For the longest time I thought the only way to use a keyboard on my android phone was to use Bluetooth. But while I was laying in bed last night a thought came to me “What happens if I plug my keyboard into my phone?”. I have a mechanical keyboard with a detachable cable, so I found a USB C to USB C that I had laying around, and plugged it into my phone. And to my surprise it just worked. No set up needed.
What you’ll need
- an android phone made in the last ~6 years
- a keyboard
- a cable that can connect your keyboard to your phone
- your keyboard’s cable will most likely end in a USB 2 or 3, but your phone needs either Micro USB or USB C. Find or buy an adapter that works for you.
Even if your android phone is older, try it out if you have the right cables / adapters laying around. Just plug your keyboard into your phone using the right cable and it should work right away. On my Samsung phone I got a notification that it was connected.
If you want to have a look at keyboard shortcuts (at least on a Samsung phone) go into settings > General Management > Physical Keyboard. You should see the name of your keyboard connected. Tap on it, then scroll down to find “Keyboard shortcuts”
General physical keyboard shortcuts on android (Samsung):
Note: the CMD key could be the Windows Key, Command Key, or Search key depending on your keyboard.
- Home:
CMD+Enter - Back:
Escape - Recents:
Alt+Tab - Close current app:
Alt+F4 - Keyboard shortcuts:
CMD+/ - Notifications:
CMD+N