Keyboard resets itself in chats

[kennark]

Guidelines

• I have searched searched open and closed issues for duplicates
• I am submitting a bug report for existing functionality that does not work as intended
• This isn't a feature request or a discussion topic

Bug description

When typing in a chat, the keyboard "resets" itself every ~5 seconds. Two most noticeable effects: some letters I type do not get written, and keyboard will switch from any page (emojis, symbols, ... any view) back to the main keyboard view.

Sometimes it is fixed by just force closing the app, rarely I need a restart.

I am using GBoard, this issue does not occur in any other app.
Incognito keyboard is disabled in settings

Screenshots

No response

Device

(Xiaomi) Redmi note 13 pro 5G

Android version

15

Signal version

7.68.4

Link to debug log

https://debuglogs.org/android/7.68.4/19bc430e48344ab6cf904445a28291443ce493f580bc590b877a321b0a6dae38

[kennark]

Video of it happening:
https://files.catbox.moe/zpp4fu.mp4 (only showing keyboard and textbox)
I do not close the symbols/emoji panel, it goes back itself.
For typing, I slowed the video down for the 2 words that skip letters (I typed all letters). The last word I mistyped, but is autocorrected (should happen to the two underlined words as well, but sadly no).

[thomas-selig]

Have experienced the same behavior for the last few weeks. Have been trying with different keyboard apps, which does not seem to make any difference.
If I can assist in providing more details from my end, let me know.

[zackbennis]

I am also experiencing this issue, which occurs with multiple different keyboard apps. I also noticed that it only happens in DMs, not in any group chats or in the "Note to Self" chat.

[thomas-selig]

As typing really became extremely annoying, I tried a few different things in order to fence in the problem.
For me, unlinking linked devices (iPad and desktop with the Signal-app active) seems to have helped.
As soon as I re-link any of the devices, the issue reappears.
So my guess would be, that this might be some syncing issue? Could any of you experiencing the keyboard issue test and confirm?

[Munk3y]

I'm experiencing this issue as well. It does seem potentially related to syncing. I've seen forum posts where people say turning WiFi off on linked devices results in no longer experiencing the issue. I haven't tried that yet. I'll have to see if I can get a debug log.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Android 16 w/November Security Patch Level
OneUI 8
Signal 766.4
Gboard 16.4.3.827411866-release-arm64-v8a

[Munk3y]

I'm experiencing this issue as well. It does seem potentially related to syncing. I've seen forum posts where people say turning WiFi off on linked devices results in no longer experiencing the issue. I haven't tried that yet. I'll have to see if I can get a debug log.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Android 16 w/November Security Patch Level OneUI 8 Signal 766.4 Gboard 16.4.3.827411866-release-arm64-v8a

Signal 7.68.5. Debug log attached, after it was happening again.

signal-log-1767314590277.zip

[Haych13]

I have also had this issue for a while, I usually use Gboard where this happens but managed to replicate this with Samsung Keyboard earlier today too.
Happens on Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and on Samsung Galaxy Tab S9

[mtang-signal]

For anyone with this issue, could you let me know if you have a linked Android device as well?

[Munk3y]

For anyone with this issue, could you let me know if you have a linked Android device as well?

Yes, I have a linked Android device. Also, two linked computers running Ubuntu 24.04.

[zackbennis]

For anyone with this issue, could you let me know if you have a linked Android device as well?

Yes...an Android phone (Pixel 7), tablet (Pixel Tablet), and Mac laptop, all linked.

[kennark]

For anyone with this issue, could you let me know if you have a linked Android device as well?

Yes, I have a Windows link, Linux link and Android link (through Molly fork).
Found that the issue is likely caused by the Android link, as when I turned off internet on my tablet, the bug stopped.

[Haych13]

For anyone with this issue, could you let me know if you have a linked Android device as well?

Yes, I have Signal linked to Molly on an Android tablet. I also have it linked to 2 Linux PCs with the official app

[tdussmann]

same...

as it seems to lead to issues with whatever soft-keyboard one might use, I can only add that with the physical keyboard attached to my android tablet I also get strange lag and slowdown of the UI while typing on the Molly fork.

With signal android & google keyboard app all the issues described are just much more noticable and/or annoying

For anyone with this issue, could you let me know if you have a linked Android device as well?

Yes, I have a Windows link, Linux link and Android link (through Molly fork).
Found that the issue is likely caused by the Android link, as when I turned off internet on my tablet, the bug stopped.

[xxx00w0]

Hi everyone — I’m experiencing the same issue on Android devices using Gboard.

As @zackbennis mentioned, the issue seems to occur only in DM conversations. In “Note to Self”, Gboard behaves normally.

The problem appears randomly and then clears just as randomly. So far, no single troubleshooting step consistently fixes it (force close, clearing cache, etc.).

However, after reading this thread I tried a small experiment:

The test

I was actively experiencing the issue on my tablet (which had been working fine the night before). I then checked my primary phone, and it was also affected.

1. I disabled Wi-Fi on the tablet first, allowing it to switch to cellular data.

   • I intentionally left Signal/Molly running to force a reconnect while the app was active.

2. Within a few seconds, Gboard on my primary device started working normally again.

3. Gboard on the tablet was still broken, so I then disabled Wi-Fi on the primary device, forcing it onto cellular.

4. A few seconds later, Gboard on the tablet also started working normally.

This does confirm the possibility that there may be some kind of linking or sync-related issue between devices.

What’s strange is that force-closing the app (which should also force a reconnect) did not resolve the issue, while toggling Wi-Fi OFF (and later back ON) did.

Of course, it’s possible this was coincidental and part of the random recovery behavior — but I had already force-closed the app and cleared cache multiple times without success.

After re-enabling Wi-Fi on both devices, Gboard has remained stable inside Signal/Molly so far.

My setup

• Primary device: Pixel 7

  • Signal v7.68.5 (Google Play Store)

• Linked Android device:

  • Molly v7.68.5-1 on Hipad X tablet

• Other linked devices:

  • Multiple Windows desktops using the official Signal app

• Keyboard:

  • Gboard v16.5.2.838613058-release-arm64-v8a

Hopefully this helps narrow things down or gives someone else something to test.