Onboarding and Settings still say "hold 123 to switch language"
efko DEV · iOS 26.6.2 · v2.1.1 ·
Reported by Vladimir via e-mail (EFKey 2.1.1, build 400, iOS 26.6.2): "holding the 123 key does not allow to switch input languages so the only way is to swipe on space. 123 on hold just switches the layout to symbols same as if tapped once."
What happens
Holding "123" is the momentary symbol layer since build 373 (hold, glide to a symbol, release). That is intended. But the app still tells people the old behaviour in three places:
- Onboarding › Languages demo card: "Hold 123 and pick a language, slide your finger to the one you want and release."
- Settings › Languages footer: "In the keyboard, hold 123 and pick a language, that's how you switch while typing." (and with one language: "you'll switch between them by holding 123").
- Settings › Languages › Order in the switcher footer: "This is the order you'll see when you hold 123 in the keyboard."
All three are localized into 24 languages, so the wrong text is everywhere.
What should happen
The texts should describe how switching actually works today:
- horizontal swipe on the spacebar (on by default),
- the language key in place of the emoji key (tap = next language, hold = picker),
- Pro: the language action on long-press of 123 or comma.
Follow-up worth considering
The 🌐 action on long-press (123 / comma) only cycles to the next language. With three languages that is a four-step cycle. Opening the language picker instead (as muleluku suggested in #27) would match what the onboarding card promises.
Where in code: HostApp/FeatureDemosView.swift (.languageSwitch), Shared/SettingsView.swift (Languages footer, Order footer), Shared/Resources/i18n/ui_*.json.
Discussion
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Holding 123 changed a while ago: while you hold it, the keyboard shows the symbols, so you can glide to one and release. Language switching moved to a sideways swipe on the spacebar. If you'd rather keep it on 123, open the EFKey app, go to Keyboard › Long-press "123" (part of Pro), switch it to Actions and keep only Language. From 2.1.3 on, holding 123 then opens your language list: slide to one and release to switch. You can also set "Next to space bar" to Languages, which works the same way on hold and goes to the next language on tap. The app still described the old 123 gesture in onboarding and in Settings › Languages, which is where the confusion came from. That text is fixed in 2.1.3 too, the next App Store update.