Turning off On-Screen Keyboards

23 Aug 1970

This information applies to a Mesa 4 or Mesa 3 Android tablet with the Attachable Rugged Keyboard.

When you connect a physical keyboard, such as the Attachable Rugged Keyboard, to a Mesa tablet, the on-screen keyboard is hidden by default. However, changes to the tablet's system settings may allow the on-screen keyboard to appear while a physical keyboard is connected. The following sections explain how to turn off the on-screen keyboard. 
 

Mesa 4 Tablet

Windows 11 includes two on-screen keyboards with separate settings. 

On-Screen Keyboard

The on-screen keyboard is a full QWERTY keyboard designed for accessibility.
To turn off the on-screen keyboard,

  1. Open Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard.

  2. Turn off On-screen keyboard.

Touch Keyboard

The touch keyboard appears automatically when you tap inside a text field.
To turn off the touch keyboard,

  1. Open Settings > Time & language > Typing.

  2. Expand Touch keyboard.

  3. In Show the touch keyboard, select one of the following:

    • Never—Hides the touch keyboard from ever appearing.

    • When no keyboard is attached—Hides the touch keyboard when a physical keyboard is attached. Note: The touch keyboard may still appear briefly until you start typing on the physical keyboard.
       

Mesa 3 Android Tablet

With the physical keyboard connected to the Mesa tablet, 

  1. Select Settings > System > Keyboard > Physical Keyboard.

  2. Turn off Use on-screen keyboard.

 

 

Reviewed & Approved: CD, TR, JB, 15Sept2025