How to Remove Microphone Button from Keyboard on iPhone or iPad
As you may have noticed, a prominent microphone button is visible on the iOS keyboard for iPhone and iPad, which when tapped will use voice-to-text to dictate spoken text to the iOS device in lieu of typing. Some users may never use the microphone button, while others may accidentally tap on the mic button, in which case it can be desirable to remove the microphone button from the keyboard on iPhone and iPad completely.
Note that you can not simply hide and show the microphone button from the keyboard on iOS as needed, but you can remove the microphone button completely by disabling a separate feature. Essentially this means you’ll be removing the microphone button by turning off a text-to-speech capability in iOS, and that’s what we’re going to show you how to do here as a way to hide the mic / dictate button from the onscreen keyboard.
How to Remove Microphone Button from Keyboard on iPhone or iPad
- Open the Settings app in iOS
- Go to “General”
- Now go to “Keyboard”
- Scroll down and locate “Enable Dictation” and toggle that button to the OFF position
- Confirm that you want to disable Dictation by choosing ‘Turn Off Dictation’, this will remove the microphone from the iOS keyboard
- Exit out of Settings as usual
Now anytime you access the keyboard on iPhone or iPad, the prominent microphone / dictation button will no longer be visible, or available.
If you decide you want the microphone and dictation button back again on the keyboard of iPhone or iPad, simply toggle the Dictation feature back on again.
Note this settings change will not impact the microphone in the Messages app that is within the text-entry field, a separate feature which allows for sending voice audio messages in iOS. That can be a little confusing to have two microphones on the same keyboard, but they have different functionality.
Most iOS users will likely want to leave Dictation enabled and keep the microphone on the keyboard of iPhone or iPad because it’s useful, but if you don’t find the feature to be helpful or you hit it accidentally, disabling it can be reasonable too.
Why is the microphone button missing from my iPhone / iPad keyboard?
If you do not have a microphone button on the keyboard of iPhone or iPad, it likely means the device does not have dictation enabled to begin with. Another possibility is that the iOS device or iOS version does not support dictation, though that’s less likely given the feature has been around for quite some time.
If you don’t have the microphone button on iPhone keyboard but you want to have it for dictating text, simply reversing the above settings change and enabling Dictation will regain the microphone button the iOS keyboard.
Like nearly all iOS settings changes, these adjustments can be made at anytime, as disabling or enabling Dictation in iOS is just a matter of adjusting the appropriate toggle in the Settings app.
Similarly, the Dictation feature can be enabled or disabled on Mac too.
If you have any particular thoughts, other related tricks, tips, or approaches to removing or hiding the microphone on the keyboard for iPhone or iPad, share with us in the comments below!
wish this would work on my ipad but it doesn’t, and i cannot get the control centre to open because of that mike window.
On my iPhone, at Settings > General > Keyboard, “Enable Dictation” is already off. This is a useless tip.
iPhone Xs, iOS 14.7.1
IMessage; cannot remove micro / have gone to Settings/General/Keyboard/Enable Dictation/Toggle Off
When the phone is horizontal, I STILL have the stupid microphone button and I always press it. It’s annoying and this trick doesn’t work, except to remove it when the phone is vertical. Is there a way to disable it permanently from both horizons and vertical keyboards? Thank you!
I use the microphone all the time, but hate having it in the right side because I can’t reach it from my left hand. I like using one hand for the phone, can I just move the mic button, swop it for the emoji button opposite???
the turn on then off works a treat, no more annoying pup up window when I accidentally tap the microphone, too bad apple does not give the space to another key rather then give up the dead microphone… guess thats what you get with the crayon box of phone interfaces
Shoukd work. On my IOS devices I had the microphone symbol on every keyboard even though ‘Enable Dictation’ (Settings -> General -> Keyboard -> Enable Dictation) was disabled (button not green). After ‘enabling dictation’ (and for a moment accept the Apple notification) then immediately disabling it, the microphone symbol disappeared on the keyboard of most apps. On few – such as in Numbers – the mike was just greyed out, but unusable.
Werner – if it was disabled to start with, you may we’d to enable it in your keyboard settings and then disable it again for this change to take effect.
I tried this, and the remedy above. The mic is still there. If I click on it, it asks if I want to enable dictation. Quit all apps, restarted, etc. None of these procedures turn the Mic off on my iPhone SE iOS 12.1.4
Hello
Sorry. I have an iPhone 7 with IOS 12.1.4.
This trick doesn’t work on this iPhone.
Surely it works on your iPhone. This is a universal setting in iOS for all iPhone and iPad models, turning off Dictation removes the microphone button from the keyboard as described accordingly.
Settings > General > Keyboard > Dictation > off
Same issue. This doesn’t work for my iPad or iPhone. The mic remains and I frequently hit it….
At least the microphone function is useful. Can you please tell us how to remove the absolutely useless Emoji button? THAT’S the thing I keep hitting accidentally.
Couldn’t agree more, I never use that stupid emoji function removing it would be useful. AFA the microphone it is not only useful but required in states that require by law hands free phone use, removing it is idiotic.
Agreed! The microphone is exceptionally helpful when driving allowing hands free operation, whereas the emojis are just stupid. Please tell us how to remove the emoji button!
Just edit Keyboards end remove the Emoji one (Leaving just English) / done… (General/ Settings/ Keyboards/ Keyboards…)