Quite a lot of people like the idea of a floating keyboard that they can move around on their iPads. Small-sized floating keyboards open up a lot more screen real estate than when using the docked, full-size on-screen keyboard.
But if that smaller sized keyboard just isn’t your thing, there is a quick and painless way to get rid of it!
Just pinch it with two fingers and zoom out to get back to a docked and full-sized keyboard on your iPad.
For many, the most exciting feature is the iPad floating keyboard
This floating keyboard is pint-sized Phone QWERTY keyboard, taking up a lot less screen space than the standard iPad keyboard. Plus, you can position it just about anywhere you want to on-screen, making it easier to see what’s behind.
For folks who regularly use iPhones, this mini-keyboard is familiar and perfect for typing with just one finger.
How to enable iPad’s floating keyboard
Just pinch with two fingers and zoom in on the full-sized keyboard to shrink it to a keyboard that’s about the size of an iPhone’s on-screen keyboard
Pinch on your iPad’s full-size keyboard to show floating keyboard
You can also tap the keyboard icon on the full-size keyboard and selecting Floating
Pressing the keyboard icon gives you an option to choose a floating keyboard
Drag your floating keyboard to wherever you want it by pressing and holding the bottom handle
How to disable iPad’s floating keyboard
Pinch the mini-keyboard with two fingers and zoom out until the keyboard expands and docks
Pinch out to get back to the full-sized iPad keyboard
Or grab the floating keyboard’s bottom handle and drag it towards the Dock and the bottom of your iPad’s screen and the keyboard should spring back into its full size
drag the floating keyboard’s handle to the bottom of your screen
Other iOS 13 and iPadOS new keyboard features
New to iOS13 and iPadOS are a host of further keyboard improvements and offerings, which help the native Apple keyboard rival many third-party keyboard options for both iPad and iPhone (and let’s not forget iPod.)
QuickPath swipe to type
Alternate word options appear in the predictive text bar
Automatic dictation language recognition
New keyboard languages and dictionaries
Enhanced text editing options for scrolling, moving the cursor, selecting your text
For iPadOS, a bunch of new keyboard shortcuts
QuickPath swipe to type
For quite a long time now, Android keyboards and some third-party keyboards for iOS offered a quick swipe type feature (called swyping,) where you slide over letters to form words instead of tapping them.
Starting with iOS13 and iPadOS, this feature is finally available in the native Apple iOS and iPadOS keyboard. And for folks who loved Swype, that’s a potential lifesaver.
QuickPath works on iPhone, iPod, and with the mini floating keyboard on iPad. It does not appear to work on the iPad’s full-size keyboard.
So if you’re a swyper, you no longer need to use any third-party keyboards. Just swipe from one letter to the next without lifting your finger. QuickPath is integrated with iOS and iPadOS, so you don’t have to switch anymore.
iOS13 and iPadOS make swyping easy!
What’s particularly special about iOS and iPadOS QuickPath is that it learns from you!
With swyping now part of the native iOS/iPadOS ecosystem, it can take advantage of all that iOS offers. That means it can learn to recognize your swipes and auto-complete your words or even sentences or offer up suggestions in the QuickType bar.
And if you have multiple devices signed in with the same Apple ID, all that learning should sync so you don’t need to teach it twice. Pretty awesome.
Advantages of an iOS integrated QuickPath
Learn your writing style
Recognize and fill in frequently used words
Sync what it learns between devices
How to enable or disable QuickPath
Go to Settings > General > Keyboards
Toggle Slide to Type on or off
Toggle Slide to Type on or off to enable or disable QuickPath keyboard features
Currently, QuickPath is available only for the languages that also support QuickType.
How to enable swipe typing on your iPad using iPadOS
Currently, swipe to type (or slide to type as Apple calls it) is only available on the smaller, floating keyboard for iPad AND not available on the full-sized keyboard.
Pinch in on the regular iPad keyboard until the floating keyboard appears. It’s about the size of an iPhone keyboard. Or tap the keyboard icon and choose Floating.  And then try swipe typing.
Like swyping and typing on your iPhone or iPad?
The good news is that with iOS 13 and iPadOS, you can swipe or tap to type interchangeably even when mid‑sentence.
For most of her professional life, Amanda Elizabeth (Liz for short) trained all sorts of folks on how to use media as a tool to tell their own unique stories. She knows a thing or two about teaching others and creating how-to guides!
Her clients include Edutopia, Scribe Video Center, Third Path Institute, Bracket, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Big Picture Alliance.
Elizabeth received her Master of Fine Arts degree in media making from Temple University, where she also taught undergrads as an adjunct faculty member in their department of Film and Media Arts.
I use a physical bluetooth connected keyboard. The screen keyboard keeps popping up, interrupting and delaying my typing. How can I stop the screen keyboard from popping up? I have already turned off predictions and shortcuts to no avail. And I DO NOT want the mini screen keyboard either! When it pops up it again interrupts and delays my work.
Who the fuck writes this nonsense? “For many, the most exciting feature is the iPad floating keyboard” This is an article about turning off the floating keyboard. But gratz for padding your word count I guess
Neither of these two options ever work, to enlarge the keyboard! It’s so frustrating! Is there any way to disable the floating keyboard completely, so that only the normal size keyboard displays?
I can’t get rid of the iPad floating keyboard on my iPad pro. Every time I start to type it comes right back on my screen. I have the apple keyboard that I much prefer to use, so how do I get rid of the floating keyboard?
Make sure your keyboard is in it’s typing position (looking like a laptop) and then go to Settings > Bluetooth and tap the i next to your keyboard to forget the device.
Once forgotten, remove it and clean all the connections on both the keyboard and the iPad. It’s also a good idea to clean the keys on the keyboard itself, just in case something is trapped there.
Then pair it again and see if that solves the issue.
If the problem persists, remove all the non-Apple virtual keyboards like Gboard, SwiftKey, Grammarly and so forth installed on your iPad and restart. To find what keyboards are installed, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > keyboards.
How do I get my keyboard back , I can’t see this funny little one
And it covers up what I’m writing on some pages .
Hate it, please help . I’ve disabled it in iPad settings but it won’t go ! Switched off and on, still there !
Try closing all your open apps and then restarting.
Close an app
1. On an iPhone or an 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
2. On an iDevice with a home button, double-click the Home button and swipe right or left to find the app that you want to close
3. Swipe right or left to locate the app you want to close
4. Swipe up on the app’s preview to close it
5. Repeat for all apps
6. Restart
If the keyboard is still floating, look for the bar at the bottom of the floating keyboard and press & hold it and drag it down to the bottom of your screen–it should bounce into the full-sized keyboard.
If you can’t see that bar at the bottom, tap and hold the keyboard icon at the bottom right corner, then select Dock
I cannot get it off my pad. It prevents me from chatting in games. Cause the screen to go blank. I’m frustrated. I wish I never had automatic update.
I had an upgrade to the OS for my iPad Pro and the keyboard is now much smaller than it was prior to the upgrade. Any help in restoring the keyboard to the previous size would be most welcome as I am registered partially blind and depend on my iPad for communication.
Are you using the full-sized keyboard or the smaller, iPhone like keyboard?
To return the iPhone sized keyboard to full size, press the grab bar at the bottom and move it to the bottom of your screen–it should spring into full size.
If this doesn’t work or it’s stuck, use two fingers and pinch open inside the floating keyboard.
Susan Bell says
I use a physical bluetooth connected keyboard. The screen keyboard keeps popping up, interrupting and delaying my typing. How can I stop the screen keyboard from popping up? I have already turned off predictions and shortcuts to no avail. And I DO NOT want the mini screen keyboard either! When it pops up it again interrupts and delays my work.
Mark says
I do not want to know how to fix it. I want to know how to stop it getting broken..
Yeh says
Who the fuck writes this nonsense? “For many, the most exciting feature is the iPad floating keyboard” This is an article about turning off the floating keyboard. But gratz for padding your word count I guess
Soumyajeet Das says
Hey this works when only the normal keyboard pops up but how to get rid of floating keyboard appearing form scribble mode
Ahmad says
Exactly the same issue here, found a solution?
Michael Scott says
How do I make the floating keyboard a different size?
Lol says
Omg thank you I thought I was going to be stuck with it thankkkk you
Anthony says
Neither of these two options ever work, to enlarge the keyboard! It’s so frustrating! Is there any way to disable the floating keyboard completely, so that only the normal size keyboard displays?
Ange A says
Don’t ‘pinch’, just a sudden two finger expand works ! #omg !
Thank you
surender singh sodhi says
i want to know how to disable onscreen keyboard just as it was before 13.7 update on ipad pro
Vince webstwe says
I can’t get rid of the iPad floating keyboard on my iPad pro. Every time I start to type it comes right back on my screen. I have the apple keyboard that I much prefer to use, so how do I get rid of the floating keyboard?
Cactus says
Thank you so much I really needed this because I was just messing around on my school iPad and got it stuck on float mode.
Georgia says
Hate the floating keyboard how can I get rid of it easily
Chris says
I have tried to follow all instructions I’ve found, but I still can’t get rid of the floating keyboard . Please advise.
Clyde Smith says
NOTHING WORKS TO GET RID OF THIS SMALL FLOATING KEYBOARD!!!
PLEASE! PLEASE! What can be done to permanently get rid of the small floating keyboard!
Mar says
My keyboard pops up and I don’t want to use it at all. I have my own separate keyboard .How do I get it to stay down.
Elizabeth Jones says
Hi Mar,
Make sure your keyboard is in it’s typing position (looking like a laptop) and then go to Settings > Bluetooth and tap the i next to your keyboard to forget the device.
Once forgotten, remove it and clean all the connections on both the keyboard and the iPad. It’s also a good idea to clean the keys on the keyboard itself, just in case something is trapped there.
Then pair it again and see if that solves the issue.
If the problem persists, remove all the non-Apple virtual keyboards like Gboard, SwiftKey, Grammarly and so forth installed on your iPad and restart. To find what keyboards are installed, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > keyboards.
Loretta says
Thank you for your clear and concise directions on how to fix my iPad keyboard!!
Karen ledger says
How do I get my keyboard back , I can’t see this funny little one
And it covers up what I’m writing on some pages .
Hate it, please help . I’ve disabled it in iPad settings but it won’t go ! Switched off and on, still there !
Elizabeth Jones says
HI Karen,
Try closing all your open apps and then restarting.
Close an app
1. On an iPhone or an 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
2. On an iDevice with a home button, double-click the Home button and swipe right or left to find the app that you want to close
3. Swipe right or left to locate the app you want to close
4. Swipe up on the app’s preview to close it
5. Repeat for all apps
6. Restart
If the keyboard is still floating, look for the bar at the bottom of the floating keyboard and press & hold it and drag it down to the bottom of your screen–it should bounce into the full-sized keyboard.
If you can’t see that bar at the bottom, tap and hold the keyboard icon at the bottom right corner, then select Dock
Barbara says
I cannot get it off my pad. It prevents me from chatting in games. Cause the screen to go blank. I’m frustrated. I wish I never had automatic update.
Randy Rivet says
Liz:
Thanks so much for your lucid, helpful article. Maybe not a lifesaver, but definitely a day-saver!
David says
I had an upgrade to the OS for my iPad Pro and the keyboard is now much smaller than it was prior to the upgrade. Any help in restoring the keyboard to the previous size would be most welcome as I am registered partially blind and depend on my iPad for communication.
Elizabeth Jones says
HI David,
Are you using the full-sized keyboard or the smaller, iPhone like keyboard?
To return the iPhone sized keyboard to full size, press the grab bar at the bottom and move it to the bottom of your screen–it should spring into full size.
If this doesn’t work or it’s stuck, use two fingers and pinch open inside the floating keyboard.
Thomas Betts says
Extremely helpful
Thanks very much
Jazmyn says
l need help Turn off screen time l don’t how to tun off screen time
Elizabeth Jones says
HI Jasmyn,
You turn off Screen Time by going to Settings > Screen Time and scroll down to the option Turn Off Screen Time.
If you set up a passcode for Screen Time (or for what used to be called Restrictions), enter that code.
If you don’t know the passcode for Screen Time, see this article for more information on how to recover or reset it.
Liz