Android - How to display the on screen keyboard when Bluetooth keyboard is connected
I was testing ways to toggle the on-screen keyboard. In Android 4.2.2 on a Nexus 7 I had to go through the following steps to toggle the on-screen keyboard from the tablet while a Bluetooth keyboard is connected:
- To activate the "Choose Input Method" notification you need to have multiple keyboards available. On a stock Nexus 7 you can go into Settings then "Language and Input". Under "Keyboard & Input Methods" check the box next to another keyboard like the "iWnn IME Emoji input" or "Google Pinyin Input".
- (Optional) If you don't have any other keyboards available you can install a 3rd party keyboard from the Play Store like the NullKeyboard or AnySoftKeyboard. Back in the Language and Input Settings check the checkbox next to the 3rd party keyboard you installed. Read the warning message and click OK if you agree.
- Go to any text input box
- A new notification appears in your notification bar (top left) labeled "Choose Input Method", tap the notification (not Select Keyboard Layout)
- The first item in the "Choose Input Method" popup is "Hardware" with an on/off slider, choose "Off"
- Use the radio buttons below to choose your software keyboard (I chose the Google Keyboard)
- Tap the back button and the on-screen keyboard appears.
- The Bluetooth keyboard is still functional.
I am using Android 4.3 on a Nexus 7. I was able to configure android to use both keyboards (screen and bluetooth) simultaneously.
With the bluetooth keyboard setup and enabled..
Go into your Settings then select "Language and input". Click on "Default" located just under the "Keyboard and input methods" heading to open the "Choose input method" dialog. Turn the "Hardware physical keyboard" off.
In Android 5.1 it's slightly different: from "Keyboard and input methods", click "Current keyboard" and then there's a toggle labelled "Hardware". Turn that off. (Spotted by Emre.)
That's it!
The bluetooth keyboard doesn't show up in the language and input screen anymore but I am still able to use it. In addition, the onscreen keyboard is enabled again.