How to Make the Keyboard Bigger on Your iPhone

Using your iPhone keyboard can be frustrating if you struggle with the tiny keys or reading the keyboard characters! While you can't adjust the size of your native keyboard, you can flip your phone to landscape mode, download a third-party keyboard app, or bold the iPhone text to make it easier to see. Let's cover these popular ways to make the keyboard larger on your iPhone. 

Jump To: 

• Bold Text to Make Your iPhone Keyboard Easy to Read
• Type in Landscape Mode to Make Keyboard Bigger on iPhone
• Download a Third-Party App to Get a Larger Keyboard

Bold Text to Make Your iPhone Keyboard Easy to Read

This first option won't change the size of your keyboard or the individual keys, but it can make the characters easier to read if you struggle to decipher the small font while typing. However, an important note on this setting is that it will bold all text on your iPhone screen, not just the keyboard characters. If this isn't appealing, skip to one of the other options below. Otherwise, here's how to set your iPhone to display bold text: 

1. Open the Settings app and tap Accessibility. 
   
   
2. Tap Display & Text Size.
   
   
3. Tap the Bold Text toggle to enable it.
   
   

Now when you open an app and start typing, you will hopefully find the keyboard characters easier to read! If you're interested in learning more about your iPhone features, sign up for our free Tip of the Day Newsletter. 

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Flip Display to Landscape Mode to Make Keyboard Bigger on iPhone

If you want to avoid using a third-party keyboard app, this method is likely your best option. To try this option, just flip your phone sideways to type in landscape mode. Your iPhone keyboard will expand across the screen, making it easier to tap the correct key. If you flipped your phone sideways, but your phone didn't switch to landscope mode, no worries! You likely just have the display locked on Portrait Orientation. If this is the case, we'll show you how to disable this setting so you can easily get that larger iPhone keyboard by switching to landscape mode: 

1. To open the Control Center on an iPhone X or later, swipe down from the top right corner of your iPhone screen. (On an older iPhone with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.)
   
   
2. If your Lock icon is highlighted with a white background, you have the Portrait Orientation Lock switched on. Tap the Lock icon to turn it off. 
   
   
3. Once you've disabled Portrait Orientation, the Lock icon will have a gray background and you can flip your phone to use apps and text in landscape mode. 
   
   
4. Now, open an app you want to type in and rotate the iPhone sideways to view the keyboard in landscape mode.
   
   

Download a Third-Party App to Get a Larger iPhone Keyboard

Another way to make the iPhone keyboard bigger is to use a third-party app. Many apps offer keyboards, such as the TypeWise Custom Keyboard and TuneKey. While downloading and enabling the keyboard might differ slightly between apps, the steps for each will be similar. I recommend using the Typewise Custom Keyboard, which is easy to use and is free (unless you need additional functionality, such as the ability to type messages in multiple languages). In the example below, we'll show you how to download and enable the Typewise keyboard:

1. Open the App Store app.
   
   
2. Search for one of the third-party keyboard apps, such as the Typewise Custom Keyboard. Tap Get next to the app name to download the app. 
   
   
3. Once the keyboard app has finished downloading, open it and tap Activate TypeWise.
   
   
4. Tap Set up now. You'll be taken to your Settings app to enable the keyboard.
   
   
5. Tap Keyboards.
   
   
6. Tap the Typewise toggle to enable the keyboard.
   
   
7. Then tap Typewise in the top left corner to return to the app and finish setting up the keyboard.
   
   
8. The Typewise app will now dislay a screen demonstrating how to access the Typewise keyboard. To test this out, tap the text field shown on the screen. 
   
   
9. When the keyboard appears, tap the Globe icon to switch to the Typewise keyboard.
   
   
10. You'll be taken to a screen with a quick tutorial on Typewise keyboard shortcuts (this only takes a couple of minutes). Tap Start Now to begin. 
    
    
11. Once you're finished with the tutorial, swipe up to close the Typewise app. Now open an app you want to type in and tap the Globe icon to access the Typewise keyboard.
    
    
12. The keyboard will switch to the Typewise keyboard and you can begin typing your message.
    
    

There you have it! Hopefully, with one of the options above you've been able to find a solution to make your iPhone keyboard larger and easier to use. Have you ever accidentally deleted texts? If so, you might also be interested to learn this easy trick to retrieve deleted messages on your iPhone.