Guide
Your third-party iPhone keyboard keeps turning off. Here is why.
iOS drops custom keyboards after some updates and switches back mid-conversation. What is actually happening, and the 20-second fix for each cause.
This happens to every custom keyboard on iOS, not just one app. Three separate causes get reported as the same symptom, and the fixes are different.
Cause 1: an iOS update reset the list
A major update can wipe the enabled-keyboards list. Your app and all its data are fine — only the keyboard’s registration with iOS is gone.
Fix:
- Settings › General › Keyboard › Keyboards
- Add New Keyboard
- Pick the keyboard again.
Nothing to restore, nothing to migrate. In Fast Reply, the Keyboard screen confirms when it can see the keyboard is installed, so you know it took.
Cause 2: a secure field kicked it out
Password fields, passcode entry and some payment fields refuse third-party keyboards by design. iOS silently swaps to the system keyboard — and often stays there in the next app too, which reads as “my keyboard turned itself off”.
Fix: tap and hold the globe key and pick your keyboard again. Nothing is broken; this is iOS protecting credential entry, and it’s the correct behaviour.
Cause 3: the extension was terminated for memory
Keyboard extensions run under a tight memory budget. A keyboard that loads heavy assets can be killed mid-use, which looks like it vanished.
Fix: this one is on the developer, not you. It’s the reason Fast Reply keeps the keyboard itself deliberately plain — the library lives in the app, and the keyboard loads only what it needs to draw the keys and insert text.
Keeping it in reach even when it’s off
If you keep losing the keyboard mid-task, use the other doors into the same library:
- The widget — your most-used replies on the home screen.
- The iMessage app — inside Messages, no keyboard switch.
- The Share sheet — send a reply into whatever app you’re in.
- Siri shortcuts — ask for a reply by name.
While you’re in Settings
Two things worth knowing about Fast Reply specifically:
- Typing needs no Full Access. Insertion works with it off. You only grant it to send images from the keyboard and to use the
{{clipboard}}placeholder, and typed text is never logged or transmitted. - Reordering keyboards — drag Fast Reply above the others in Settings › Keyboards and the globe key reaches it in one tap instead of three.
Common questions
Why does my custom keyboard disappear after an iOS update?
A major iOS update can reset the list of enabled keyboards. The app and its data are untouched; only the keyboard’s registration with iOS is lost, so you re-add it in Settings.
Why does iOS switch back to the default keyboard on its own?
Secure fields force it. Password, passcode and some payment fields refuse third-party keyboards by design, so iOS swaps to the system keyboard and sometimes stays there afterwards. Tap the globe key to switch back.
Will I lose my saved replies if the keyboard turns off?
No. Your library lives in the app, not in the keyboard extension. Re-adding the keyboard brings everything back exactly as it was.