KOI · Support

Support

Setup, common questions and troubleshooting. If the answer is not here, email us directly.

Getting started

Installing the app is not enough — iOS requires you to add the keyboard in Settings as well.

  1. Add the keyboard

    iOS Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard… → choose KOI under “Third-Party Keyboards”.

  2. (Optional) Turn on Full Access

    On the same screen, select KOI and turn on “Allow Full Access”. It is needed only for the AI features and pasting from the clipboard; without it the input method itself is completely normal.

  3. Switch to KOI

    In any text field, press and hold the globe key and pick KOI from the list. From there you can switch between the five input modes inside KOI itself.

Common questions

Why does KOI need “Full Access”? Can I leave it off?

iOS gives a third-party keyboard no networking capability at all without this permission. KOI needs it to connect to the AI features, to read the clipboard (only at the moment you press Paste) and to update the handwriting model.

Leaving it off is completely fine. The five input methods, candidates, learning, handwriting, symbols and cursor controls all still work. The only things you lose are the AI and paste.

Does what I type get sent anywhere?

No. The input engine runs entirely on the device, and that part of the code has no networking capability.

The one exception is when you open KOI Agent yourself and send a request: that sends your instruction and up to 2,000 UTF-16 units of text around the cursor. See the privacy policy for details.

How do I switch between the five input methods?

Choose the Chinese input mode in the KOI app's settings. Cangjie, Quick, Stroke, Jyutping and Zhuyin each have their own keyboard layout.

Does handwriting need a connection?

No. The Hong Kong Traditional Chinese handwriting model is built into the app, so it writes just as well in aeroplane mode. A connection is used only to update the model, and it works without updating.

What if I enter the wrong code or decompose a character wrongly?

KOI fills in candidates from near-miss codes and places them after the normal ones, so the candidate row never goes blank. To clear the whole composition, press delete twice in a row.

Why can I not type certain characters?

Candidates cover the Han characters in the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP). A small number of extremely rare extension characters (Unicode Ext B and beyond) are not included yet.

If a character is in common use and you cannot find it, email us with the code you typed and the character you wanted.

I have a new iPhone. How do I move my settings and learning history?

Turn on cross-device sync (a Plus feature). Sync uses your own private iCloud and does not pass through KOI's servers.

Sync is triggered manually: press sync in settings. It never runs in the background. Both devices have to be signed in to the same iCloud account.

What are Credits, and when are they spent?

Credits are used only for KOI Agent's AI actions. Everyday typing, candidates and handwriting recognition never cost Credits.

Reply, rewrite and translate cost 1 each, asking a question costs 2, generating a sticker costs 6, and generating an image costs 18.

A subscription grants 250 Credits each month, and each grant is valid for 60 days from the day it is issued; Credit packs bought separately do not expire.

How do I cancel a subscription, and how do refunds work?

To cancel: iOS Settings → your Apple Account → Subscriptions → KOI → Cancel Subscription. You keep access until the end of the current period.

Refunds are handled by Apple, not by KOI. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com.

Does KOI collect data about how I use it?

No. The app contains no analytics, crash-reporting or advertising tracking tools, and it does not read the advertising identifier.

Troubleshooting

KOI is missing when I hold the globe key

Usually the keyboard has not been added in iOS Settings — go back to the first step of Getting started. If it has been added and is still missing, restarting the device usually sorts it out.

The AI says the connection failed

Check in this order: Full Access is on, the network is reachable, and you have enough Credits. “Test connection” in the KOI app's settings will confirm it.

Sync does nothing

Check that the device is signed in to iCloud, that KOI's sync switch is on, and that you have pressed sync yourself — sync never runs in the background.

Candidate order is not what I want

KOI learns from what you pick, and after a few days of use it usually comes round. To start over, clear the learning history in settings.

Contact us

When reporting a problem, please include your iOS version, your KOI version, the input mode you were using, and the steps to reproduce it.