iOS Outlook App - repeatedly closes on-screen keyboard (whilst typing!) and “attached” keyboard

Anonymous
2020-04-07T09:36:03+00:00

I’ve been using iOS Outlook for a while on an iPad Pro. Apart from its quirky style, which is a bit of a steep learning curve, even coming from over a decade of using Outlook for Windows, it has a major keyboard bug. It closes the on-screen keyboard (whilst typing!) and even an “attached” physical keyboard is deactivated during typing.

This manifests itself thus: you can type two or three words, then the keyboard on the screen disappears. So you reload it, type a bit more, and it closes again.

It does exactly the same thing for at attached physical keyboard.

If I switch to the iOS Mail app (native Apple), I have no keyboard issues, either on screen or physical. The same is true for all other apps on the device.

This strongly supports the fact that the iOS Outlook app has a keyboard bug. I’ve reported this to my IT department, who say nobody else says it does this. I have seen online similar iOS keyboard issues with Microsoft apps in the recent past, so I suspect this is a known bug.

Solution is not to use iOS Outlook for typing. :-)

Anybody know a ‘fix’ for the app please? I’ve reinstalled it, to no benefit.

Outlook | Outlook for mobile | Outlook for iOS | For home

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-04-07T11:28:01+00:00

    Hello Andrew,

    May I know the version number of your iOS? Regarding to this problem, I suggest you first check updates for iOS to see if it helps. Make sure your Outlook for iOS application and iOS are both the latest version.

    If the same issue persists, I would like to invite you to contact the in-app support for further assistance. As in the forum, we have limited knowledge about Outlook for iOS application, and there is a dedicated support team for Outlook iOS. They will help you look into your problem and analyze the cause further. Tap your profile photo and then the ? > Contact Support.

    Your understanding and cooperation would be highly appreciated.

    Regards,

    Rick

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-04-08T15:23:22+00:00

    I have the same issue since the last iOS update, and it's 100% Outlook, not any other app. It occurs on all my iOS devices, one iPhone, two iPads and one mini iPad.

    The app seems to lose focus and the keyboard closes. There is some background process in the app itself, probably syncing the mailbox with Exchange, which is pulling the user interface away. The problem is either a bug in Outlook for iOS or in an incompatibility between the app and the current iOS. There's no going back, so unfortunately, we have to live with a broken system until they resolve the issue.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-04-08T15:29:13+00:00

    Thanks, Rick — same issue (and there is no "contact support option" under "Help & Feedback")

    Outlook version 4.32.0

    iOS version 13.4 (17E255)

    Occurs on multiple systems with or without external keyboards. The user interface from the app loses focus and the keyboard closes. This appears to occur when a background process happens, like a sync with Exchange. Very frustrating and it's only happening (as far as I can tell) with Outlook.

    Thanks.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-04-09T14:46:17+00:00

    Hello Diacritical,

    According to my test, the Contact Support button is still available in my Outlook for iOS version 4.32.0. Please try to re-add your account to Outlook for iOS to see if it helps. Besides, you can also re-install the application and double check if you can find the contact support option in all the devices. Once you find it in any device, please contact the in-app support so that our relevant would investigate to it further.

    Regards,

    Rick

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-04-09T17:48:52+00:00

    I'm experiencing the same issue specifically with iPad Pro, 12.9 inch, 3rd gen, with Folio cover keyboard - updated version of Outlook, current iOS 13.3.1

    Only happens with outlook - is solved temporarily by restarting app but eventually resurfaces behavior. Other office apps unaffected.

    Typing appears to be truncated by time rather than say character count or specific keys - it simply stops as if the keyboard were disconnected. You can type again by reinserting the cursor by touching - again it will fail shortly thereafter until app is force quit and restarted. Once the bug starts, typing can only be done for about three seconds

    Other apps function normally with no issues during those events.

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