In a quiet library, a meeting room or a bedroom late at night, every tap on the iPhone keyboard can sound like a tiny typewriter. To stop it, open Settings, tap Sounds & Haptics, tap Keyboard Feedback and turn off Sound. That removes the typing click on current versions of iOS while your ringtone, text tones and other alerts keep playing. The sections below cover older iPhones, Silent mode and the sounds that only seem like keyboard clicks.
Should the keys suddenly shift to one side, see how to restore the full-width iPhone keyboard.
Keyboard taps are one of several haptic sources, and this haptic feedback overview covers the rest.
Turn off the typing click
Apple documents this path for iOS 16 or later, so it applies to any iPhone running a current version of iOS. The setting controls the built-in Apple keyboard everywhere it appears: Messages, Mail, Notes, Safari, search fields and most other apps.
- Open the Settings app from your Home Screen or App Library.
Older iOS version shown; current screens look different. - Tap Sounds & Haptics. This is the same screen that holds your ringtone, text tone and alert volume settings.
Older iOS version shown; the Sounds & Haptics row looks different on current iPhones. - Scroll down and tap Keyboard Feedback.
- Turn off the Sound switch. Leave the Haptic switch alone unless you also want to stop the small tap you feel under each key.
The change takes effect right away; there is nothing to save. To check it, open Notes with your ringer on and type a few words. If the keys stay silent, you are done. To bring the click back later, follow the same path and turn Sound on again.
A quick word on that Haptic switch, since it sits right beside Sound. Apple notes that keyboard haptics might affect battery life, and that they only work when Vibration is turned on under Settings > Accessibility > Touch. If you want both the sound and the buzz gone, or you type on an iPad as well, the walkthrough on how to turn off keyboard sounds and vibration covers those cases.
If your iPhone shows Keyboard Clicks instead
Before Apple added the Keyboard Feedback screen in iOS 16, the click had a single switch of its own. If your iPhone runs an older version of iOS, you will not find Keyboard Feedback at all. Use this path instead:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Sounds & Haptics (on older models without haptic support, the menu is called Sounds).
- Scroll to the bottom and turn off the Keyboard Clicks switch.
Not sure which version you have? Go to Settings > General > About and check the version number listed there. If it is 16 or higher, use the Keyboard Feedback steps in the previous section.
Silent mode is a different tool
Silent mode is often suggested as a quick way to quiet typing, but it does a different job. Apple describes Silent mode as stopping alerts and other sound effects, although the iPhone may still vibrate. Apple’s page does not mention keyboard clicks, so do not rely on Silent mode to stop them; the Keyboard Feedback switch above is the setting Apple documents for the click.
You can turn on Silent mode in any of these ways:
- Ring/Silent switch: on iPhone models that have it, push the switch on the side toward the back of the phone.
- Action button: on models with an Action button set to Silent mode, press and hold it to turn Silent mode on.
- Control Center: open Control Center and tap the bell button.
- Settings: go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics and turn on Silent mode.
The trade-off is that Silent mode also quiets your ringtone and notification sounds, so it is easy to miss a call if you forget to switch it back. For more on the switch, the Action button and the status icon, see how to turn Silent mode on or off.
| Option | What Apple says it quiets | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Keyboard Feedback > Sound off | Only the typing click | Removing the click for good |
| Silent mode | Ringtone, alerts and other sound effects | Quieting calls and alerts for a while (keyboard clicks are not documented) |
| Keyboard Feedback > Haptic off | The tap you feel under each key (not a sound) | Saving a little battery or stopping the buzz |
Sounds that are not keyboard clicks
If you turned off Sound and still hear something clicking, it may be a different setting. These are the usual suspects:
- Lock Sound: the click when you press the side button to put the screen to sleep. It has its own switch in Settings > Sounds & Haptics. Here is more about what Lock Sound does on an iPhone.
- System Haptics: the light taps you feel when you use switches, pickers and other controls. You feel these rather than hear them, and the switch is on the same Sounds & Haptics screen. See how to turn off System Haptics.
- The send sound in Messages: the whoosh when a message goes out is not part of Keyboard Feedback. These are the options for quieting the send text sound.
- A third-party keyboard: keyboards you install from the App Store usually have their own sound setting inside their app, which the Apple switch does not change.
Keyboard click questions
Will turning off the click also silence my ringtone?
No. The Sound switch under Keyboard Feedback only covers the typing click. Calls, text tones, alarms and app notifications keep their normal sounds and volume.
Can I keep the click in one app and turn it off in another?
No. Apple documents a single Sound switch under Keyboard Feedback for the Apple keyboard, with no per-app option.
Can I pick a softer or different click sound?
Not for the built-in keyboard. Apple’s Keyboard Feedback screen only offers a Sound switch, and Apple does not describe any choice of click sound. Some third-party keyboards let you choose a sound inside their own app.
Why do I still hear clicks after turning Sound off?
First check which keyboard is on screen: touch and hold the globe or emoji key to see your keyboards, and switch to the Apple keyboard if another one is active. Next, rule out Lock Sound and the Messages send sound described above. If the click continues, restart your iPhone and test again in Notes.
While you are adjusting the keyboard, you might also like to show lowercase letters on the iPhone keyboard, so the keys always match the case you are about to type. Apple’s own page on changing iPhone keyboard sounds or haptics and its guide to silencing iPhone are useful if Apple renames a setting in a future update.
Kermit Matthews runs Live2Tech from just outside Philadelphia. He is an IT specialist with over 20 years of experience, from a university help desk to small-business IT, IT management and his own consulting practice, and has written tech guides full time since 2020. Steps are checked against the current software on a real device or the maker’s official documentation. More about Kermit.