Autocorrect is a great feature when it’s working correctly. It checks and corrects your spelling as you type on your iPhone and iPad. However, it’s sometimes the bane of my existence. Autocorrect sometimes types the wrong words or replaces words you type with words that don’t even make sense.
Fortunately, you can reset your iPhone and iPad’s vocabulary and teach autocorrect to spell properly again.
Check to Make sure Autocorrect is Turned on
Autocorrect is on by default on your iPhone or iPad. However, if you or someone else has turned it off, here’s how to enable it.
- Open Settings
- Tap General
- Select Keyboard
- Toggle on Auto-Correction
Toggle on Check Spelling and Predictive Text
While inside your keyboard settings, be sure to enable:
Check Spelling: With Auto-Correction, words you misspell will be corrected. However, if auto-correction is off, the Spell check feature will flag spelling mistakes and make it easy for you to notice and correct them.
Predictive: The Predictive text feature shows you words you may type next so you can quickly finish a sentence in fewer taps.
Reset Keyboard Dictionary
If you’ve been using your device for a long time, your dictionary might become unmanageable. You can always reset the iPhone or iPad dictionary. This may seem severe, but all you’re doing is removing custom words and typing rules that your iPhone has picked up since you’ve started using it.
To Reset your Dictionary:
- Open Settings
- Tap General
- Select Transfer or Reset iPhone
- Tap Reset
- Select Reset Keyboard Dictionary
You’ll be asked for your Passcode to complete the erase.
Repeatedly Type Words To Fix Autocorrect
Since Apple doesn’t allow you to edit the dictionary directly, you’ll need a workaround to fix words corrected erroneously. For example, “were” and “well” are being updated to we’re and we’ll.
If you automatically accept a change by mistake, hit delete, and your previously typed word will appear in the bubble. Tap it, and your change will be reverted. This may also teach your iPhone that it is unnecessary to correct this word.
You may need to make this correction several times for it to stick.
Remove Text Replacement Shortcuts
If you have text replacement set up and specific phrases or random words are being expanded or corrected as corrected words. Here’s how to manage that.
- Open Settings
- Tap General
- Select Keyboard
- Choose Text Replacement
- Find the entry you want to remove, swipe left, and tap on delete.
Now, if you type that phrase or shortcut, your iPhone or iPad won’t replace or correct it with something else.
Teach Your iPhone or iPad New Words with Text Replacement
Just as you can remove replacement shortcuts, you can also add them to create commonly used phrases you use often. Using the shortcut “omw” for “on my way.” Your iPhone will automatically expand the shortcut to a word or phrase.
Use a Third-Party Keyboard
A third-party keyboard like SwiftKey or Typewise doesn’t use Apple’s dictionary. Instead, they come with their complete custom dictionary and learn your typing habits over time.
Conclusion
Thankfully there are several solutions to autocorrect problems. If teaching your iPhone or iPad is a hassle, you can always turn the Autocorrect feature off for a more free typing experience.
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