Use the onscreen keyboard with a barcode scanner
A scanner operating as a keyboard can affect how the tablet offers its onscreen keyboard. The correct control depends on the scanner model, input mode, operating system and keyboard app.
Identify the setup
- Record the tablet, operating system, scanner model and connection method.
- Confirm the scanner’s configured input mode using its manufacturer instructions.
- Check whether the onscreen keyboard is missing everywhere or only in a particular till field.
- Use the scanner/device manufacturer’s documented onscreen-keyboard control for that exact model. Do not assume another scanner’s double-press or reset sequence applies.
- On Android, review the current device/keyboard app’s physical-keyboard and onscreen-keyboard options, recording the original choices before any intended change.
- Check both typing and scanning in a controlled non-transaction input before returning to the till workflow.
Example: scan products and type a customer name
Staff need to move between scanning and manual text entry. Verify both operations and that input reaches the intended field. A scanner beep does not establish that the correct product or text was entered.
iPad and Socket devices
Socket’s current support page links iOS HID keyboard and keyboard-app help. Check the exact model’s instructions before using a hardware-button sequence or installing a keyboard extension.
If the problem remains
Give support the model, input mode, field, keyboard app and exact observed behaviour. Avoid factory resets or repeated unpairing as a first step; retain the working setup and check the intended documented control.
