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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-16T07:33:22+00:00

This is a bit curly, and I am not sure there is an answer.

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This is a bit curly, and I am not sure there is an answer.

I have a simple application that uses a handheld bluetooth scanner paired to an iPhone to keep lists of parcels coming of the back of trucks.

The scanner acts-as a keyboard sending character strings on scan. In the application the user must pair with the scanner in settings.

Upon scan complete a textfield is populated with the sent string. The last character is a return char, at which time the contents are added to a datasource for a UITableView.

The problem is this; Once the scanner has been used once the system seems to recognize it as the only user input. Any future attempt to bring up the soft keyboard fails. This goes beyond the scanning application ~ quitting the app completely and attempting to use Apples SMS app also fails to bring up the keyboard.

Is there any (apple legal) way of either using both or setting preferred input device? There seems to be a myriad of legal issues around Bluetooth and accessories, I am wondering if I am out of luck. Has anyone heard of anything that might help me out?

It appears I am not alone (as in this post regarding iPad soft keyboard)

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    I think you’ve pretty much covered it.

    According to HT4111:

    You can stop using a Bluetooth accessory by either turning off the accessory, or turning off Bluetooth on iPad.

    According to Gizmodo’s 10 iPad Essential Tips & Tricks:

    When you have a Bluetooth keyboard connected to your iPad, the virtual keyboard will cease to appear. (This is a good thing.) However, what if, for some random reason, you needed that virtual keyboard? Don’t unpair your Bluetooth. Just… Hit the eject key on Apple’s physical keyboard. It’ll bring up the virtual one.

    If there’s an off button on the scanner, then hit that. If you have an actual bluetooth keyboard, then use that (or hit its eject button if it’s an Apple keyboard). If you have control over the design of the scanner hardware, then you can add a “show keyboard” button (I’m not sure which keycode Apple uses for “eject”) if turning it off is too tedious.

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