Pilcrow

How-to

How to split the keyboard on iPad, and what to do when the option is missing

Published · 3 min read

A split keyboard puts half the letters under each thumb, so you can type while holding an iPad in both hands. On most iPads sold today, the option is simply not there. Here is how to find it if you have it, and what to do if you don’t.

In short. Touch and hold the Hide Keyboard key in the bottom-right corner and slide to Split. Apple says the split keyboard is available only on iPad mini and iPad (9th generation and earlier). On other models, use the Floating keyboard instead, or a third-party keyboard with its own split layout.

How to split the keyboard

  1. Tap in a text field so the keyboard appears.
  2. Touch and hold the Hide Keyboard key, in the bottom-right corner.
  3. Slide your finger to Split and lift.

To put it back together, hold the same key and slide to Merge. From the same menu, Undock lifts the keyboard off the bottom edge so you can drag it up the screen, and Dock puts it back.

If the keyboard keeps splitting by itself, check Settings › General › Keyboard › Split Keyboard: Apple lists it there on supported models.

Why you don’t see Split

Apple’s support article on small or split keyboards is plain about it: the split keyboard is available only on iPad mini and iPad (9th generation and earlier). If you have an iPad Air, an iPad Pro, or a newer iPad, the menu offers Floating and Undock, but not Split, and the setting is missing from Settings too. Nothing is wrong with your iPad.

The alternative: the floating keyboard

The floating keyboard is a small, phone-sized keyboard you can drag anywhere on the screen. It is good for one hand, less good for two thumbs.

  • To float it: touch and hold the Hide Keyboard key and slide to Floating.
  • To move it: drag it to where your thumb wants it.
  • To bring back the full keyboard: pinch the floating keyboard open with two fingers, or tap More › Full.

What about third-party keyboards?

Split, Floating and Undock belong to Apple’s keyboard. A third-party keyboard is drawn across the full width of the space iOS gives it, so the menu cannot split it for you. If a third-party keyboard offers a split layout, it has built one into the keyboard itself — which also means it can offer one on any iPad.

How Pilcrow does it

Pilcrow, the keyboard we make, has a split thumb layout on every iPad, added in version 1.1.2 after a long run of requests from people who had lost Apple’s.

  • Two halves at the edges. The letter rows sit against the left and right edges with the middle open, so each thumb reaches its half while you hold the iPad.
  • The touch-typist’s division. Rows break where touch typists break them — q w e r t | y u i o p, a s d f g | h j k l, z x c v | b n m — the same division Apple’s own split used.
  • One space bar. The space bar stays whole across the gap, so either thumb can reach it.
  • No dead zone in the middle. The inner keys’ touch areas meet at the centre, so a tap that lands a little short still counts.
  • One tap to switch. Turn it on in Settings › Keys & layout › One-handed mode › Split, or put the button on the tool row, where it cycles off, split, left and right.

Everything else comes along: corrections that leave real words alone, swipe typing, forty languages, and the same themes as on iPhone.

Last checked October 2026 against Apple’s iPad User Guide for iPadOS 27. If anything here is out of date, write to info@pilcrowtype.com.

Sources

  1. Apple, Move the iPad onscreen keyboard (Floating, Split, Merge, Undock and Dock; More › Full)
  2. Apple, If your iPad keyboard is small or split in half (which models have a split keyboard)

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