This guide will walk you through disabling the on-screen keyboard from appearing at the login screen on Windows 10.

What to Know

  • Access the Windows Typing settings and toggle off the touch keyboard setting. You can also disable it in Ease of Access Keyboard Settings.If all else fails, disable the touch keyboard service.

How Do I Turn off the on-Screen Keyboard in Windows 10?

If you’re just using the on-screen keyboard in Windows 10 at the desktop or in applications, and want to turn it off (or on again), press Windows Key+Ctrl+O to toggle the keyboard on and off.

However, if you find that the on-screen keyboard appears at the login screen when you don’t want it to, you may need to take further steps to disable it.

  • Open the Windows Settings application by pressing Windows Key+I.
  • Select Devices.
  • Select Typing from the left-hand side.
  • Scroll down until you find the Touch keyboard section. Look for the toggle that reads Show the touch keyboard when not in tablet mode and there’s no keyboard attached. Toggle it to Off.

Disable the on-Screen Keyboard in Ease of Access Center

If the above method doesn’t turn off the on-screen keyboard, you can also turn it off in the Windows 10 Ease of Access Keyboard menu.

Open the Windows Settings application by pressing Windows Key+I.

Select Devices.

Select Typing from the left-hand side.

Scroll down until you find the Touch keyboard section. Look for the toggle that reads Show the touch keyboard when not in tablet mode and there’s no keyboard attached. Toggle it to Off.

  • Use the Windows search box to look for the Ease of Access Keyboard Settings and select the corresponding results.
  • Look for the toggle switch titled Use the On-Screen Keyboard and toggle it off, then on again. You may see the touch-screen keyboard pop up and then disappear again.

Disable the on-Screen Keyboard Service

Disabling the on-screen keyboard service can stop it from appearing at all. Only use this method if you don’t want to use the keyboard at all moving forward. If you do disable it for now, you will need to re-enable the service later.

Use the Windows search box to look for the Ease of Access Keyboard Settings and select the corresponding results.

Look for the toggle switch titled Use the On-Screen Keyboard and toggle it off, then on again. You may see the touch-screen keyboard pop up and then disappear again.

  • Use Windows search to search for Services and select the corresponding result.
  • Scroll down the list of services until you find Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service. Double click or double tap it to open its properties.
  • Press the Stop button if it’s already running, then use the drop-down menu next to Startup type to select Disabled.
  • Select Apply then OK.

Remove Recently Installed Apps or Drivers

Sometimes the on-screen keyboard can appear randomly at the login screen because of a recently installed application or driver. If you have any idea of what that may be, try disabling, rolling back, or removing that installation to see if that fixes the issue. You could also try reverting to a restore point.

Use Windows search to search for Services and select the corresponding result.

Scroll down the list of services until you find Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service. Double click or double tap it to open its properties.

Press the Stop button if it’s already running, then use the drop-down menu next to Startup type to select Disabled.

Select Apply then OK.

Why Does My on-Screen Keyboard Pop Up?

The on-screen keyboard typically appears because it was requested (even if you didn’t mean to request it). There are some instances, such as on tablets, touch-screen laptops, and after the installation of certain apps and drivers, that it can appear automatically on the login screen. The above methods should help you disable it from doing so.

  • How do I turn off the on-screen keyboard on a Chromebook?
  • To disable your on-screen keyboard on a Chromebook, select the time from the bottom right of the screen, then select Settings (gear icon). In the Advanced > Accessibility section, select Manage accessibility features. In the Keyboard and text input section, turn off Enable on-screen keyboard.
  • How do I turn off the on-screen keyboard on a Surface?
  • You’d disable the on-screen keyboard on a Surface Pro the same way you’d turn it off on other Windows 10 devices, as described above. Easiest way: go to the Ease of Access Keyboard Settings and toggle off the feature.
  • How do I turn on the on-screen keyboard on a Mac?
  • On a Mac 11 Big Sur, the on-screen keyboard is called the Accessibility Keyboard. To turn it on, go to the Apple menu > System Preferences and select Accessibility. Then, click Keyboard > Accessibility Keyboard and select Enable Accessibility Keyboard. On Mac 12 Monterey select Viewer after Keyboard and before the Enable Accessibility Keyboard part of these steps.
  • How do I disable the on-screen keyboard on Windows 7?
  • In Windows 7, open the Control Panel and select Ease of Access > Ease of Access Center. Under Use the computer without a mouse or keyboard, deselect Use On-Screen Keyboard and click OK.

To disable your on-screen keyboard on a Chromebook, select the time from the bottom right of the screen, then select Settings (gear icon). In the Advanced > Accessibility section, select Manage accessibility features. In the Keyboard and text input section, turn off Enable on-screen keyboard.

You’d disable the on-screen keyboard on a Surface Pro the same way you’d turn it off on other Windows 10 devices, as described above. Easiest way: go to the Ease of Access Keyboard Settings and toggle off the feature.

On a Mac 11 Big Sur, the on-screen keyboard is called the Accessibility Keyboard. To turn it on, go to the Apple menu > System Preferences and select Accessibility. Then, click Keyboard > Accessibility Keyboard and select Enable Accessibility Keyboard. On Mac 12 Monterey select Viewer after Keyboard and before the Enable Accessibility Keyboard part of these steps.

In Windows 7, open the Control Panel and select Ease of Access > Ease of Access Center. Under Use the computer without a mouse or keyboard, deselect Use On-Screen Keyboard and click OK.

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