Missing Auto-Correct Behavior

[rickaltman]

I love my new phone and just about every aspect of the OS...with one exception, and it is seemingly the smallest thing which has begun to nag at me.

Let's say I mean to type the expression 24x7 into an email or a text. The phone thinks I intended to type the number 247 and autocorrects it (which I'm okay with -- most of the time it would be right). In a previous version of the OS, I needed only to backspace in order to override the autocorrect and restore my original input.

In retrospect, that was brilliant -- it kept me in my typing flow much more than I realized. I seem to be unable to do that now. Today, I must retype the phrase and touch the arrow on the left of the autocorrect bar. Or I must recognize that I want 24x7 before I press the trailing space and touch that arrow. Either choice pales in comparison.

It would be my sincere hope that I have overlooked a setting; if not, why was this simple capability removed and how/with whom do I lobby to get it back!


Rick A.
Pleasanton CA

 

[iggibar]

I came from the Note 2 and am hating the same thing. I absolutely hate the way autocorrect works now.

 

[BlueBiker]

Are you using the default Samsung keyboard input method? You can easily switch to Swype, which is preinstalled, and you can also install Swype + Dragon from the Google Play store, which has even more features.

 

[rickaltman]

Hate is a bit too strong for me because, in general, I like the accuracy and the judgment that the current auto-correct engine shows. It's a simple fact that no engine, no matter how brilliantly-crafted, can always know what I intend to say. So miscalculations are completely expected and their frequency is well within an acceptable range.

It's just too bad that the system took a step backward in dealing with the times when the engine guesses wrong. It used to be so easy to trump the system; now it is quite difficult.

 

[rickaltman]

Blue, I am using the stock Samsung keyboard, after heavy flirtations with several others. Do you suppose that the behavior I describe is a product of the keyboard? In any event, I will definitely try the one you suggest.

 

[BlueBiker]

I don't really know, I've only used the Samsung keyboard briefly. I have a long list of custom words in my Swype dictionary and like that they can be backed up and restored. But I've tried SwiftKey and some others -- it's great that if you don't like how the keyboard works there are lots of alternatives.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

24x7. No problems with my Samsung keyboard. No updates for t-mobile anyway.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

@rickaltmsn try going into System settings, Controls tab, Language and input snd tapping on the gear across from the Samsung keyboard. Then turn off Auto replacement. Predictive text will keep working but the keyboard should stop second guessing you.

 

[rickaltman]

Bobby, I realized afterward that I used an example, 24x7, that might not be apt, as dictionaries might indeed have that word in there. But to clarify, my point is not about the accuracy of auto-correct; it is about the interface for when I want to override it. It used to be so easy -- just press Backspace -- and now it's not.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Okay rick. Guess I'll have to wait for tmo to send out an update before I can really test that.

 

[rickaltman]

Thanks, Bobby -- I thought about that, but I like Auto-Replacement. 90% of the time, it is right. It's the behavior during the other 10% that bothers me.

 

[FBA]

I downloaded Swiftkey and have never looked back. It does it so much better than the stock keyboard.

 

[TheFoukeMonster]

I appreciate the above comments, but on my Samsung Galaxy Express I don't seem to have autocorrect...at all! It's incredibly frustrating to text or type anything. I misspell about half the words by about a letter. It correctly shows me the spelling (in blue) of the word, but I have stop typing, tap the word then tap the correct spelling. It's very slow and tedious. I'm sure the 90% correct guessing autocorrect would work very well for me. With my previous iphone, it corrected words inaccurately with some regularity. However, it was much easier to edit that than my entirely mistyped messages. How can I get an autocorrect installed? I'm new to Android, 1 week on the job.

 

[Digital Controller]

I appreciate the above comments, but on my Samsung Galaxy Express I don't seem to have autocorrect...at all! It's incredibly frustrating to text or type anything. I misspell about half the words by about a letter. It correctly shows me the spelling (in blue) of the word, but I have stop typing, tap the word then tap the correct spelling. It's very slow and tedious. I'm sure the 90% correct guessing autocorrect would work very well for me. With my previous iphone, it corrected words inaccurately with some regularity. However, it was much easier to edit that than my entirely mistyped messages. How can I get an autocorrect installed? I'm new to Android, 1 week on the job.

Might want to try a different keyboard like Swiftkey or Swype.