Gingerbread keyboard issue discovered!

[onthecouchagain]

UPDATED WITH VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUZdvr6Pdjk


As some of you already know, I've been a big critic of the Gingerbread keyboard, specifically about an oddity that seems to occur with the first letter and/or sometimes the last letter of words repeating themselves. For example, like "tthis" or "thiss."

After a lot of investigating, early speculation pointed to perhaps typing too fast or the over sensitivity of the Nexus S screen. As it turns out, none of those reasons are the cause. Smeone at the XDA forums discovered it has everything to do with the space bar; it's a glitch with Gingerbread keyboard itself.

To recreate:

Try typing "Good game" but after the "g" in "game" backspace until the end "good" (so that the cursor is at the end of the letter 'd' in 'good'), then hit the space bar again and type the word "game" again. It should result in "ggame" despite a single press of the letter g.

So an example would go like this: Type g-o-o-d-spacebar-g-[then backspace/erase the g and the space, until your cursor is at the end of the "d" in "good"]-then hit space bar again and type "game" ... it should sometimes result in "ggame."

This doesn't happen every single time, but it happens every now and then, so just keep trying. It should occur.

I created a report to Google here: Issue 14755 - android - Android keyboard glitch: double-letters - Project Hosting on Google Code

and submitted a report in the Google Help Forum as well here: Keyboard registers double-hits randomly... - Google Mobile Help

 

[onthecouchagain]

For what it's worth, I created a report to Google here: Issue 14755 - android - Android keyboard glitch: double-letters - Project Hosting on Google Code

and submitted a report in the Google Help Forum as well here: Keyboard registers double-hits randomly... - Google Mobile Help

If anyone can recreate this problem, or if anyone has also experienced double-letters, please visit those links and star and/or add your two cents.

Thanks.

 

[onthecouchagain]

My goodness, i can even predict when it'll happen.

Whenever you start typing a new word, it's usually underlined (spell check or the spelling suggestion kicking into place).

Typing out "good game" looks like this "good ga " usually. But right before the glitch occurs, the "g" in "game" doesn't have the underline. Whenever it has the underline, it'll continue typing out normally. You get "good game." Whenever the underline disappears as you start typing the second word, you'll get the glitch, "good gga".

EDIT: An example of the glitch happening when typing looks like this: "Good ggame" before you hit the space bar when typing a word, it'll remain underline. The glitched letter, in this case the first letter "g" doesn't have an underline.

Goodness, I can't wait to make a video of this. I swear, I'm not insane.

 

[font1975]

Can't seem to recreate it. This screen is very sensitive, so when I do see mistype or double type, it's generally when my big finger hits something else. (Like the period instead of the space)

But if it is reproducible, perhaps they can fix it. But I wouldn't hold your breath. I'm beginning to think that Google creates the OS, makes it stable, then just "tacks on" the other apps, like Launcher, Email, Keyboard, etc. So the glitches you see in the "other" programs may never really get fixed.

Think of it like this: You buy Windows and you get WordPad. It's functional, but everyone knows you have to purchase a real word processing app if you want to use it in any meaningful way. I think Android is like this, to some degree:

Email app is OK but something better is in the Market, like K9
Browser app is OK but Dolphin HD is better
Launcher is OK, but LauncherPro is better...

<you get the idea>

Have you tried turning off the prediction feature to see if that clears the problem?

 

[onthecouchagain]

I'm going to make a video of this tonight and post it up on Youtube.

I just hope it comes out clearly on my small Canon cam. It's difficult to take pictures of the screen already. Will update tonight.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Have you tried turning off the prediction feature to see if that clears the problem?

With or without the auto correction feature on, I can recreate this.

Can you run me through the procedure you tried? Remember, type the first word, then the first letter of the second word, then backspace/erase that first letter AND THE SPACE (from the space bar press after the first word), then obviously hit space again and finish the second word (or as I notice, you don't even need to finish the second word). Try any two words. I can recreate this using any two words.

I don't believe it has to do with the screen sensitivity for two reasons. 1) I can't recreate this problem on Smart Keyboard Pro; and 2) it only happens with the first letter or the last letter of words, not coincidentally prior to or after using the space bar. It never double hits the letters in between words. For example, I never get "thhis" or "thiis," I only ever get "tthis" or "thiss".

Will try to demonstrate everything on video tonight.

 

[font1975]

Sure:

I type: G-o-o-d<space>g-a-m
I backspaced all the way back to (but not erasing) the "d"
I then hit <space>g-a-m-e

I'm typing slow and deliberately, and it's not occurring for me. I tried it in the SMS app and my company's "Good for Enterprise" app.

I have seen double-letters and "non-hits" on the space bar when I type on the phone. But for me it's quite random. Now, I have to confess, I suck on typing with a touch screen. So my "errors" can be software or user, which is why I probably never thought to dig into this. (But I love these thin phones, so that's the cross I bear I guess ).

 

[onthecouchagain]

I type: G-o-o-d<space>g-a-m
I backspaced all the way back to (but not erasing) the "d"
I then hit <space>g-a-m-e

That should do it. It doesn't happen every single time, but it does happen. Try repeating it multiple times. If it comes out as "ga" then it's okay, you can start erasing to the 'd' and try again.

A way to know when it'll happen or not is if you see an underline under the first letter. Like "Good g" will mean it'll type out fine, but "Good g" without the underline, means the next letter or even space bar will result in "Good gga" or if you use the space bar "Good gg "

Again, will try to post video tonight. I just hope the camera can capture it clearly.

 

[Smokexz]

I cannot recreate it as well as you can, but I am just completely blown away, this has happened to me so much, it hasn't happened yet and I am typing ththis on my Nexus S! There it is lol, its random for me, hopefully Icecream will fix tthis or maybe 2.3.3?

Sent from my Nexus S

 

[onthecouchagain]

I cannot recreate it as well as you can, but I am just completely blown away, this has happened to me so much, it hasn't happened yet and I am typing ththis on my Nexus S! There it is lol, its random for me, hopefully Icecream will fix tthis or maybe 2.3.3?

Sent from my Nexus S

Yes, thank you for validation. It happens to me randomly too, and only now have I figured out how to actually recreate it. I'm telling you all, Ryandi at XDA was right: it has a lot to do with the space bar.

And yes, it does the first two letters too: like "ththis" just as you have it in your post. I get that too. It's incredibly bizarre and faulty.

Please Smokey, and anyone else also experiencing this, visit my reports and star/add your responses:

I created a report to Google here: Issue 14755 - android - Android keyboard glitch: double-letters - Project Hosting on Google Code

and submitted a report in the Google Help Forum as well here: Keyboard registers double-hits randomly... - Google Mobile Help

 

[Dexter73]

My biggest problem typing on the keyboard is that when I hit the spacebar I sometimes hit the letters c,v,or b. I sometimes end up with words that have c,v, or b at the end of it.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Okay, folks, my video is finally uploaded: YouTube - Android stock keyboard glitch: double letters

As you can see, I can even tell when the glitch will happen depending on if the underline disappears or not whilst typing. When it does disappear, no matter what you press (be it letter or the space bar) it duplicates the first letter. As Ryandi predicted earlier, I think it has something specifically to do with a glitch with the space bar.

The reason I don't think it has to do with typing speeds or the sensitivity of the Nexus S screen is firstly, I'm demonstrating the glitch very slowly. I even pause to talk about it before the moment I demo the problem. Secondly, I don't believe it has to do with the screen sensitivity for two reasons: 1) I cannot recreate this problem on Smart Keyboard Pro, try as I may; and 2) it only happens with the first letter or the last letter of words, not coincidentally prior to or after using the space bar. It never double hits the letters in between words. For example, I never get "thhis" or "thiis," I only ever get "tthis" or "thiss".

The core issue is with the Android keyboard itself, and more specifically, has something to do with the space bar.

I've reported this to Google here Issue 14755 - android - Android keyboard glitch: double-letters - Project Hosting on Google Code and here at the Google Help Forum: Keyboard registers double-hits randomly... - Google Mobile Help. If you people would be kind enough to visit the links and star the report or even add your own two cents, especially if you're experiencing this glitch yourself, that would be fantastic.

Thanks for watching.

 

[font1975]

Can you recreate this without using backspace? It really does look like it's not an issue with the space-bar so much as an issue with auto-correct and the interaction of the space-bar and backspace.

What I mean is when you backspace, you're telling the system to stop auto-correcting. (Try it; type "Helli" hit space and you will see it corrects to "Hello". Without typing anything else, hit backspace then space-bar again and it will restore it to "Helli" and no longer auto-correct it.)

It seems like when you backspace, then space-bar, then type a letter, the system sometimes get confused. It thinks the letter is meant to be part of the previous word or something. Then when you start typing, it's like "Oh wait, that letter is really a new word" and re-displays the last letter typed and begins the prediction, which you can see with the underline.

I noticed in your video that the first letter of the double-letter is not underlined, which seems to indicate that it thinks it's part of the previous word. Don't misunderstand me here. It's definitely a bug; but it's more complicated than a space-bar issue. There's definitely a failure between space, backspace, and auto-correct, and maybe even some of the settings.

Out of curiosity, can you list your Android Keyboard settings? I'll set mine to match and see if the bug is more easily re-producible for me.

 

[cenwesi]

It is a bug, i seriously doubt google will make that #1 priority to fix.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Can you recreate this without using backspace? It really does look like it's not an issue with the space-bar so much as an issue with auto-correct and the interaction of the space-bar and backspace.

What I mean is when you backspace, you're telling the system to stop auto-correcting. (Try it; type "Helli" hit space and you will see it corrects to "Hello". Without typing anything else, hit backspace then space-bar again and it will restore it to "Helli" and no longer auto-correct it.)

It seems like when you backspace, then space-bar, then type a letter, the system sometimes get confused. It thinks the letter is meant to be part of the previous word or something. Then when you start typing, it's like "Oh wait, that letter is really a new word" and re-displays the last letter typed and begins the prediction, which you can see with the underline.

I noticed in your video that the first letter of the double-letter is not underlined, which seems to indicate that it thinks it's part of the previous word. Don't misunderstand me here. It's definitely a bug; but it's more complicated than a space-bar issue. There's definitely a failure between space, backspace, and auto-correct, and maybe even some of the settings.

Out of curiosity, can you list your Android Keyboard settings? I'll set mine to match and see if the bug is more easily re-producible for me.

The demonstration in the video is only to recreate the problem "live" but otherwise, in normal typing, the issue pops up too. That's how I started investigating, posting, writing about it in the first place. In normal typing, the double letter issue occurs. So I don't believe it has to do with the back space, but it could. I don't know how deep the glitch runs.

Ryandi at XDA helped me discover how to actually recreate the problem, which is what was recorded on video.

My settings are:

Vibrate: unchecked
Sound: unchecked
Pop up: checked
Touch to Correct: checked
Auto Cap: checked
Show settings key: Always hide
Voice input: disabled
Input Languages: "English (United States)" selected
Quick Fixes: check
Show suggestions: check
Auto-Complete: check

I've recreated the glitch even with "Show Suggestions" turned off.

 

[font1975]

OK, got it finally (Never thought I'd be excited about recreating a bug. And now i'll probably have it all the time.) You might be interested to note, it's not tied just to the space-bar. I managed to reproduce it with the comma and the period.

The catch though, I could only cause it by being fast between hitting the space-bar and the next letter. Almost in one motion. (Pretty much just like you do in your video). I can't reproduce this when i have any kind of pause between the space-bar and the next letter, which is how a type normally. I guess Google should put a speed limit on here.

Of all the keyboards you have loaded on your phone, are none better for you than the Stock keyboard? (I've tried Swiftkey, but I seem to type worse on it than the stock).

 

[onthecouchagain]

OK, got it finally (Never thought I'd be excited about recreating a bug. And now i'll probably have it all the time.) You might be interested to note, it's not tied just to the space-bar. I managed to reproduce it with the comma and the period.

The catch though, I could only cause it by being fast between hitting the space-bar and the next letter. Almost in one motion. (Pretty much just like you do in your video). I can't reproduce this when i have any kind of pause between the space-bar and the next letter, which is how a type normally. I guess Google should put a speed limit on here.

Of all the keyboards you have loaded on your phone, are none better for you than the Stock keyboard? (I've tried Swiftkey, but I seem to type worse on it than the stock).

Thank you. Every time someone recreates the glitch, I do feel a little validated, and a little less crazy. Yes, as Ryandi from XDA goes on to elaborate on, the closer in time you type the next letter after the space bar, the more likely you can recreate the glitch. Not sure why this is... maybe it's a combination of multitouch, suggestions, and the general software? I'm not sure.

In either case, thank you for investigating. I hope you've starred, or will star, the report.

Currently, I'm using Better Keyboard 8, in which the problem also occurs, but slightly less frequently and the sheer fact that BK8 has a plethora of features to help with typing makes it easier to use (like a "?" key on the main keyboard). The best, in my opinion however, is Smart Keyboard Pro; or it should be the best. It has "Custom Auto Corrections" which is a brilliantly handy feature. Unfortunately, SKP for whatever reason has its own share of problems. It often misses keys and space bar presses, but I've been unable to recreate the double letter glitch on SKP... not even once.

You win some, you lose some. =T

 

[myphone]

i think it does this because when you delete the letter and retype it so many times it thinks you are done with that entry space so its using predictive text for the next entry... idk... just ideal
just use swype... works way better the stock and you dont have to type every single letter... i love swype... well except when i am driving then i switch back to stock for voice feature

 

[onthecouchagain]

i think it does this because when you delete the letter and retype it so many times it thinks you are done with that entry space so its using predictive text for the next entry... idk... just ideal

Unfortunately this is not the case. All the video is demonstrating is the recreation of the glitch. The glitch itself happens as you type normally (which is how I began investigating in the first place).

Also, for everyone, if you watch the video and observe the suggestion bar, it'll clearly show what I typed. For example, I only typed "th" as it shows in the suggestion bar. But in the written area, it shows "tth" which is inaccurate. As the suggestion bar shows, I only pressed t-h, not t-t-h. Likewise, in the second example, the suggestion bar only shows "fq" and not "ffq".

 

[onthecouchagain]

After manually pushing the 2.3.3 update, the issue remains.

Still experiencing the double-letter glitch. It hasn't increased nor decreased in frequency. It's about the same.

What's also frustrating is the double-double letter press. Sometimes words end up like "ththis" where the first two letters duplicate. It's ridiculous. Others have said they experienced this as well.

And when typing fast, I noticed more and more frequently that the keyboard misses auto corrections that it would normally get. So words like "taht" normally autocorrects to "that" but sometimes it misses it. In theory, I should never see the word "taht" in my messages unless I've specifically chosen to type "taht". But missed auto corrected words come up all the time.

Something about the keyboard just doesn't seem able to keep up with high speed typing.