Enable/Disable Touch Keyboard in Windows 11

This post describes steps to enable or disable “Show the touch keyboard when there’s no keyboard attached” in Windows 11.

If you have a PC with a touchscreen, you can use the touch keyboard to enter text with the touch keyboard.

If you do not have a Windows device with a keyboard attached, you can turn on or off a feature in Windows that will show the touch keyboard when there’s no keyboard attached.

Currently, a checkbox allows you to turn it on or off. However, suppose your computer is enrolled in the Microsoft Insider Preview program and has updated to preview build 25188. In that case, you may see an updated feature that provides three dropdown options to control whether tapping an edit control should launch the touch keyboard:

• “Never” – suppresses the touch keyboard even when no hardware keyboard is attached.
• “When no keyboard attached” – will show the touch keyboard only when the device is used as a tablet without the hardware keyboard.
• “Always” – will show the touch keyboard even when the hardware keyboard is attached.

How to enable or disable show touch keyboard when no keyboard is attached in Windows 11

As described above, if you do not have a Windows device with a keyboard attached, you can turn on or off a Windows feature showing the touch keyboard when there’s no keyboard attached.

Below is how to configure it.

Windows 11 has a centralized location for the majority of its settings. As a result, everything can be done, from system configurations to creating new users and updating Windows from its System Settings pane.

To get to System Settings, you can use the Windows key + I shortcut or click on Start ==> Settings, as shown in the image below:

Alternatively, you can use the search box on the taskbar and search for Settings. Then select to open it.

Windows Settings pane should look similar to the image below. On the Windows Settings app, click the Time & language on the left, then select the Typing tile on the right pane, as highlighted in the image below.

Select the Touch keyboard tile to expand on the Time & language -> Typing settings pane.

Then check or uncheck the “Show the touch keyboard when there’s no keyboard attached” box to enable or disable.

If your computer is enrolled in the Microsoft Insider Preview program and has updated to build 25188, you may see an updated option similar to the one below.

Should the touch keyboard:

• Never
• When no keyboard is attached
• Always

That should do it! You can close Windows Settings app.

Conclusion:

• Enabling or disabling the touch keyboard feature in Windows 11 is a straightforward process that can be accessed through the System Settings panel.
• This feature is especially useful for devices with touchscreens or when the device is used as a tablet without the hardware keyboard attached.
• With the updated feature in the Microsoft Insider Preview program, users have more granular control over when the touch keyboard should be displayed.
• Following the steps, users can easily configure the touch keyboard settings according to their preferences, enhancing their Windows 11 experience.