Configuration profile to disable Auto-Correction on iOS devices

Learn how to disable Auto-Correction on iOS devices using a configuration profile.

Auto-Correction feature on devices automatically corrects misspelled words using the keyboard dictionary for spell-check as you type. While this feature can be helpful for users in avoiding spelling errors, it may not be adequate in every business setting or keyboard usage scenario. The configuration profile explained here can be used to configure iOS devices to have the Auto-Correction feature disabled. You can deploy the configuration profile using Hexnode’s Deploy Custom Configuration feature.

Disclaimer:

The configuration profile provided below is adapted from a third-party open-source site.

Notes:

This configuration profile is supported on supervised devices running iOS 8.1.3 and later.

Disable Auto-Correction

Configuration profile to disable Auto-Correction

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>PayloadContent</key> <array> <dict> <key>PayloadDisplayName</key> <string>Restrictions</string> <key>PayloadIdentifier</key> <string>com.apple.applicationaccess.F1D738AE-A1FE-4260-A9B1-BDB52843AFD3</string> <key>PayloadType</key> <string>com.apple.applicationaccess</string> <key>PayloadUUID</key> <string>F1D738AE-A1FE-4260-A9B1-BDB52843AFD3</string> <key>PayloadVersion</key> <integer>1</integer> <key>allowAutoCorrection</key> <false/> </dict> </array> <key>PayloadDisplayName</key> <string>Untitled</string> <key>PayloadIdentifier</key> <string>1234567</string> <key>PayloadType</key> <string>Configuration</string> <key>PayloadUUID</key> <string>3047CFBF-BC13-45B3-944C-108DAB49B6B2</string> <key>PayloadVersion</key> <integer>1</integer> </dict> </plist>

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>PayloadContent</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>PayloadDisplayName</key>
<string>Restrictions</string>
<key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
<string>com.apple.applicationaccess.F1D738AE-A1FE-4260-A9B1-BDB52843AFD3</string>
<key>PayloadType</key>
<string>com.apple.applicationaccess</string>
<key>PayloadUUID</key>
<string>F1D738AE-A1FE-4260-A9B1-BDB52843AFD3</string>
<key>PayloadVersion</key>
<integer>1</integer>
<key>allowAutoCorrection</key>
<false/>
</dict>
</array>
<key>PayloadDisplayName</key>
<string>Untitled</string>
<key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
<string>1234567</string>
<key>PayloadType</key>
<string>Configuration</string>
<key>PayloadUUID</key>
<string>3047CFBF-BC13-45B3-944C-108DAB49B6B2</string>
<key>PayloadVersion</key>
<integer>1</integer>
</dict>
</plist>

The allowAutoCorrection key is set to false in the configuration profile, which will disable both the Auto-Correction and Smart Punctuation features on the iOS device.

Smart Punctuation on iOS is a feature that automatically formats certain types of punctuation, such as quotation marks and apostrophes, as the user types. When Auto-Correction is disabled, the device will not automatically correct misspelled words as the user types, and when Smart Punctuation is disabled, the device will not automatically format these types of punctuation.

What happens at the device end?

With the deployment of the configuration profile, both the Auto-Correction and Smart Punctuation options on the iOS device will be disabled and greyed out in the Settings app under General > Keyboard. This means that the user will not be able to turn these features on or off from the device’s settings.

Note:

To create and customize configuration profiles, you can use tools like Apple Configurator, Profile Manager or manually create them using text editors.
Use non-encrypted .mobileconfig, .xml, or plist files to deploy profiles across devices.
Ensure that you do not associate conflicting configurations with the devices.
Use wildcards to fetch key values from the portal.
It is recommended to manually validate the configuration profile on a system before executing it in bulk.
Hexnode will not be responsible for any damage/loss to the system on the behavior of the configuration profile.