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To restore spell check on Android, open the settings for the keyboard you actually use and enable its spelling or spell-check option. With Gboard, open the keyboard’s menu, choose Settings > Text correction, and check the spelling controls. Some phones also offer a separate system-level Spell checker setting, but Android menu paths vary by manufacturer, model, and software version.
First, identify which keyboard is active
Tap a text-entry field and note which keyboard appears. Settings for one keyboard will not change another keyboard’s behavior, so open the controls for the keyboard shown on screen. If you are unsure which one it is, search the Settings app for “keyboard” or “spell checker” and check the selected on-screen keyboard.
Turn spell check back on
For Gboard
- Open a text field to bring up Gboard, then tap its features or menu button and choose Settings.
- Open Text correction.
- Enable the spelling or spell-check option available in your version. Google documents this Gboard route in its Gboard Help guide.
Motorola documents another route on its devices: Settings > System > Languages & input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Text correction. On some Motorola phones, you can also hold the comma key and drag to the settings icon. These are device-specific routes, not universal Android paths. See Motorola’s Gboard instructions.
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Some devices expose a system-level control in addition to the keyboard’s own options. Search Android Settings for Spell checker if you do not find the control in your keyboard settings. HMD documents this route for the Pulse Pro: Settings > System > Keyboard > Spell checker > Use spell checker. Treat it as an example for that model, not a route that applies to all Android phones. See the HMD Pulse Pro guide.
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Choose the behavior you want
Spell-check marks, automatic corrections, and word suggestions are related but separate features. A keyboard may offer suggestions without underlining misspellings, or replace a word automatically without showing spelling marks. In Gboard’s Text correction settings, adjust the controls for each behavior independently. Motorola’s instructions distinguish Spell check from auto-correction and suggestions.
- Spell check: flags suspected misspellings, often with an underline.
- Auto-correction: changes text as you type.
- Suggestions: offers candidate words, commonly in a strip above the keyboard.
Check the language and personal dictionary
Spell-check behavior depends on the keyboard language and the feature support available for that language. Google notes that Gboard suggestions are available for supported languages; its listed suggestions feature is available on Pixel 4a and later in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Some steps in Google’s guide require Android 7.0 or later. Gboard’s Proofread feature is a separate feature limited to US English, not a requirement for basic spell checking. Availability details can change, so consult Google’s current Gboard Help.
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If Gboard marks a correctly spelled name or specialist term, tap the red-underlined word and choose Add to dictionary to save it to your personal dictionary, as described by Google.
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Verify the setting and troubleshoot what remains
- Open a text field in an app and type a common word with an intentional misspelling.
- Check whether the word is underlined or a correction is offered. This verifies the visible behavior you enabled; not every app or language will display every feature in the same way.
- If suggestions appear but there are no underlines, return to the active keyboard’s settings and inspect its spell-check control.
- If words change automatically but spelling marks are absent, adjust auto-correction and spell check separately.
- If changing Gboard settings has no effect, confirm Gboard is the keyboard appearing in the text field. Otherwise, open the settings for the active keyboard.
- If you cannot find the setting, search Android Settings for “spell checker” and inspect the active keyboard’s Text correction page. Labels and menu nesting differ across manufacturers, models, Android versions, and keyboard releases.
- If only one language is affected, check the selected keyboard language and whether the feature is supported for it.
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