Why Can’t I Type I on My iPhone? & How to Fix It

If your iPhone no longer types the letter I and instead shows an A ?, # ? or ! ?, with the ? in a box, you are not alone. There is a very annoying iOS 11 and iOS 11.1 bug that prevents many users from typing an upper case I. When they try to type this they end up with a symbol and a question mark in a box.

Update: Apple just released iOS 11.1.1 for the iPhone. This fixes the “I” error on the iPhone. If you want to get past this problem, you should update now.

Not everyone is affected by this problem, but you may see it on your iPhone from people sending messages to you. If you copy the error from someone else to your clipboard to send as a joke, you will be stuck with the problem until Apple fixes it.

There is a good chance that Apple is working on an iOS 11.1.1 update that will fix this and other issues, but it may also save the fix for iOS 11.2 that we expect in December.

What to do if you can’t type I on your iPhone.

If you see this I error on your iPhone, there is a fix, but it will not look that professional. Apple says that you should create a replacement that turns the uppercase I into a lowercase i. This will happen automatically as you type, and it will prevent the error from showing up, but it will also make you look like you don’t understand how to use the shift key.

Apple is aware of the problem and is working on a fix. Until then you should  follow these directions to fix the I problem on iPhone.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on Keyboard.
4. Tap on Text Replacement.
   
5. Tap the + sign.
6. Type an uppercase I in the Phrase box.
7. Type a lowercase i in the Shortcut box.

Now you can go back to typing the letter i on the iPhone, but it will be a lowercase I. Once Apple fixes this you will be able to go back to using I like you normally would. We found that by going to the Keyboard Dictionary Reset option, but not completing it, we were able to fix the issue, but it’s not clear if this is a solution for everyone.

This may fix the problem for some users.

You can try this. Go to Settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset Keyboard Dictionary -> Enter Passcode. Then cancel before actually resetting your iPhone keyboard. This may fix the problem for you, but it’s not an official solution that we can confirm will work for everyone.

See Older Messages on the Lock Screen

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You can quickly look at your older messages and notifications from the lock screen without unlocking your phone to get to the Notification Center.  When you are on the Lock Screen, simply pull up from the middle of the screen and you will see your Notifications from Earlier today. You can also clear these out from this screen.  If you want to reply to someone or interact with a message just swipe on it, Swipe left to right to open and right to left to choose to view or clear individual notifications.

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