Fix autocorrect if it’s driving you ducking crazy

Frustrated with how often autocorrect is auto-wrong? Even with new AI features included in many platforms’ latest updates, autocorrect remains annoying. Let’s fix that for iOS and Android.

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Go cold turkey

Yes, you can just turn it off — no more bad guesses or awkward corrections. Just type what you mean letter by letter, like in the early days.

Note: Depending on your Android make, model and OS, steps may differ. There are just too many variations to cover all of them.

Start here on your iPhone

• On iOS: Tap Settings > General > Keyboard.
• Toggle Auto-Correction to Off.
• You can always follow the same steps to turn it back on later, if you need it or change your mind.

Bonus tip: In iOS, misspellings are underlined. To turn that off, head to Settings > General > Keyboard again and turn off Check Spelling.

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Using an Android?

• Go to Settings > System > Languages and input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Text correction.
• Here, you can turn off Auto-correction and Show suggestion strip, which displays predictive text.

Bonus tip: Under your keyboard settings, flip the switches next to “Predictive Text” and “Show Predictions Inline.”

Add your own slang

If you’re feeling ambitious, program your phone to replace a phrase with your shorthand. Think turning “brt” into “be right there” or “1234” into “Four Score and Seven Years Ago.” Pretty slick!

• On iOS: Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. Tap the + (plus sign), then add your word or phrase to the Phrase field (i.e., “On my way”). In the Shortcut field, type your slang of choice (i.e., “OMW”).
• On Android: Go to Settings > System > Languages and input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Dictionary > Personal dictionary > English and tap the + (plus sign) in the top right to add a custom word. Put your slang or abbreviation in the Shortcut box to trigger that custom word.

Pro tip: In iOS and Android, if you leave the Shortcut field blank, autocorrect will stop bugging you with alternate spellings.

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Why is autocorrect capitalizing random words?

You may notice that autocorrect capitalizes random words in a sentence. If you are typing something like, “I need to call Mom and ask when She needs to go to the Store,” you’ll have to go back and make a change to all the words that shouldn’t be capitalized.

If you don’t know why autocorrect keeps capitalizing Mom and Store, take a peek at your contact list and see how you’re typing names. If you save certain words in your contact list a certain way, autocorrect assumes this is the way you always want it written.

Another simple fix for this issue is to turn off the auto-capitalization setting in your keyboard tab.

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