Apple’s iOS auto-correction feature is designed to save time by automatically fixing typographical errors as you type. While it is often helpful, it can also be incredibly frustrating. If you frequently type in multiple languages, use regional slang, or type technical jargon, auto-correct might continuously overwrite your intended words with incorrect predictions.
If you are tired of fighting your keyboard, you can completely turn off auto-correction on your iPhone in just a few taps.
How to Turn Off Auto-Correction
Disabling auto-correction is a global setting, meaning that once you turn it off, it will be disabled across all your apps, including Messages, WhatsApp, and Safari.
- Unlock your iPhone and open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap on General.
- Scroll down and tap on Keyboard.
- Look for the section titled All Keyboards.
- Find the toggle switch next to Auto-Correction and tap it so that it turns grey (off).
Your iPhone will no longer automatically replace the words you type. However, it will still highlight misspelled words with a red squiggly line, allowing you to manually tap them for suggestions.
How to Turn Off Predictive Text
Even with auto-correction disabled, you will still see three word suggestions floating above your keyboard as you type. This feature is called Predictive Text. If you find this visual element distracting, you can turn it off from the exact same menu.
- Open Settings > General > Keyboard.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the screen.
- Toggle off the switch next to Predictive.
The suggestion bar above your keyboard will immediately disappear, giving you a cleaner typing interface.
How to Stop iPhone from Capitalising Words
Another feature closely related to auto-correction is Auto-Capitalisation. By default, your iPhone will automatically capitalise the first letter of a new sentence, as well as proper nouns. If you prefer to manually control all capitalisation (which is popular in casual texting), you can disable this as well.
- Navigate back to Settings > General > Keyboard.
- Under the “All Keyboards” section, locate Auto-Capitalisation.
- Toggle the switch to the off position.
Alternative: Using Text Replacements
If you want to keep auto-correction enabled for general typing but are frustrated that it keeps correcting a specific word (such as a unique name or a custom abbreviation), you do not need to turn the entire feature off. Instead, you can use the Text Replacement feature to force your iPhone to accept your custom word.
- Go to Settings > General > Keyboard.
- Tap on Text Replacement.
- Tap the + (plus) icon in the top-right corner.
- In both the Phrase and Shortcut fields, type the custom word you want the iPhone to ignore (e.g., your unique slang).
- Tap Save.
Now, whenever you type that specific word, the iPhone’s auto-correct engine will recognise it as a legitimate phrase and leave it alone.