Apple’s operating system has evolved considerably over the past decade years with the iPads getting closer to the functionality offered by laptops with the introduction of iPadOS. But alongwith several welcome changes that enhance the user experience, some updates often cause more trouble than they do good.
One of these is the updates in iPad’s keyboards that have been coming along since the past few years with a split view emerging a few years back and a floating keyboard option added in later versions of the operating system.
If you like it the traditional way — dubbed ‘merge’ — but aren’t able to revert back to the old school keyboard on your iPad, don’t worry as we’ve got you covered here. In this article, we’re going to discuss how you can change your iPad’s keyboard back to normal from either the floating design or split view.
Also read:Â How to use your iPad in Split Screen mode?
How to change the iPad keyboard from Split view to Merge or Floating?
To change your iPad keyboard back to the traditional merged view, go to any app where you can use the keyboard and touch the screen so that the keyboard appears.
If your keyboard is currently split, you can choose to merge it keep it undocked — a little above the bottom of the display — or dock and merge it so that the keyboard sits at the very bottom of the display. You can also change the keyboard to a floating one if you like, which appears similar to the keyboard on iPhones.
To change your keyboard from split view, press and hold the keyboard icon at the bottom-right of the keyboard (refer to the screenshot below) until a menu with three options — Merge, Dock and Merge, Floating — appear. Tap on either Merge or Dock and Merge, as you prefer and your iPad’s keyboard will be changed back to normal or the traditional version.
If you want to use the iPhone-styled keyboard, you can select the Floating option.
Also read: How to change Apple ID password? On your iPhone, iPad and online
How to change the iPad keyboard from Floating to Merge?
If your iPad’s keyboard is set to be Floating, you can change it back to normal by pressing and holding the horizontal bar icon at the bottom of the floating keyboard (refer to the screenshot below) and slide it to the bottom of the display towards the middle and leave. The floating keyboard will now revert to a merged or split keyboard depending on the previous setting of the keyboard.
If it’s in the split view, you can change it back to merge (or normal view) following the steps mentioned in the first guide above.
