iPhone keyboard disappears with a teleprompter remote
Pair a Bluetooth clicker and the on-screen keyboard can vanish from your iPhone or iPad. It's not a bug in your teleprompter app: the clicker is pretending to be a keyboard.
Step by step: use a clicker or foot pedal
- Pair it like a keyboard. Most clickers and foot pedals pair in your device’s Bluetooth settings and send key presses, such as Page Down or the arrow keys.
- Open Clicker setup and press a button. In the sliders menu, open Clicker setup and press each button. Reframely shows what it sent; assign it to play, speed or jumping by a few lines.
- Read hands-free. A foot pedal keeps both hands free for a demo or a product. Tap once to pause, again to carry on. Stream Deck keys and MIDI pads work the same way.
Why it happens
Most teleprompter clickers connect as a Bluetooth keyboard and send keys like Page Down or Space. When iOS sees a hardware keyboard, it hides the on-screen one. A Parrot Teleprompter reviewer describes exactly this, and works around it by turning the remote off while editing (App Store).
Three ways to keep editing
- Edit on the other phone. In Reframely, open the remote on your second phone and tap Edit script. Save sends the script to the phone in the rig, so you never type on it.
- Switch the clicker off (or turn Bluetooth off) while you type, then back on to record.
- Write the script first elsewhere and import it: in Reframely, tap the pencil, then Import, and pick a Word or text file.
On iPad, the shortcut bar at the bottom of the screen sometimes offers a keyboard button that brings the on-screen keyboard back while a hardware keyboard is connected.
Getting the keyboard back without unpairing
On iPhone and iPad, a connected hardware keyboard hides the on-screen one, but iOS keeps a small keyboard button available in many text fields: look for a keyboard icon or a down-arrow in the shortcut bar at the bottom of the screen. Tapping it can bring the software keyboard back while the clicker stays paired. It depends on the iOS version and the text field, so if you don't see it, use one of the three options above.
Why we suggest editing on the other device
The phone in the rig is usually mounted flat under glass with a hood around it: awkward to type on even when the keyboard works. Editing from the remote phone, a laptop with the send-to-Reframely bookmark, or importing a file means you never touch the rig between takes, so the framing and reading line stay exactly where you set them.
Android
Android can do the same thing with some clickers. Look for a keyboard icon in the navigation bar, or turn on Show on-screen keyboard while physical keyboard is active in the language and input settings. Wording differs between manufacturers.
Questions
Why does my iPhone keyboard disappear when I connect a clicker?
The clicker identifies itself as a keyboard, and iOS hides the on-screen keyboard while a hardware keyboard is connected.
Will the clicker still work after I edit?
Yes. Turn it back on and it reconnects. In Reframely its button assignments are saved.
Sources
Last updated .