My portable keyboard requires two taps of the space bar in Word

Anonymous
2025-05-26T14:31:04+00:00

Android Word app on a Samsung smart phone using an external portable Bluetooth connected keyboard. When I insert the cursor within the text of a document, tapping the space bar once will insert one space as expected. However, when I type a word, even just a single character and then press the space bar once, no space is inserted. I must tap the space bar a second time before the space will be inserted. Additional taps of the space bar will then insert a space for each tap, until I type another word. This behavior is only when using Word. Other Android MS apps such as Excel, or the Internet do not express this behavior. This only happens on this external keyboard when using Word. What might be causing this behavior?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Android

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Anonymous
2025-05-29T19:27:56+00:00

Okay, someone on Reddit figured it out.

It has to do with the Samsung Keyboard. When you use a physical keyboard, a software keyboard is still utilized for layouts and such. It's specifically an issue with "Suggest text corrections" configuration within the Samsung keyboard. If I use the GBoard from Google, everything works fine without needing to change anything. I'm just not ready to change my touch keyboard typing habits to that of a whole new setup.

Instructions:

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Scroll toward the bottom for General Management
  3. Select Samsung Keyboard settings
  4. Toggle ON the option for Predictive Text
  5. Select Suggest text corrections
  6. Toggle OFF the switch next to English (US) (or whatever other language you are using).
  7. Try again.

I could repeatedly make it stop working and working again by just flipping that switch. I think it has something to do with the Grammarly plugin thingy for the Samsung Keyboard conflicting with something in Word app that is causing it to present something to do with Predictive Text that accepts a spacebar press to "exit".

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-05-29T05:31:41+00:00

    I'm having this exact same issue. Here is what I have tried, and nothing has helped.

    • Use a different BT keyboard.
    • Uninstalled/Reinstalled Word app on Android.
    • Used keyboard via USB-C.
    • Starting Word not in mobile mode (from settings)
    • Turned off text predictions while typing.

    Other things to note:

    • BT Keyboard words in other apps. I'm in Chrome App right now using the same keyboard to type up this post.
    • On-screen keyboard works fine.
    • Copy paste doesn't affect it. If I paste a word, the spacebar works immediately.
    • The spacebar works just fine in the Find field or in the Save-As field.
    • The spacebar/keyboard work as expected in Excel, Outlook, OneNote and all other apps that I have tested.

    Again, this only seems to be failing in Word for Android.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-05-26T19:06:54+00:00

    Hi wcstarks

    Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.

    I understand the issue you are experiencing with the space bar on your external keyboard while using Word on your Android device. This behavior might be due to a compatibility issue between the Word app and the specific keyboard you are using. To troubleshoot this, you can try the following steps:

    1. Make sure your Word app and Android system are up to date.
    2. Check if there are any firmware updates available for your external keyboard.
    3. Try using a different external keyboard to see if the issue persists.
    4. Clear the cache and data of the Word app on your Android device.
    5. Reinstall the Word app on your Android device.

    If the issue continues after trying these steps, please reach out to Microsoft support for further assistance.

    Best Regards,

    Lonex P.

    Microsoft Moderator

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  3. Stefan Blom 354K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2025-05-29T20:21:04+00:00

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-05-29T15:17:21+00:00

    Hi wcstarks

    We have noticed that you have not replied to our last response. We would like to know if the issue you have raised to us is still on-going. If yes, please reply to the thread so we can continue troubleshooting your concern.

    Thank you.

    Best Regards,

    Lonex P.

    Microsoft Moderator

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