How to Get Rid of the On-Screen Keyboard on a Chromebook

Add this accessibility feature to your Chromebook taskbar instead

Updated on December 17, 2021

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What to Know

Go to Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Manage accessibility features and turn off Enable on-screen keyboard.
To add the keyboard to the taskbar, go to the Accessibility settings and enable Always show accessibility options in the system menu.
To bring up the keyboard, select the time > Accessibility > On-screen keyboard, then select the Keyboard icon in the taskbar.

This article explains how to get rid of the on-screen keyboard on a Chromebook. If you want to use it in the future, you can add accessibility options to the taskbar.

Why Does the Keyboard Keep Popping Up on My Chromebook?

Chromebook's accessibility features include Enable on-screen keyboard, which brings up the on-screen keyboard whenever you select a text field. If this keeps happening, you need to disable the feature.

If the on-screen keyboard pops up unexpectedly, it could be due to a bug, which can usually be fixed by rebooting your Chromebook or updating Chrome OS.

In tablet mode, the on-screen keyboard will appear when you tap a text field, so if it keeps popping up randomly, try troubleshooting your Chromebook touchscreen.

You can customize your Chromebook keyboard settings to reassign keys, change the default language, and more.

How Do You Get Rid of the Keyboard Display on a Chromebook?

Follow these steps to disable the on-screen keyboard on your Chromebook:

Select the time in the lower-right corner, then select the Settings gear.

If you don't see the Chromebook taskbar, click or tap the bottom of the screen to make it appear.
Under Advanced in the left sidebar, select Accessibility.
Select Manage accessibility features.
Under Keyboard and Text Input, select Enable on-screen keyboard to disable it. The toggle switch should be grayed out.
The on-screen keyboard will no longer pop up when you try to type.

How to Add the On-Screen Keyboard to the Taskbar

If you still want to have access to the on-screen keyboard, you should add it to the Chromebook taskbar:

Select the time in the lower-right corner, then select the Settings gear.
Under Advanced in the left sidebar, select Accessibility.
Enable Always show accessibility options in the system menu. The toggle switch should be blue.
Select the time in the lower-right corner, then select Accessibility.
Scroll down and select On-screen keyboard.
Select the Keyboard icon in the bottom taskbar to bring up the on-screen keyboard at any time.

If you want to use emojis on Chromebook, you can add the Chrome OS emoji keyboard to your taskbar as well.

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