Turn off auto correct in Settings, not in the keyboard itself
Auto Correct on iPhone lives in your device settings, not in the keyboard app. You cannot turn it off by tapping and holding the keyboard — you have to go into Settings and find the text correction options. The setting is called "Auto-Correction" and it is in the same place whether you use the built-in Apple keyboard or a third-party keyboard like Gboard or SwiftKey.
The steps are the same on any recent iPhone model running iOS 15 or later. If you have an older iPhone, the path is slightly different, but the principle is the same: Settings, then Keyboard, then the toggle for Auto-Correction.
Key Takeaways
- Auto Correct is controlled in Settings > General > Keyboard, not in the keyboard app itself.
- Turning off Auto-Correction stops the phone from changing words you type, but predictive text suggestions still appear above the keyboard.
- You can turn off Auto-Correction for all keyboards at once, or turn it off only for specific keyboards if you use more than one.
- If you turn off Auto-Correction and later want it back, the same toggle turns it back on.
Steps to turn off Auto-Correction on any iPhone
Step 1: Open Settings. Tap the Settings app on your home screen. It is the gray icon with white gears.
Step 2: Go to General. Scroll down and tap "General." It is usually near the top of the list.
Step 3: Tap Keyboard. Inside General, look for "Keyboard" and tap it. You will see several text correction options listed.
Step 4: Turn off Auto-Correction. You will see a toggle next to "Auto-Correction." It is green when it is on. Tap it once to turn it off. The toggle will turn gray.
That is all. Auto Correct is now off. When you type, the phone will no longer change your words automatically. You can still see suggested words above the keyboard if you have predictive text turned on, but the phone will not force a correction on you.
What happens when you turn off Auto-Correction
When Auto-Correction is off, you type exactly what you type. If you misspell a word, it stays misspelled unless you fix it yourself. The keyboard will still show you suggestions above the space bar — those are separate from Auto-Correction — but it will not replace your word without your permission.
Many people turn off Auto-Correction because it changes words they actually want to use. If you type slang, technical terms, names, or words in another language, Auto-Correction often changes them to something you did not intend. Turning it off gives you full control over what you type.
The trade-off is that you have to catch and fix your own typos. Some people find this worth it; others find it annoying. You can always turn Auto-Correction back on the same way if you change your mind.
Turn off Auto-Correction for only one keyboard
If you use more than one keyboard — for example, the Apple keyboard and Gboard — you can turn off Auto-Correction for just one of them and leave it on for the others. This is useful if one keyboard has better correction for your needs and another one does not.
To do this, go to Settings > General > Keyboard, then scroll down to the list of installed keyboards. Tap the keyboard you want to change, and you will see its own Auto-Correction toggle. Turn that one off, and the setting applies only to that keyboard. Your other keyboards keep their own Auto-Correction settings.
Other text correction settings you might want to know about
Auto-Correction is not the only text correction feature on your iPhone. In the same Keyboard settings, you will also see toggles for "Predictive Text," "Check Spelling," and "Smart Punctuation." These are separate from Auto-Correction and work differently.
Predictive Text shows you word suggestions above the keyboard as you type. You can tap a suggestion to use it, or ignore it and keep typing. Turning this off removes the suggestion bar entirely.
Check Spelling puts a red underline under words the phone thinks are misspelled, but it does not change them automatically. You have to tap the word and choose a correction yourself.
Smart Punctuation automatically converts straight quotes to curly quotes and double hyphens to em dashes. Many people turn this off if they write code or technical content where straight characters matter.
You can turn any of these on or off independently. Turning off Auto-Correction does not affect the others unless you change them too.
If Auto-Correction keeps turning itself back on
Sometimes after you turn off Auto-Correction, it turns back on by itself. This usually happens after a major iOS update. The update resets some keyboard settings to their defaults.
If this happens, go back to Settings > General > Keyboard and turn off Auto-Correction again. It should stay off this time. If it keeps happening after every update, try restarting your phone: hold down the power button and volume button together until you see the power-off slider, then slide to power off. Wait 10 seconds, then press the power button again to turn it back on.
If the problem continues after a restart, you can also try turning off and back on the entire Keyboard settings by going to Settings > General > Reset and tapping "Reset Keyboard Dictionary." This clears out any corrupted settings and resets the keyboard to factory defaults, then you can turn off Auto-Correction again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning off Auto-Correction affect Siri or voice typing?
No. Auto-Correction only affects text you type with your fingers on the keyboard. When you use Siri or voice typing, the phone uses different speech recognition software that has its own correction system. Turning off Auto-Correction in Settings does not change how Siri works.
Can I turn off Auto-Correction for just one app?
No. Auto-Correction is a system-wide setting that applies to all apps on your iPhone. You cannot turn it off for Messages but leave it on for Mail. However, you can turn it off for a specific keyboard if you use multiple keyboards, and then use that keyboard only in certain apps.
What is the difference between Auto-Correction and predictive text?
Auto-Correction changes the words you type without asking. Predictive Text shows you suggestions above the keyboard and you choose whether to use them. You can turn off Auto-Correction but leave Predictive Text on, so you see suggestions but the phone does not force changes on you.
If I turn off Auto-Correction, will my iPhone stop correcting obvious typos?
Yes. With Auto-Correction off, the phone will not fix typos automatically. You will see spelling suggestions if Check Spelling is turned on, but you have to tap the word and choose the correction yourself. Many people find this is worth the extra step because it prevents unwanted changes.
Does turning off Auto-Correction make typing faster?
For some people, yes. If Auto-Correction is changing words you actually want to use, turning it off removes the delay of the phone making a change and you having to undo it. For other people, it makes typing slower because they have to fix more typos themselves.