How to Type Morse Code on Your Phone With Google Gboard
Teacher and History Enthusiast
How to Type Morse Code on Your Phone With Google Gboard
You can turn your phone's keyboard into a Morse code keypad in under two minutes. Google's Gboard keyboard has a built-in Morse code layout that replaces the usual letters with two large keys, a dot and a dash. As you tap, it converts your Morse code into regular text in any app.
This guide shows how to set it up on Android and iPhone, how to type with it, which settings to change and how to learn the code quickly with Google's free trainer.
What Is the Gboard Morse Code Keyboard?
Gboard is Google's keyboard app for Android and iOS. Its Morse code layout was announced at Google I/O in May 2018 and came to iPhone in July 2018.
Google built it with Tania Finlayson, a Morse code user and designer who has cerebral palsy, as an accessibility tool. For people with limited movement, two large keys, or two external switches, can be easier than a full keyboard. Anyone can use it, though, and it's a handy way to practise Morse code every day.
How to Set Up Morse Code on Android
Google's help center says the Morse layout supports English (United States) on devices running Android 5.0 or higher. Menu names vary slightly between phone brands.
Install or update Gboard from the Google Play Store. Many Android phones already have it.
Open Settings and go to System, then Languages & input (on some phones, General management or Keyboard).
Tap On-screen keyboard (or Virtual keyboard), then Gboard.
Tap Languages, then English (US).
Swipe through the layouts until you see Morse code, select it and tap Done.
Open any app with a text box, bring up the keyboard and tap the globe icon to switch to the Morse layout.
How to Set Up Morse Code on iPhone
Install Gboard from the App Store.
In iPhone Settings, go to General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard, and add Gboard.
Open the Gboard app and go to Languages.
Add Morse code (it may appear as a layout under English).
In any text box, tap and hold the globe icon and choose Gboard, then switch to the Morse layout.
If you can't see the Morse option, update Gboard to the latest version and check again.
How to Type With the Morse Keyboard
The Morse layout has a dot key, a dash key, a space key and a backspace key.
Tap the dot and dash keys to build a letter. For A, tap dot, then dash. Pause briefly and Gboard converts the pattern into a letter.
Gboard shows word suggestions above the keys, along with the Morse code for each letter, which helps you learn as you go. Use the space key to add a space between words, or turn on word timeout to add one automatically.
Try these first words
HI: .... ..
OK: --- -.-
YES: -.-- . ...
THANKS: - .... .- -. -.- ...
Settings Worth Changing
In the Morse code layout settings (on Android: Gboard settings, then Languages, then your Morse layout), you can adjust:
Character timeout: how long Gboard waits before turning your taps into a letter. Lengthen it while you're learning.
Word timeout: automatically adds a space after a longer pause.
Sound on keypress: hear a beep for each dot and dash, which trains your ear.
Key repeat: hold a key to repeat it.
Multilingual typing: switch between Morse and your normal layout more easily.
Using Morse Code With External Switches
On Android, Gboard's Morse layout works with Switch Access, so people can type with physical switches instead of the touch screen. For example, one switch can send a dot and the other a dash, operated by a hand, foot or head movement. Google's help center explains how to assign the keys.
Learn the Code Fast With Google's Morse Typing Trainer
Google also released a free web game, the Morse typing trainer, that teaches the alphabet with picture mnemonics. Google says many people can learn the basics in under an hour. It's designed to be played with the Gboard Morse layout, so you learn and practise on the same keyboard.
After that, keep your skills sharp with our Morse code game and check your messages with the Morse code translator.
Troubleshooting
No Morse layout listed: update Gboard and make sure English (US) is added as a language.
Letters come out wrong: increase the character timeout so Gboard doesn't split your letters too early.
iPhone keeps switching back to the Apple keyboard: set Gboard as your first keyboard in Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Install Google's Gboard keyboard, then add the Morse code layout under Gboard's language settings. Switch to it with the globe key, and tap the dot and dash keys to type.
The built-in Apple keyboard doesn't, but Google's free Gboard app for iPhone includes a Morse code layout.
Update Gboard and add English (US) as a keyboard language. On Android, the Morse layout appears when you swipe through the English (US) layout options.
Yes. Gboard shows the code for suggested letters and words as you type, and Google's Morse typing trainer teaches the basics quickly.
It was designed as an accessibility tool for people who find a full keyboard hard to use, but anyone can use it to practise Morse code.
Yes. Turn on sound on keypress in the Morse layout settings to hear each dot and dash as you tap.