How to change keyboard, voice typing, emoji theme on Windows 11

The text input settings let you change the colors of the touch keyboard, voice typing, emoji, and other input methods on Windows 11 22H2.

Text input theme
Text input theme

On Windows 11, you can customize the touch keyboard and other input methods, such as voice typing and the emoji panel, with custom colors to add some of your own personality to the experience.

You can select from fifteen predefined themes or create your own theme. You can even use a custom image as a background across the input methods.

In the original release of Windows 11, you were limited to customizing the touch keyboard only. However, in version 22H2 and higher releases is now possible to change the colors for all text input methods, including the touch keyboard, voice typing, and emoji panel.

In this guide, you will learn the steps to change the theme color for the text input methods on Windows 11.

Change keyboard, voice typing, emoji theme

To change the theme color for the touch keyboard, emoji panel, voice typing, and other input elements on Windows 11, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings on Windows 11.

  2. Click on Personalization.

  3. Click the Text input tab.

  4. Select the theme for the touch keyboard, voice typing, and emoji panel.

    Text input themes

If you are customizing the touch keyboard, you can click the “Touch keyboard” setting to change the keyboard’s size, the font size, and whether to show the key background.

Create custom keyboard, voice typing, emoji theme

To create a custom text input theme, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings.

  2. Click on Personalization.

  3. Click the Text input tab.

  4. Under the “Theme” section, click the Custom theme button.

    Open Custom theme page

  5. Use the “Background color” setting to choose the primary color of the text input interface.

    Custom input theme settings

  6. Use the “Accent color” setting to choose the color for elements like buttons.

  7. Use the “Text color” setting to specify a color for the text.

  8. Click the Save button.

If you are customizing the keyboard, you can click the “Touch keyboard” setting to change the key background color, transparency, and text color.

Use background image on keyboard, voice typing, emoji theme

To use a custom image for the background of the input method editors on Windows 11, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings.

  2. Click on Personalization.

  3. Click the Text input tab.

  4. Under the “Theme” section, click the Custom theme button.

    Open Custom theme page

  5. Click the Background picture setting.

  6. In the “Choose a picture” setting, click the Browse button to select an image.

    Touch keyboard custom background image

  7. In the “Choose a fit” setting, select a fit option for the image.

  8. Use the Image brightness slider to adjust the brightness of the background image.

  9. Click the Save button.

Once you complete the steps, you will see the custom image as the background for the touch keyboard, emoji panel, voice typing, and other input methods.

The “Text input” settings are available on the Windows 11 2022 Update and higher releases. In the original release of Windows 11, the page was called “Touch keyboard,” and it only allowed you to change the settings for the on-screen keyboard.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].