How to stop the iPhone typing a full stop after two spaces
2 min read · 3 steps · Updated 4 October 2026
Open Settings, tap General, then Keyboard, scroll down and switch off the "." Shortcut. After that, a double tap on the space bar no longer inserts a full stop.
- Device
- iPhone
- Shown on
- iOS 26.5 (iPhone 17)
- App
- Settings
- Path
- Settings › General › Keyboard
- Real screenshots
- 3 of 3 steps
- Checked
- October 2026
- Sources
- 1 official, linked below
On a new iPhone, a double tap on the space bar inserts a full stop followed by a space. That is quick at the end of a sentence, and a nuisance when you want two spaces or type quickly. The switch for it has an unusual name: a full stop in quotation marks.
The screenshots show iOS 26.5 on an iPhone 17. On older versions the rows have the same names, with a slightly different look.
Step by step
Open Settings and tap General
General is the first row of the first group in the main Settings list.
Tap Keyboard
It is in the second group of the General page, below Fonts.
Scroll down and switch off the "." Shortcut
It is the last switch in the list under All Keyboards. In the picture it is on. The note below explains it: double tapping the space bar will insert a period followed by a space.
Good to know
To get the shortcut back, switch it on again in the same place.
Other automatic changes are on the same page: how to turn off autocorrect on iPhone.
In short: Settings, General, Keyboard, "." Shortcut off.
Links checked on 3 October 2026. Rules and prices change. Check the official source before you act.