How to Turn off Autocorrect on Samsung

Autocorrect is a real lifesaver at times, saving you from potentially awkward typos in emails or texts. However, it can work against you, too, changing the meaning of a message to a much more negative sentence.

For those times when you need to know how to turn off autocorrect on your Samsung phone, here's everything you need to know about it and other related features, like Predictive Text.

This should apply to all Samsung smartphones. Other Android phones use a different method of autocorrect and predictive texting.

Why Turn off Autocorrect

You might be wondering why you'd ever want to switch off autocorrect. Well, it's not quite as smart as it'd like to be. If you're prone to typing more complex words, such as legal or scientific terms, autocorrect takes a while to catch up. It can be counterintuitive to 'train' autocorrect and you can type it much faster yourself.

On Samsung phones, Autocorrect is referred to as Auto Replace. The concept is the same. It's just a different name.

There's also the matter of privacy. Samsung phones are able to use personalized data to learn from your messages and contacts so it figures out your writing style. On one hand, that can be very useful, but to some users, it might feel like an invasion of privacy.

How to Turn off Autocorrect on a Samsung Phone

Turning off autocorrect is simple to do. Here's how to get to the right setting, and how to make some other tweaks to the autocorrect function.

From the home screen, tap Apps > Settings.
Scroll down to the System section, then tap Language and input.
Tap Default > Auto Replace.

"Default" may be named something else if you have a third party keyboard app installed.
Tap either the green tick box next to your language choice or the green toggle to the top right of the screen.

If you change your mind and want to turn Auto Replace/Autocorrect back on, tap the tick box or green toggle again to switch it back on.

How to Change Other Smart Typing Settings on a Samsung Phone

Samsung smartphones also include other useful options that can make your texting easier or harder. They're all accessible via the same screen as Auto Replace.

Samsung Keyboard Settings and Predictive Text Settings

Here's what they all do:

Predictive text: Tracks the words you use, as well as those sent to you via your contacts. Each week, it can be updated with popular new words, as well as analyze the words you use each day. By turning off Learn from Messages or Learn from Contacts, Predictive Text stops learning your writing style from your interactions. This can be useful if you're worried about your privacy.
Auto capitalize: Automatically capitalizes the first letter of each new sentence, saving you from doing it manually. You can switch it off by unticking the green box next to it.
Auto spacing: Automatically inserts a space between words whenever it detects a complete word. Again, this can be switched off by unticking the relevant green box. This can be useful if your Samsung phone continues to misunderstand what you're typing.
Auto punctuate: Automatically inserts a period any time you tap the space bar twice. Switch it off by unticking the green box next to it.