Android softkeyboard never shows up in emulator

Question

I'm new to Android. I've spent two hours already for searching. Whatever i try softkeyboard is never shown for my EditText. I create it simply:

EditText editText = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.editText);

I tried:

 editText.requestFocus();//i tried without this line too
 InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager)getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
 imm.showSoftInput(editText, InputMethodManager.SHOW_IMPLICIT);

and:

editText.setOnFocusChangeListener(new OnFocusChangeListener() {

         @Override
         public void onFocusChange(View v, boolean hasFocus) 
         {    

                     InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager)getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
                     imm.showSoftInput(editText, InputMethodManager.SHOW_IMPLICIT);

         }
     });

i also tried:

getWindow().setSoftInputMode(LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_VISIBLE);

i tried putting this line into AndroidManifest.xml file:

 android:windowSoftInputMode="stateVisible|adjustResize"

but all in vain. It just never shows. What am i missing?

try this replace imm.showSoftInput(editText, InputMethodManager.SHOW_IMPLICIT); this to imm.toggleSoftInput(InputMethodManager.SHOW_FORCED, 0); — Aravin, Aug 17 '13 at 11:57
@CapDroid no, unfortunately. i tried in another application but still no luck — Andrey Chernukha, Aug 17 '13 at 12:01
@AndreyChernukha using AVD manager add a hardware property Keyboard support and set it to true. — Niranj Patel, Aug 17 '13 at 12:05

free3dom · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-30T13:48:55.270

212

You need to make sure that your emulator is not set to use a hardware keyboard. This can be done by choosing Edit on a selected emulator in the AVD. Then uncheck the Hardware keyboard present setting.

You could also try using a different emulator, such as Genymotion. It supports full hardware acceleration (multi-core CPU as well as GPU) and runs much faster than any of the android emulator images. If you use Genymotion you will need to disable the hardware keyboard within Android (see below for details).

To disable hardware keyboard in Genymotion:
Go to Settings -> Language & input and open the Default item under Keyboard & Input Methods. There is a Hardware setting that you can toggle on/off. When it is on you use your physical keyboard and when it is off the standard soft keyboard should pop-up whenever a text field gets focus.

Screenshots for Genymotion settings: Default Item

enter image description here

edited Jul 30 '14 at 13:48

answered Aug 17 '13 at 12:14

free3dom

18,729
7
52
51

4

Finally! Thank you very much. I wish i could upvote your answer twice. As for Genymotion - i spent a day once trying to setup it but it didn't work. I couldn't even write to their support – Andrey Chernukha Aug 17 '13 at 12:47
Glad to help :) As for Genymotion, they are constantly improving, but it is still preview/beta. However, since I started using it I haven't had a single problem. Could be that I just started with it once they had sorted out most of the problems - or I'm just lucky :). That said, the android emulator(s) do give more variation though, so I still use them for testing compatibility. – free3dom Aug 17 '13 at 13:11
That's great, now I got virtual keyboard! But I have a EditText with android:inputType="numberDecimal"> and virtualkeyboard doesn't write numbers (it write them only if I write a letter before them). Spell checker is already off... – Michele Aug 28 '13 at 12:37
Have a look [here](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11921610/android-inputtype-numberdecimal-brings-wrong-keyboard-up) for possible solutions. – free3dom Aug 28 '13 at 13:47
@free3dom ~"open the Default item under Keyboard & Input Methods" What is that? I don't see that item. – IgorGanapolsky Jul 30 '14 at 13:37
@Igor - that is only when using the Genymotion emulator, and it is still there in the latest version (v2.2.2). If that is what you are using just follow the instructions to get to it. I will add a screenshot to the answer, for clarity. Also see the answer by `Sharif` for an alternate method. – free3dom Jul 30 '14 at 13:46
I guess it depends on Android target API. It doesn't show up in 4.1.1. – IgorGanapolsky Jul 30 '14 at 13:58
When I switch Hardware Physical Keyboard to Off...it dosent persist when you close it...it only stays Off for the current session...I have to reset it everytime I open the emulator...is there anyway to persistently switch this setting Off or On? – Tim Boland Oct 14 '14 at 22:30

Sharif · Answer 2 · 2014-07-01T04:07:38.797

73

In version 2.1.1 - click on your virtual device settings - then select "use virtual keyboard for typing" checkbox. enter image description here

enter image description here

edited Jul 01 '14 at 04:07

answered Jun 30 '14 at 09:53

Sharif

1,488
17
21

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 28 '17 at 22:44

The method for enabling the on-screen soft keyboard for Android Studio 2+ Emulators depends on the API level of the emulator. I have tested the various methods starting with API 15 and have recorded the steps below.

[A] APIs 15, 17, 19 and 21.

The following steps will enabled the on-screen soft keyboard but will disable the ability to enter text and interact with the AVD using the hardware computer keyboard.

In Android Virtual Device Manager (AVD), click the edit action for the device you wish to work with
Click Show Advanced Settings and scroll right down to the bottom of the page to the "Keyboard" section
Uncheck the "Enable keyboard input" option

[B] API 22

The soft keyboard is displayed no matter what you do with the hardware keyboard settings. If you wish to enable hardware keyboard support alongside the soft keyboard then,

In AVD, click the edit action for the device you wish to work with
Click Show Advanced Settings and scroll right down to the bottom of the page to the "Keyboard" section
Check the "Enable keyboard input" option

[C] API 23

If you wish to use the hardware and soft keyboard then...

Follow [B] steps 1 to 3
On the virtual device, Launch Settings, then select Language and input / Current Keyboard
Enable Hardware - Show input method

If you don't need the hardware keyboard, in AVD advanced settings, uncheck the "Enable keyboard input" option. You won't need to change any settings on the virtual device.

[D] APIs 24 and 25

Follow [B] steps 1 to 3 above, checking or unchecking the "Enable keyboard input" option depending on whether you want to enable the hardqare keyboard.
On the virtual device, Launch Settings, then select Language and input / Physical Keyboard
Enable "Show virtual keyboard"

If the Enable keyboard input option was selected in the AVD then you will now be able to use both hard and soft keyboard inputs. If you unchecked the option in the AVD the soft keyboard will be displayed regardless.

[E] API 26

Exactly the same as [D] APIs 24 and 25 except you need to navigate through an additional "System" menu level in the device settings before you get to Language and input / Physical Keyboard

DSlomer64 · Answer 4 · 2015-05-12T18:38:01.847

2

There are two places to deselect hardware keyboard in AS 1.1.0. This one isn't sufficient:

enter image description here

Must do this (click Tools | Android | AVD Manager; then create new or edit old AVD and then click Show Advanced Settings; scroll down and clear Enable keyboard input):

enter image description here

edited May 12 '15 at 18:38

answered May 12 '15 at 18:04

DSlomer64

4,234
4
53
88

I spent time finding this solution because the scrolling indicator is normally gone and only shows up once you start scrolling. I would recommend that if a view is scrollable to have some indication of that possibility visually. – GregM Jun 22 '15 at 22:49
Does not work for me in Android Studio. I uncheck the "Enable keyboard input" but the emulator still does NOT show the software keyboard. – Evgenii Aug 23 '15 at 06:08
You only mentioned one "uncheck". The other is "Has hardware keyboard", as shown--and you probably already cleared it, too. Maybe try a different virtual device? I've found the AS emulator to be pretty hard to tolerate. Slow to load, quirks like this.... Good luck. – DSlomer64 Aug 23 '15 at 15:53

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Aug 17 '13 at 14:43

1

To show:

EditText editText = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.myEdit);
InputMethodManager mgr = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
// only will trigger it if no physical keyboard is open
mgr.showSoftInput(editText, InputMethodManager.SHOW_IMPLICIT);

And to hide:

InputMethodManager mgr = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
mgr.hideSoftInputFromWindow(editText.getWindowToken(), 0);

Just try this one....

edited Aug 17 '13 at 14:43

Nizam

5,698
9
45
57

answered Aug 17 '13 at 11:26

FarhaSameer786

370
1
4
12

it didn't help, unfortunately – Andrey Chernukha Aug 17 '13 at 11:29
InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager)getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE); imm.toggleSoftInput(InputMethodManager.SHOW_FORCED, InputMethodManager.HIDE_IMPLICIT_ONLY);...try this – FarhaSameer786 Aug 17 '13 at 11:44
@Andrey Chernukha-i think your emulator does not support softkeyboard or hardware of emulator not working properly..... – FarhaSameer786 Aug 17 '13 at 12:09

score 1 · Answer 6 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

1

May be your emulator doesn't support softkeyboard..

Add a hardware property Keyboard support and set it to true for your emulator.

If it is already true then Check this answer.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

Community

1
1

answered Aug 17 '13 at 12:07

Niranj Patel

32,980
10
97
133

Android softkeyboard never shows up in emulator

6 Answers6

Linked