Why is the touch keyboard not working in Windows 11?

The touch keyboard may not appear in Windows 11 because of its settings. Microsoft says the touch keyboard automatically displays when the Windows device is in tablet mode and there is no keyboard attached ¹. Whether that rule covers a laptop is unclear, because Microsoft does not say whether a laptop's built-in keyboard counts as an attached keyboard. To make the keyboard appear on demand, set its taskbar icon to Always. If the icon is set to Never, the keyboard does not appear, and that setting is the first thing to check.

A laptop's built-in keyboard may not count as attached

Microsoft says the attached keyboard can be either a wired keyboard or a wireless Bluetooth keyboard ². Microsoft's page does not say whether a laptop's built-in keyboard counts as an attached keyboard. That matters on a laptop, because the answer decides whether the When no keyboard attached option ever shows the keyboard. Do not rely on that option on a laptop. Use the Always option instead.

Check the taskbar setting first

The touch keyboard has an icon in the system tray area of the taskbar, and the icon's setting controls whether the keyboard can appear. Microsoft lists three options: Never, Always, and When no keyboard attached.

1. Right-click the taskbar, then select Taskbar settings. On a touch screen, press and hold the taskbar instead.
2. Under System tray icons, find Touch keyboard and choose the option you need.
3. Choose Always to show the icon all the time, so you can open the keyboard whenever you want. Choose When no keyboard attached only if you want the icon to appear with no keyboard connected.

The Never option is the one that stops the keyboard from appearing at all. Microsoft says that the Never option prevents the touch keyboard from ever appearing ³. If the keyboard has never appeared on the PC, check this setting before you do anything else.

The full Microsoft page is Enable and disable the touch keyboard in Windows.

Turn on the Typing setting for use without tablet mode

The taskbar icon is not the only control. Microsoft also has a Typing setting that shows the touch keyboard when the device is not in tablet mode and no keyboard is attached. Switch on the option Show the touch keyboard when not in tablet mode and there's no keyboard attached under the Touch keyboard heading of the Typing settings ⁴. Open the Typing page from Settings. Microsoft's page does not state the default value on every device, so check the switch on your own PC.

The microphone button is a separate setting

Some people look for the touch keyboard because they want voice typing. On Windows 11, voice typing starts with Windows key + H on a hardware keyboard, or with the Microphone button on the touch keyboard ⁵. If the touch keyboard appears but the microphone button does not, a third-party guide says a checkbox named Show the voice typing mic button controls whether that button appears ⁶. Microsoft's pages do not describe that checkbox, so treat it as a third-party report and confirm it on your own PC.

It depends on whether the keyboard appears at all

• The keyboard never appears, on any app. The icon is probably set to Never, so change it to Always and try again.
• The keyboard appears only on a tablet or with no keyboard. The keyboard appears automatically only on a tablet with no keyboard attached ¹, so on a laptop use the Always icon.
• The keyboard appears on some apps and not others. Note the app and the setting you used before you report the problem, so the difference is easy to reproduce.
• The PC belongs to your work or school. A managed setting can lock the taskbar options. Ask IT before you change a locked setting.
• You want to type with your voice, not with the screen. The touch keyboard is not needed for voice typing. Use Windows key + H, which works with a hardware keyboard, and read why Windows key + H is not working if that does nothing.

What to do, in order

1. Right-click the taskbar, open Taskbar settings, and set Touch keyboard to Always.
2. Open the touch keyboard from its taskbar icon and test it in a text box.
3. If it still does not appear, switch on Show the touch keyboard when not in tablet mode and there's no keyboard attached in the Typing settings.
4. Restart the PC and test again.
5. If the keyboard appears but voice typing does not, check the microphone and online speech settings in the guide to Windows dictation not working.

For the same problem on a laptop that is not about the touch keyboard, see why dictation is not working on my laptop. For the voice typing language list, see why voice typing is not available in Windows 11. The voice typing glossary entry explains the feature the touch keyboard's microphone button starts.