How to access an on-screen keyboard ? (mobile)

Spacehonker

Spacehonker

Spacehonker

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7 Nov 2023
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11
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Northern France
I have a Motorola Moto g9 play smart?phone.
I bought it because it was the cheapest phone that offered wifi calling at the time because there is no mobile network coverage at my address. I only need a mobile to receive security codes for some online transactions. Some entities refuse to send their codes by email so my landline based internet to my desktop is insufficient for the purpose. I don't carry the pnone with me when I go out because it is of no use to me. I do all my online activity at home with a screen that doesn't need a magnifying glass. I have recently been thinking I might explore the fantasy of surfing the net on a screen the size of a cigarette packet. The phone came with Chrome already installed but it wants me to speak into it and use Google Assistant to enter my search instead of letting me type my search criteria. I found a way to get rid of Google Assistant but I don't know how to get an on-screen keyboard to pop up when I need it. Someone on another forum suggested a series of steps following menus, etc. to get access to the keyboard feature but the pages at the various stages didn't appear like they were supposed to. And as well as this problem, I have been unable to add any "Apps" because I'm forced to have a Google account to get access to the "Play Store". This all sounds more than a bit childish to me but Hey Ho! this is supposed to be the modern life. I believe Google already has more of my private information so I'm not inclined to offer them more willingly.
 
You can install apps without the play store but you will need to get the keyboard working first...

And the built in keyboard will be supplied by Google...

So you will need to wear a tinfoil hat when using it ;)
 
Sounds like it's defaulting to the Google Voice Typing keyboard, when that pops up, there should be a button or something to swap over to the correct onscreen keyboard, assuming it's not been disabled.

The icon should look like this (circled red) and will either be in the bottom navigation area, or on top as a notification:
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I guess I will have to try to reinstall the Google Assistant to get the voice typing thing going again and then look for the symbol you have indicated, but from memory I have never yet seen a keyboard like you have illustrated on this phone. Thanks for your suggestion.
 
Search in the settings, there's usually a "keyboard" or "input" section where you can select keyboards
 
So I have been told. But when I follow the instructions the page that shows where to change or select keyboards it is blank. Nothing there.
I will have to say thanks to all who have responded to my post but it could well be a fruitless quest to find an answer. Either the phone is faulty or OS is corrupted somehow. I'm not going to waste money on another one so I'll just press on and just use it for receiving SMS. My landline (voip) is good for everything I really need as long as there isn't a power cut or internet outage.
 
Spacehonker said:
So I have been told. But when I follow the instructions the page that shows where to change or select keyboards it is blank. Nothing there.
I will have to say thanks to all who have responded to my post but it could well be a fruitless quest to find an answer. Either the phone is faulty or OS is corrupted somehow. I'm not going to waste money on another one so I'll just press on and just use it for receiving SMS. My landline (voip) is good for everything I really need as long as there isn't a power cut or internet outage.
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Still, even without signing into Google you still should have access to the keyboard.

Assuming Moto's Android UI is similar to Pixels, do you have Settings -> System -> Language & Input -> Virtual keyboard? And in that list, can you see what keyboards are enabled at the moment?
 
When I get to the point where you mention "Language and Input" there is no Virtual keyboard listed.

I do all my internet work on a desktop PC but no idea how to connect it to the phone, and there appears to be no file manager app on the phone.
Thanks anyway. This was supposedly only an entry level phone and I am not a smartphone wizard, although I have built two desktop PCs without issue.
 
Spacehonker said:
When I get to the point where you mention "Language and Input" there is no Virtual keyboard listed.

I do all my internet work on a desktop PC but no idea how to connect it to the phone, and there appears to be no file manager app on the phone.
Thanks anyway. This was supposedly only an entry level phone and I am not a smartphone wizard, although I have built two desktop PCs without issue.
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The settings UI is different between brands, so virtual keyboard might not be what it's actually called. Sorry I can't help further, I don't have a Moto phone to properly check with and they have so many models now based on different versions of Android it's hard to find the correct steps.

As for connecting to the PC, it's as simple as using a USB cable. The charger cable that came with the phone can work as a data cable to the PC.
 
I'd just factory reset it if all you use it for is receiving SMS codes that should bring the keyboard back
 
Thanks for that. I don't think I will be trying to do a reset and there is nobody local I can ask to do that. People all seem to have Iphones and just buy another when something goes wrong.

I would like to call this solved, just to save further wasting anyone's time.
 
Spacehonker said:
Thanks for that. I don't think I will be trying to do a reset and there is nobody local I can ask to do that. People all seem to have Iphones and just buy another when something goes wrong.

I would like to call this solved, just to save further wasting anyone's time.
Click to expand...
I just mean by using the option in the settings menu, nothing fancy that needs it going to someone else.
 
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