Excel on iPad: On-screen keyboard not displayed when trying to edit text in text box

Hi Paul Augustyniak

About the method of clearing the cache you can try this method.

Open the ‘Settings’, slide down to the bottom of the ‘App’, in which to find Microsoft 365 and Excel, in which you will find the ‘reset’ option, enter the ‘clear all functions’, ‘delete login credentials’, ‘reset cloud settings’. ‘Options, enter the open ‘clear all functions’, ‘delete login credentials’, ‘reset cloud settings’.

What version of excel did you download?

Are you using an iPad mini or another model?

Try logging out of your account and logging back into Microsoft.

If you urgently need to edit the excel file on your iPad, you can login to OneDrive.live.com and edit the excel file on the web.

If you are an ipad mini user please be patient, Microsoft is trying to fix the problem!

I hope this helps, please let me know if this conflicts with what you need.

Sincere greetings.

Petter.Y - MSFT | Specialist in support for the Microsoft Community.

None of these things work for me.

Hi Petter,

Thank you for the feedback. Unfortunately, none of your suggestions worked. I responded separately to each item below. I sincerely hope that we can continue to collaborate to eventually find a solution.

Thank you,

Paul

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1.Make sure Excel is updated to the latest version:

Open the App Store and check for Excel updates to make sure you are using the latest version. 👍 TRIED THIS, NO CHANGE.

2. Check iPad settings

Check keyboard settings:

Open Settings on your iPad, select General > Keyboard, and make sure all keyboard options are enabled, especially the ‘Show Keyboard ‘ option. RUNNING IOS 18.1.1. THERE IS NO”SHOW KEYBOARD “ OPTION. EVERY ITEM IN THE GENERAL/KEYBOARD OPTION IS ENABLED. 

Restart iPad:

Try restarting your iPad, which may resolve some temporary software issues. 👍 TRIED THIS, NO CHANGE.

3. Check text box options

Make sure you're clicking on the text in the text box, not the text box itself. Sometimes if you tap on the edge of a text box, iPad may not automatically bring up the keyboard.👍 FYI, IF I  COPY SOME TEXT, I CAN PASTE IT IN THE TEXT BOX,  BUT SELECTING AND HIGHLIGHTING THAT TEXT INSIDE THE TEXT BOX DOES NOT DISPLAY THE ON-SCREEN KEYBOARD. BY THE WAY, I CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO BRING UP THE ON-SCREEN KEYBOARD TO EDIT TEXT INSIDE A TEXT BOX IN WORD FOR IPAD.

4. Try disabling and enabling iPad's accessibility settings.

Turn off Assistive Touch:

If you have AssistiveTouch enabled, it may interfere with the display of the keyboard. Try turning it off: Go to Settings > Accessibility, then turn off AssistiveTouch.

Turn off ‘Keyboard Assist’:

In ‘Settings’ > ‘Accessibility’, check if any of the settings in the ‘Keyboard’ section are enabled, try disabling them and try again.

THERE IS NO SETTING FOR ASSISTIVE TOUCH OR KEYBOARD ASSIST. HOWEVER, I HAVE ALL OPTIONS UNDER ASSISTIVE ACCESS DISABLED.

5. Clear app cache and data

If none of the above works, try clearing the Excel app cache or resetting the Excel settings:

Quit the Excel app and open Settings > Excel to see if there is a Clear Cache or Reset option.

I COUND NOT FIND ANY CACHE SETTINGS SPECIFICALLY FOR EXCEL.

6. Reinstall Excel

If the problem persists, try uninstalling and reinstalling Excel for iPad, which will remove possible configuration issues or corrupted app files.I UNINSTALLED AND REINSTALLED EXCEL AND OFFICE 365, DID NOT RESOLVED THE PROBLEM. 

7. Use an external keyboard

If there is an external Bluetooth keyboard, try connecting it and see if you can enter text in the text box to confirm if the problem is limited to the on-screen keyboard. I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS.

8. Update ios system,make sure iOS is 17.0 or above,open ‘Settings’ > ‘General’ > ‘Software Update’. I ALWAYS UPDATE TO THE LATEST IOS VERION  CURRENTLY ON 18.1.1.

Hi Paul Augustyniak

welcome to the Microsoft community.

I understand that you're having trouble using excel

Here are some methods you can try:

1.Make sure Excel is updated to the latest version:

Open the App Store and check for Excel updates to make sure you are using the latest version.

2. Check iPad settings

Check keyboard settings:

Open Settings on your iPad, select General > Keyboard, and make sure all keyboard options are enabled, especially the ‘Show Keyboard ‘ option.

Restart iPad:

Try restarting your iPad, which may resolve some temporary software issues.

3. Check text box options

Make sure you're clicking on the text in the text box, not the text box itself. Sometimes if you tap on the edge of a text box, iPad may not automatically bring up the keyboard.

4. Try disabling and enabling iPad's accessibility settings.

Turn off Assistive Touch:

If you have AssistiveTouch enabled, it may interfere with the display of the keyboard. Try turning it off: Go to Settings > Accessibility, then turn off AssistiveTouch.

Turn off ‘Keyboard Assist’:

In ‘Settings’ > ‘Accessibility’, check if any of the settings in the ‘Keyboard’ section are enabled, try disabling them and try again.

5. Clear app cache and data

If none of the above works, try clearing the Excel app cache or resetting the Excel settings:

Quit the Excel app and open Settings > Excel to see if there is a Clear Cache or Reset option.

6. Reinstall Excel

If the problem persists, try uninstalling and reinstalling Excel for iPad, which will remove possible configuration issues or corrupted app files.

7. Use an external keyboard

If there is an external Bluetooth keyboard, try connecting it and see if you can enter text in the text box to confirm if the problem is limited to the on-screen keyboard.

8. Update ios system,make sure iOS is 17.0 or above,open ‘Settings’ > ‘General’ > ‘Software Update’.

I hope this helps, please let me know if this conflicts with what you need.

Sincere greetings.

Petter.Y - MSFT | Specialist in support for the Microsoft Community.