Swiftkey keyboard

Question

I have searched the internet at large and the Microsoft community and I keep seeing enigmatic & conflicting info: I see many posts/articles referring to Swiftkey "swipe" functionality included with the Windows 10 touch keyboard... some articles that say it's coming... others say it's already here, in an Insider build... other users say it's already here but they can't get it to work... some posts from Microsoft reps show instructions on how to activate it in Settings... I try to track the dates of these posts to see if it's current information, but I don't think any of them apply to the current Windows 10 release. And I am truly mystified because, near as I can tell, this feature is nowhere on my machine at all.

I have a Surface Pro with the latest updates. My touch keyboard does not swipe, or show any finger trail. I have searched the Settings and can't find any hint or reference to it at all.

Can someone provide clear, up-to-date, final answers on this feature, as of January 2019?

1. Does Swiftkey work in Windows 10, yes or no?
2. If no, when will it arrive?
3. If yes, how do I activate it?

I really want to use the swiping keyboard input method (which I use on my Android devices exclusively). I have an injury which makes typing difficult and painful. "Swiping" is much, much easier and more comfortable. For this reason, I do most of my text input (especially for long projects) on an Android tablet. I'd love to do it on my Surface, but typing for large projects is out of the question for me, and tapping on a touch keyboard is just impractical for anything beyond quick text input (like filling in a form field, etc.), I've always thought.

Overall, I LOVE my Surface. I don't think I'll ever purchase another Windows machine from a third-party manufacturer again. My experience with this machine is so much cleaner than with my HP laptop. Thanks so much!

Answer 1

Hi,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community forums.

SwiftKey powers the typing experience on Windows when using the touch keyboard to write in English (United States), English (United Kingdom), French (France), German (Germany), Italian (Italy), Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), or Russian. This is an existing feature that we've improved for Windows 10, version 1809.

• Does SwiftKey work in Windows 10, yes or no? Yes, it is available.
• If yes, how do I activate it? Follow the below suggestion-

If you're a touch keyboard user that writes in any of these languages, please try out the text predictions and shapewriting in this build and let us knowhow it feels for you. If you'd like to compare how the keyboard feels with and without this change, check the options for supported languages under Settings > Devices > Typing > Suggestions and Autocorrections.

To know what’s new in in the Windows 10 Insider preview builds (RS5), refer

• What's new in the Windows 10 Insider preview builds (RS5)
• Windows 10 Tip: SwiftKey

Also, for the touchpad not responding issue, you may go through the suggestion under the topic The touchpad doesn't respond right away after I've been typing from the article.

Hope it helps.

Regards,

Mala S

Microsoft Community - Moderator

Answer 2

Thank you so much Mala, for your reply!

Unfortunately, I don't completely understand your suggestion. You said yes, Swiftkey is available... And to try it out and let you know how it I like it.

But the problem is, I CAN'T try it. I tried... That's why I wrote this post. It doesn't work at all. Yes, I have latest Windows updates on both my Surface Pro and my HP Envy. On both of them, I've tried opening the touch keyboard and "swiping" across the keys. There is no trailing line following my finger. There are no text predictions. The keyboard just highlights each individual letter quickly as I go over it, and when I lift my finger, only the first letter I touched was inserted. Exactly as if there is no Swiftkey at all. Yes, my selected language is United States English, on both computers. (Lately the touch keyboard doesn't open at all, on the HP, after installing 1809... But that's another issue which I submitted in the Feedback Hub.)

I have searched the Windows settings to see if I am missing something. I must be, but I cannot find it.

So what I need to know is: why does my computer behave as if it doesn't have Swiftkey functionality? And how do I turn that on?

Thanks again!

Answer 3

you have the same problem i do..i have no ideA how to get it to work.. i have all the latest updates just like you...Microsoft is no help in fixing the problem

Answer 4

You're right, Microsoft can't help. Although there are some very nice people who tried for me... Stayed on the phone for close to two hours. She had clearly not received any training on this feature at all, which is not her fault. She was researching from the beginning of the call, trying to find out if Swiftkey was even included in my version of Windows (the latest, 1809). Finally, she told me conclusively that it wasn't. Then, a few minutes later, she said, Oh! My supervisor and I found it in the settings. Finally she tested it on her side with multiple devices, and it worked for her. She did a remote control session with my computer to verify that everything was updated and in order, which it was... And she ended by just saying, I just don't understand it... It should work! Over and over. That was when I had to end the call to go back to work. She suggested I reset Windows, which I just did about a month ago to remove malware, and I don't look forward to doing it again, and reinstalling all my work software. Her ignorance was clearly not her fault, and for the record, I sincerely appreciated her persistence and i could tell she tried her best. In short, no solution. ???

Answer 5

Hello.

Sorry for the delay in response.

It’s a new feature that has been added with the latest updates, your PC has to get SwiftKey keyboard settings option with 1809. As, it’s not available on your PC, it must be an issue with the Operating System. So I suggest you to run DISM command to check for the corrupted system files. To do that, kindly refer to the article.

Additional Information: I suggest you to refer to Input improvements (Build 18272) section from the article.

Mala S

Microsoft Community - Moderator