How to change keyboard in iOS 9: customise the iPhone 6s keyboard

Apple has been slow in allowing its users to customise the input settings of their iPhones and iPads, clearly believing until now that its own keyboard was all people needed. See also: what’s the best smartphone of 2014?

Its major mobile OS rival, Android, has allowed users to download and change their keyboards from the get go, with phone manufacturers such as LG using its onscreen keyboard design as a major selling point for devices.

But with the arrival of iOS 8 and 9, third-party keyboards can now be downloaded from the App Store and set as your iPhone or iPad’s default keyboard. Here’s how you change your keyboards in iOS 9.

How to change keyboard in iOS 89

Step one

Go to the App Store and search for the keyboard you want to download – for the purposes of this tutorial we’re using SwitfKey.

Step two

When the keyboard has downloaded, go to Settings > General and then scroll down and press on the Keyboard tab. On the next page you will be presented with more options. You need to select the Keyboard tab again.

Step three

Press on the Add New Keyboard… button and under the Third-Party Keyboards tab you will see the app you have just downloaded. Press it.

Step four

You will then be taken back to the Keyboards page and now need to select your new Keyboard once more. When selected you will be given the option to “Allow Full Access for [downloaded app] Keyboards?”. Press Allow.

Step five

The final thing you need to do is open your keyboard as normal – in a message or something similar – and then press and hold on the Earth symbol.

From here you simply need to select the app you have just added and you will have changed your keyboard in iOS 8.

Want to know more about the iPhone 6? Take a look at our iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S5 comparison.