How to Fix Autocorrect and Keyboard Settings on iPhone

iPhone's autocorrect can be helpful or infuriating. Here's how to adjust it, turn it off, or customize your keyboard to match how you type.

In this guide (5 steps):

1.Open keyboard settings
2.Adjust or turn off autocorrect
3.Create text shortcuts
4.Add a larger keyboard or one-handed mode
5.Correct words autocorrect changed in the past

Open keyboard settings

~15s

Go to Settings > General > Keyboard. This is where all keyboard-related settings live. You'll see toggles for Auto-Correction, Auto-Capitalization, Predictive Text, Smart Punctuation, and more.

Adjust or turn off autocorrect

~31s

Toggle "Auto-Correction" off to completely disable autocorrect — your phone will stop changing words you type. If you want to keep it but reduce how aggressively it changes things, keep it on but also turn off "Predictive Text" — this shows the row of suggested words above the keyboard which can sometimes cause confusion.

Quick Tip

Quick Tip: iOS 17 and later made autocorrect smarter — it now shows when it's about to correct you and gives you a chance to accept or reject. If you have this version, autocorrect is much less intrusive than it used to be.

Create text shortcuts

~20s

Text Replacement lets you type a short code that expands to a full phrase. Still in Settings > General > Keyboard, tap "Text Replacement," then the "+" button. Example: type "omw" in the Phrase field and "On my way!" as the shortcut. Now whenever you type "omw," iPhone replaces it automatically. Useful for email signatures, your address, or frequently-typed phrases.

Add a larger keyboard or one-handed mode

~20s

If the keyboard feels small: go to Settings > Accessibility > Keyboards > turn on "Full Keyboard Access" or try larger text settings. For one-handed typing: on the regular keyboard, press and hold the globe or emoji key at the bottom left and choose the one-handed mode (left-hand or right-hand keyboard that shifts all keys to one side).

Correct words autocorrect changed in the past

~19s

If your iPhone keeps autocorrecting a word that you type correctly, there's a fix: go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Keyboard Dictionary. This clears all the learned corrections and word history. You'll need to re-teach it your preferred spellings, but it stops persistent wrong corrections.

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Autocorrect on iPhone is designed to catch typos and fix them automatically — but sometimes it changes words you typed correctly into something wrong, which can be confusing or embarrassing. The good news: you have full control over autocorrect behavior. You can tone it down, turn it off entirely, or customize how your keyboard behaves.

This guide also covers related keyboard settings: text replacement (shortcuts that expand to full phrases), making the keyboard larger, and turning on one-handed mode for people who type with one hand.

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