Switch between the 123 and ABC layouts in the Wispr iOS keyboard

The Wispr keyboard opens in the numbers-first (123) layout. Turn on the ABC layout from the keyboard drawer or Flow Settings to type letters inside Wispr instead of switching to your default keyboard.

How to switch layouts

Both controls change the same preference: turning it on selects letters immediately, turning it off selects numbers, and the choice persists the next time the keyboard appears. Temporary numbers or symbols selections do not persist.

From the keyboard drawer

1. Open the keyboard drawer using the settings/tips button on the dictation row.

2. Tap abc in the drawer bar at the top of the keyboard to turn letters on or off. The button is filled when the ABC layout is active, and a confirmation appears under the drawer's top bar — “Wispr ABC keyboard enabled” or “Wispr ABC keyboard disabled.”

3. Close the drawer with X to use the selected layout.

With VoiceOver, the abc button is marked selected when letters are on, and the same confirmation message is announced.

From Flow Settings

1. Open Flow Settings in the Wispr app.

2. Turn Show full QWERTY keyboard on or off in the General section.

A change made in the keyboard appears in Flow Settings the next time you bring the Wispr app to the foreground.

Layout-switching keys

Unlike the drawer toggle, these keys change the current layout, not the saved letter-keyboard preference.

With ABC enabled, switching from letters to 123 makes the next space or Return in numbers or symbols return to letters with Shift off, regardless of how many characters you type. Tapping abc or the globe cancels that automatic return. With ABC off, there is no automatic return to letters.

A dedicated globe key appears only on iPad and 4.7-inch iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation). Tap it for the next installed keyboard, or hold it for Apple’s keyboard picker; it does not change Wispr’s layout. Other iPhones have a full-width layout-switch key instead; with letters disabled, abc is their only in-row keyboard switcher.

The keys are hidden while dictation starts, runs, or processes, and while the drawer or a dialog is open; they return afterward. Some text fields also make Wispr switch automatically to your next installed keyboard when opened.