Here’s a handy tip for anyone that’s picked up a Windows Phone and finds themselves frustrated by the extra “ENG” key on the keyboard. For some, it might show a different 3 letter abbreviation. Basically, it’s you’re language button that allows you to easily switch between keyboards while typing. It sits on the bottom row and takes up valuable real estate which results in a smaller than normal space bar. For me the smaller space bar is super annoying. More so, since I don’t speak any other language and rarely if ever have the need to type on anything but and English keyboard. Thankfully, there is a way to remove this key and reclaim the extra width for the space bar.
From your Start screen, swipe to the right to pull open the application list. Find and tap settings, and then scroll down and locate and tap on Keyboard. On the resulting screen, you will see a list of all the keyboards that are installed on your phone. If you tap on a keyboard, you will be presented with all the customizable settings for that keyboard. From the list of keyboards tap and hold on the keyboard you want to remove from the phone. A small pop up will appear with the only option being “remove”. Tap on it, and the keyboard will be removed from the list of available keyboards. Don’t worry, it’s still installed on the phone, so you can easily re-add it at a later date if you want. As long as you have more than one keyboard installed on the phone, you will see the language button on the screen when typing. Once you have removed all but one keyboard, you’re good to go!
This works on Windows Phone 7, 7.5, and 8. Although the steps are slightly different on the older 7.x devices. There’s no tap and hold for the remove option. Simply uncheck it from the list.
Enjoy your new and improved typing experience. 
Recent Comments