How to change the Galaxy S20's default keyboard to Gboard or SwiftKey

How to change the Galaxy S20's default keyboard
How to change the Galaxy S20's default keyboard (Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

The Galaxy S20 has Samsung's default keyboard out of the box, but it's easy to switch to Gboard or another keyboard of your choice. We're partial to Gboard because of the customization options on offer and the fact that Google Search is baked into the keyboard. Regardless of which keyboard you prefer, here's how to switch keyboards on your Galaxy S20.

How to change the Galaxy S20's default keyboard to Gboard or Swiftkey

If you're looking for a more feature-rich keyboard or are interested in finding an alternative to Samsung's default option, there are plenty of great options on Android. Once you figure out what keyboard to use, make sure you install it on your S20.

For the purposes of this guide, you need to Install Gboard from the Play Store or go to the SwiftKey page to download the Microsoft-owned keyboard instead. Once the keyboard is installed, you can change the default input method to either Gboard or SwiftKey. Here's how to do so:

  1. Open Settings from the home screen.
  2. Scroll down to go to the bottom of the page.
  3. Go to General management.

Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central (Image credit: Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
  1. Choose Language and input.
  2. Select On-screen keyboard.
  3. You should see all available keyboards listed on this page. Hit Default keyboard to change the input method.
  4. Tap Gboard to set Gboard as the default keyboard on your Galaxy S20.

Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central (Image credit: Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

Gboard has an extensive array of features that make it a standout keyboard on Android. You get glide typing, voice typing for easy dictation, emoji search — including a new Emoji Kitchen feature that lets you build your own emoji — and GIF search. Gboard also offers multilingual typing and on-the-fly translate features, and you can even set custom themes. But what makes it truly great is that it is absolutely free to use.

Whichever keyboard you decide to go with, you should be able to set it as your default with this method.

Harish Jonnalagadda
Senior Editor - Asia

Harish Jonnalagadda is a Senior Editor overseeing Asia at Android Central. He leads the site's coverage of Chinese phone brands, contributing to reviews, features, and buying guides. He also writes about storage servers, audio products, and the semiconductor industry. Contact him on Twitter at @chunkynerd.