below.

It’s strongly recommended that you make a backup of your iPhone first.

  1. Go to Settings > General > Reset
  2. Select one of the two options:
    1. Reset All Settings
    2. Erase All Content and Settings

Reset All Settings iOS 10 Install and Activation Problems, how-To

This option keeps all apps, photos, videos, etc. on your iPhone and return the settings back to default.

It’s the best one to try first since it doesn’t delete any of your content.

Erase All Content and Settings

This second option removes everything from your device and returns it to factory settings.

It’s a sure-fire way to get the emoji keyboard back on your iPhone, but you will need to restore it from a backup afterward.Reset Your iPhone Software

 

Well, that’s all there is to know. Let us know in the comments below if this post helped you and share it with anyone else who may be struggling through life without their emojis.

Dan Helyer

Dan writes tutorials and troubleshooting guides to help people make the most of their technology. Before becoming a writer, he earned a BSc in Sound Technology, supervised repairs at an Apple Store, and even taught English in China.

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Reader Interactions

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Show 44 Comments

  1. sam says

    January 1, 2023 at 11:27 AM

    ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

    Reply
  2. Mary Carpenter says

    January 22, 2022 at 1:36 AM

    This tutorial on how to fix my emoji keyboard absolutely helped, although I did have to go all the way through and do the last suggestion of resetting my phone. I was afraid it wouldn’t help because my emoji keyboard WAS still showing, but I had suddenly lost SOME of my favorite emojis. They just disappeared. I still don’t know why this happened, except that it did happen right after I had had a couple of updates. I wish if we were going to have updates, we would not have to go back into the phone afterwards and “fix” it back! That seems like it defeats one of the purposes for an “update!” It’s like an oximoron! Thankfully, the tutorial showed me exactly how to reset my phone without losing any of my photos, etc!! Resetting my phone DID fix my emojis. I also appreciate that there is a way to fix these things on my own so I do not have to go into the crowded store and expose myself to COVID! That is a huge bonus, so thank you very much for providing this service!

    Reply
  3. Dick Powell says

    January 12, 2022 at 11:49 AM

    All of the emojis I had customized that sort of looked like me, are gone!!!

    Reply
  4. Pavel says

    November 23, 2020 at 1:45 AM

    It works!

    Reply
  5. Bill Nobles says

    November 11, 2020 at 1:09 PM

    Thanks for your suggestions. It took resetting all to recover my emojis!

    Reply
  6. LJ Anderson says

    September 1, 2020 at 2:41 PM

    Great advice.
    In order to use the emoji when I’m typing texts, I have to hold it down to access it. Otherwise, there is a globe. Is there a way to just have the emoji on my screen when I’m typing texts instead of having the globe?
    Thank you.

    Reply
  7. CLAIRE POWELL says

    April 22, 2020 at 11:46 AM

    Hi,
    How are you? Well I hope!
    I have a question about a certain ad that won’t go away. It is regarding background checks. Do you have any advice?
    Claire Powell

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      April 23, 2020 at 8:04 AM

      Hi Claire,

      If you have an advert that won’t go away and it’s in Safari, follow these steps:

      1) Close the Safari app by double-pressing the home button or swiping up from the bottom to reveal the app switcher. Locate Safari’s app preview, then swipe it off the top of your screen to close it

      2) Open Settings > Safari and scroll down to Advanced

      3) Choose Website Data and wait for the info to populate

      4) Tap remove All Website Data and confirm with Remove Now

      5) Go back to Settings > Safari

      6) Tap Clear History and Website Data

      7) Restart your device, then see if that advert is now gone

      Hope so!

      Liz

      Reply
  8. Kathryn Montgomery says

    April 15, 2020 at 4:22 PM

    I am missing emojis which I had until the last day or two. The emoji keyboard is present but there are several missing, The one that I can readily identify is the musical notes (three quarter notes). Apparently there are others as I have several list lines with one, two, or three vacancies.

    How do I install the missing emojis? I am fearful of reinstalling the keyboard.

    Yes, I have updated my iPhone to 13.4.1

    Thank you for your assistance, Kathy

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      April 16, 2020 at 8:28 AM

      Hi Kathryn,

      You cannot currently install emojis one-by-one. Rather, you install or reinstall the entire keyboard at once.

      Are you seeing a question mark or black square instead of the missing emojis or do they just not appear in the list of available emojis?

      Reply
  9. Debbie says

    March 4, 2020 at 6:33 AM

    Thank you! Holding down the globe worked for me. Once I held it down and selected emojis the emoji keyboard pops up with a regular tap and i can go back and forth between keyboards just like before.

    Reply
  10. Sharon says

    February 20, 2020 at 12:26 AM

    I reset all settings now I can’t get past this as I don’t remember my passcode. Now what? I went from one problem to another. HELP!!!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      February 21, 2020 at 9:00 AM

      Hi Sharon,

      Resetting all settings does not erase your device passcode.

      If you’ve entered the wrong device passcode six times in a row, Apple automatically locks you out of your device. At that point, you should see the message that your iPhone is disabled.

      Do you regularly back up your iDevice with iCloud or via a computer and iTunes or Finder? If so, your best option is to erase your iPhone using a computer or with recovery mode, then set up a new device passcode and restore your data and settings from the backup.

      Check out options for when you forgot a device’s passcode in this article: Forgot iPhone/iPad passcode? How to reset your passcode

      Reply
  11. JoAnn says

    February 18, 2020 at 10:40 AM

    THANKS. This helped restore my factory emojis, but I can’t delete the horrible HUGE emojis that were added to my phone along with an update. Any idea how I can do that and still keep my old emojis?

    Reply
    • JoAnn says

      February 18, 2020 at 12:05 PM

      I GOT IT! The HUGE emojis are called “stickers”. I deleted them by moving from the ‘general’ to the ‘keyboard’ settings and turning the “Memoji Stickers” option OFF there.

      Reply
  12. Jen Adkins says

    January 25, 2020 at 8:14 PM

    Emoji appears in Keyboard, but it’s dead (this is day 2 without emojis (sad face here).
    I’ve deleted and restored emoji in keyboard.
    I’ve deleted bitmoji, but Emoji did not become active (but is still listed in the keyboard)
    I’ve turned on ‘Predicted’ and reset Keyboard dictionary.
    What is next?

    Reply
  13. Moore says

    January 11, 2020 at 7:31 AM

    Hi. It is the opposite, the emojis disappeared after un update. I can’t find them back

    Reply
  14. Leslie says

    January 9, 2020 at 7:15 PM

    This easy tutorial was very helpful. Thank you.

    Reply
  15. Linda says

    January 3, 2020 at 11:36 AM

    Hi. I didn’t even have to go through all the steps. Just holding down the world icon brought my emojis back. Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Pat C says

      January 13, 2020 at 1:36 PM

      Thanks, I did not want to reset my phone. That worked

      Reply
    • Jen Adkins says

      January 25, 2020 at 8:18 PM

      WOW! This worked! Thank you!

      Reply
    • Leslie says

      February 11, 2020 at 12:15 PM

      This did the trick!!

      Reply
  16. Cheryl Christians says

    December 29, 2019 at 3:09 PM

    Since the last update (iOS 13.3) I have issues on my keyboards on both my iPhone 6S and my iPad. On my phone, it keeps returning to French as the default keyboard. Sometimes that is the only keyboard I can get. Sometimes, if I keep hitting the globe icon, I can get Bitmoji to come up. I can never seem to get either English, my actual default, or emojis.
    I’ve followed all the quick fixes I could find. I am reluctant to do a whole reset.
    On the iPad, I can get most keyboards but I have to keep hitting the icon multiple times before I get to the one I want to use. Sometimes, it just gets stuck on one keyboard and refuses to change.

    Reply
  17. Sophia says

    December 16, 2019 at 10:10 AM

    IOS 13.3 has removed my emoji app, therefore cannot re-add to my keyboard. I have downloaded just about every emoji app in the store and added to my keyboard but they have all been strange so I deleted them.
    Please advise which app to download, I miss my emoji’s 🙁 sad face

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      December 17, 2019 at 4:11 AM

      Hi Sophia,

      Are the native Apple emojis not working? Go to Settings > General > Keyboards > Keyboards and check if Emoji is listed. If not, tap Add New Keyboard and look for Emoji on that list.

      In an app that supports the keyboard (Mail, Messages), press the globe or smiley face icon until a pop-up menu appears with keyboard options. Select Emoji and start using them!

      If your emoji app was a third-party app that no longer is supported, then the best advice we can give you is to open the App Store and search for emoji for iPhone (or iPad/iPod) and read through user reviews to see if they meet your needs and what other users have to say.

      Liz

      Reply
      • Caryl says

        December 18, 2019 at 5:32 AM

        I am having the same issue

        Reply
      • Caryl says

        December 18, 2019 at 5:35 AM

        I am having the same issue. I can see the Emoji keyboard name in my settings along with the other keyboards but no arrow showing it is on

        Reply
        • becky says

          December 20, 2019 at 3:06 AM

          I have the same problem. I was sending messages the other day and my emoji keyboard vanished

          Reply
          • Elizabeth Jones says

            December 25, 2019 at 6:57 AM

            In the on-screen keyboard, press the globe or smiley face icon and hold down for a second or two (depending on the iPhone model, these icons might appear inside the keyboard or just below it). Wait for a pop-up menu to appear and then choose emoji

  18. Vicki Holmes says

    November 29, 2019 at 5:36 PM

    Did all of this twice! Still gone and replaced my iPhone 8 for a new one (not because the emoji are missing lol) still no emoji! I have Bitmoji though. Help!!!

    Reply
  19. Dee says

    November 3, 2019 at 4:42 PM

    I tried the suggestions to get my emoji key back on my keyboard since the 13.2 update. No luck. I won’t be resetting to factory settings. Please help. I want my emoji and emoji button to return.

    Reply
  20. Tracy Maloney says

    October 15, 2019 at 1:32 PM

    I have an iPhone 7 I’ve had a week and it’s operating on 13.1.3, I cannot get the predictive emojis up on messenger or Facebook when commenting, I’ve tried all the suggestions, keyboard, updating software and resetting and it’s still not working……please help it’s driving me bonkers!!

    Reply
  21. Jeannette Gosnell says

    October 14, 2019 at 7:44 PM

    Still no emojis. I am so very very bummed

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      October 15, 2019 at 10:02 AM

      Hi Jeannette,

      Your device should have emojis, if nothing is working please contact Apple Support and explain the problem as well as the steps you already tried.

      Reply
  22. Dana Wood says

    October 10, 2019 at 4:32 PM

    OK, I finally figured it out. For my phone, I would hit the icon (world globe??) to toggle between the Bitmoji and the Emoji keyboard. Now I just hold down the icon and it brings up a list of all my keyboards, and I select one.

    Reply
    • Bill Cooke says

      December 21, 2019 at 8:16 PM

      Bingo!!! You are correct!!! Thank you. Hold the “world icon” down for a second or two and magically a pop-up menu appears. Select Emoji and you’re good to go. Many thanks, this was driving me nuts (it was a short drive, but still 🙂 <— See?

      Reply
  23. Mike says

    October 7, 2019 at 5:05 AM

    I downloaded the newest version on my phone which gave you the Memoji app and I was in the process of trying to set it up and I think I accidentally hit a wrong button which deleted that app that is within the Messenger app how do I get it back

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Jones says

      October 7, 2019 at 10:13 AM

      Hi Mike,

      You likely hide the Memoji stickers from displaying in your Messages app drawer.

      Luckily, it’s really easy to get back!

      1) Open Messages

      2) Select a message thread

      3) Press and hold on the app drawer until the icons get bigger

      4) Scroll all the way to the right and tap the More button (looks like three dots)

      5) Tap Edit

      6) Scroll down to locate Memoji Stickers under More Apps and press the green plus sign (+) to add to your app drawer favorites

      That should do the trick. If not, let us know.

      Liz

      Reply
  24. grace zarrella says

    April 15, 2019 at 6:34 PM

    I can’t figure out how to get my emoji keyboard back that’s I have accidentally deleted while I was deleting other keyboards.

    I tried all the steps but I don’t want to reset my phone because it will get rid of everything.

    How do I get it back?

    Reply
    • SK says

      April 16, 2019 at 10:13 AM

      Hi Grace,

      First, restart your iPhone or iPad by powering it off, waiting 20 seconds, then powering back on.

      Next, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keybaords.

      Select Add New Keyboard and select Emoji from the list (scroll down to locate it).

      That should do the trick!

      Reply
  25. Robert Adkin says

    March 29, 2019 at 5:20 PM

    Have tried above and added new keyboard emoji but still no emojis on my keyboard. Using iOS 12.2
    HELP.

    Reply
    • SK says

      March 30, 2019 at 7:05 AM

      Hi Robert,

      Are you not seeing ANY emojis or just not the new emojis?

      First, add the emoji keyboard as discussed in the article, then close all open apps and once all apps close, restart the device.

      After it restarts, see if emojis now show up!

      To close apps:

        On an iPhone or iPad with no home button, from the Home screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause slightly in the middle of the screen.

        On an iPhone, iPad, or iPod with a home button, double-click the Home button to show your most recently used apps

        Swipe right or left to find the app that you want to close.
        Swipe up on the app’s preview to close the app.

      Reply
  26. Judy Graser says

    November 17, 2018 at 10:12 AM

    I was able to get the emoji keyboard back onto my husband’s iPhone XR with these instructions (using the reset all settings info). Thanks!

    Reply
  27. Connie Leas says

    November 13, 2018 at 11:20 AM

    Emojis have disappeared from iPad text messages and replaced with a bunch of icons, such as App Store, Zillo, Google, etc. I have tried adding a new keyboard through settings, following the instructions. Theee is an emoji option listed under keyboard, but clicking it has no effect. I’ve rebooted the iPad, but this did nothing. My iPad is always updated.

    Reply

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