How to use the one-handed keyboard on an iPhone

What changed: the screenshots are now our own iPhone 17e on iOS 27.0.1, dark mode, and the wording is checked against those screens.

howtosimply.com/guides/how-to-use-the-one-handed-keyboard-on-an-iphone/ · Checked October 2026 · iPhone 17e · iOS 27.0.1

6 of 6 steps with real screenshots · 1 official source below

Device

iPhone

Shown on

iOS 27.0.1 (iPhone 17e)

App

Settings

Path

Settings › General › Keyboard › One-Handed Keyboard

Real screenshots

6 of 6 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Open Settings and tap General

   General is the first row of the group below Battery, after Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

   Done

2. 

   Tap Keyboard

   It is just below Fonts, in the group that starts with AutoFill & Passwords.

   Done

3. 

   Tap One-Handed Keyboard

   It is just below Text Replacement on the Keyboards page and shows Off until you choose a side.

   Done

4. 

   Tap Left or Right

   Choose the side of the hand you type with. The note below says you can quickly access these settings by pressing and holding the Emoji or Globe key on the keyboard.

   Done

5. 

   Or switch it from the keyboard

   While typing, touch and hold the emoji key, or the globe key if you have more than one keyboard language. The menu ends with three keyboard pictures: left, full width and right. Tap the left or right one.

   Done

6. 

   The keys move to that side

   Ours moved to the left, with an arrow on the empty right side. To centre the keyboard again, tap that empty edge.

   Done

What changed: the screenshots are now our own iPhone 17e on iOS 27.0.1, dark mode, and the wording is checked against those screens.

If you do not see this option

• You see an emoji key, not a globe key. With one keyboard language you get the emoji key; ours had English (US) and Emoji. Holding it still showed the three keyboard pictures.
• Search for it. Open Settings, tap the search field at the bottom and type One-Handed. Apple notes that the sections in Settings depend on the iPhone model. Source: Find settings on iPhone

If this does not work

• The keyboard is stuck on one side. Tap the empty edge next to the keys, or set One-Handed Keyboard back to Off in Settings. Source: Type with the onscreen keyboard on iPhone
• The emoji keyboard opens instead of the menu. A tap on the emoji key switches to the emoji keyboard. Touch and hold the key until the menu appears. Source: Add emoji, Memoji, and stickers with the iPhone keyboard · Source: Type with the onscreen keyboard on iPhone

About this guide

On a large iPhone, the far side of the keyboard is hard to reach with one thumb. The one-handed keyboard moves the keys closer to your thumb, to the left or to the right side of the screen.

The screenshots are our own, taken on an iPhone 17e running iOS 27.0.1, in dark mode.

Good to know

To centre the keyboard again, tap the right or left edge of the keyboard.

In short: Hold the emoji or globe key and tap a layout. Or: Settings, General, Keyboard, One-Handed Keyboard.