Symbols on Your Phone Keyboard: Where to Find °, ¢, © and More

Where symbols hide on your phone keyboard

Every keyboard has two screens of symbols, and you reach the second one from the first. These are the keys that open them:

More symbols sit under letters and other keys. Touch and hold a key, wait for the options to pop up, slide your finger to the one you want and let go.

How to type the degree symbol on your phone

On Android the degree sign lives on the second symbol screen. On iPhone it hides under the zero.

Gboard

Tap "?123", then "=\<", and tap "°".

Samsung keyboard

Tap "!#1", then "1/2", and tap "°".

iPhone

Tap "123", then touch and hold "0" and slide to "°".

Where to find ¢, ©, ✓ and other symbols

A price of 99¢, a © on a flyer and a ✓ in a to-do list each take different keys. Find the symbol in the left column and follow the keys for your keyboard.

You can take any of these right from here:

° ¢ € £ © ® ™ ✓ • × ÷ ± ≈ ∞ √ π § ¶ ½ → ← ↑ ↓

Touch and hold the symbol you need and tap "Copy". Then touch and hold the spot where you're typing and tap "Paste".

Where did the comma go on my keyboard?

On iPhone the comma was never on the letter screen. On Android it has its own key that a setting or an update can switch off, and the switch brings it back.

iPhone

The comma sits on the "123" screen. To type it in one move, touch and hold "123", slide to the comma and let go: the comma is in and you're back on the letters. In the "To" field of an email there's no comma at all, because addresses are separated differently there.

Gboard

Tap the gear on the keyboard, open "Preferences" and, under "Keys", turn on "Comma key". The "Period key" switch is right next to it.

Samsung keyboard

Tap the gear on the keyboard, open "Layout" and turn the comma and period keys back on.

Why there's a "/" where the comma used to be

In a browser's address bar Gboard switches to a layout for web addresses, and a slash takes the comma's place. A Gboard review on Google Play complains that it "removes my dedicated comma and replaces it with a forward slash just because i use a browser." In a regular message box the comma is back. To type one in the address bar, tap "?123" and pick ",".

How to turn the double-space period on or off

Tapping the space bar twice can put in a period and a space after it. At the end of a sentence that's handy: finish the thought, double-tap, keep typing. If a habit of double spaces leaves stray periods in your texts, turn it off.

Find your keyboard's switch and turn it on or off:

What Smart Punctuation on iPhone does

In the iPhone keyboard settings, two similar names do different jobs.

Smart Punctuation reshapes the marks you type: straight quotes become curly ones, and two hyphens become a dash. When you need the straight kind, say a height like 5'10" or a bit of code, turn it off: "Settings", "General", "Keyboard", "Smart Punctuation".

Auto-Punctuation belongs to dictation: it adds commas, periods and question marks while you talk. How it decides where they go is a story of its own.

Why commas and periods take the most taps

The 95° is in. Now there's a reply to Mike about the contract, a note to the babysitter, the family group chat. For every rare symbol you type, there are dozens of commas and periods.

On iPhone each comma is a trip to the "123" screen and back. On Android the comma has its own key, but every one of them is still yours to place: while you type, the keyboard can't know where your sentence is going. The double-space trick covers periods at the end of a sentence, and nothing in the middle. Android Authority once ran a column under the title "Punctuation is dead because the iPhone keyboard killed it."

On the go, you want to get the thought down and leave the commas to someone else.

How to write messages without placing punctuation by hand

With Aqua Voice you say the message the way you'd say it to Mike, and it arrives with commas, periods and capitals in place, the grammar fixed. You don't name a single mark.

Already typed it in a hurry? Select the message, tap "Edit" and say "fix the punctuation". The line you typed on the go comes back looking exactly like this, rewritten in place, with nothing to retype.

Say a list out loud and ask Aqua to "make this a list": the run-on sentence turns into bullet points, without hunting for the "•". On Android, Aqua is a small button next to the keyboard you already use, so every symbol stays exactly where you just found it. On iPhone, it's a keyboard you switch to with the globe key.

How to get punctuated messages from your voice on iPhone

Aqua Voice goes on your iPhone as one more keyboard. Apple's keyboard stays for typing and symbols, and the globe key brings up Aqua whenever you'd rather say the message.

1. Install Aqua Voice from the App Store and open it.
2. Follow its prompt to "Settings": turn on the Aqua keyboard and "Allow Full Access", then allow the microphone.
3. In any text field, tap the globe key to switch to Aqua, tap the mic and talk. When it needs to start the microphone, Aqua opens its app for a moment; come back to your message and keep going.

How to add punctuated voice typing next to your Android keyboard

On Android, Aqua Voice doesn't replace your keyboard: Gboard or the Samsung keyboard stays as it is, with a small Aqua button beside it. You need Android 10 or newer.

1. Install Aqua Voice from Google Play and open it.
2. Sign in and allow the microphone.
3. Turn on Aqua in the accessibility settings the app opens for you: that's how it places your words in the text box.
4. Tap any text box. The Aqua button slides out next to the keyboard: tap it, talk, and tap the checkmark.