GoKawiilEdgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR A Gmail bug on Pixel phones is making it difficult or impossible to start typing email replies.
Instead of opening the keyboard, Gmail shows the Gemini-powered “Help me write” interface and requires extra taps to access the text field.
The issue seems to affect only Pixel devices so far, while our testing on some non-Pixel Android phones has not reproduced it.
A strange Gmail bug appears to be affecting some Pixel users, making something as simple as replying to an email far more difficult than it should be.
Multiple users have reported that when they tap “Reply” in the Gmail app on their Pixel phones, the keyboard doesn’t automatically appear. Instead, Gmail prominently displays Gemini’s “Help me write” interface, complete with the icon and the “Swipe” prompt encouraging users to generate an AI-assisted response.
In our own testing, the issue appears on both a Pixel 10 Pro XL and a Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
On the Pixel 10 Pro XL, it’s still possible to start typing, but only after a series of extra steps. Tapping the keyboard hide button in the lower-left corner and then repeatedly tapping the text field eventually brings up the keyboard.
Adamya Sharma / Android Authority
The situation is worse on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, where the reply field doesn’t appear to expose a cursor at all. Tapping on the reply field does nothing, effectively leaving Help Me Write as the only visible option to reply to an email.
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