You’re not going to “break” anything in Settings, so you can relax a bit. Worst case, keyboard is weird for a minute and you just switch back.
@reveurdenuit already covered the standard path nicely. Let me add some extra angles and a couple alternatives so you’re not stuck if your menus look different or the app is being stubborn.
1. Use the keyboard app’s own prompt (often the easiest)
Most third‑party keyboards walk you through setup the first time you open them:
- Open the new keyboard app from your app drawer.
- It usually shows a wizard like:
- “Enable in Settings”
- “Select input method” / “Set as default”
- Just tap through those steps and let the app jump you into the right Settings page.
If you skipped this earlier, open the app again; a lot of them re-show the setup banner.
2. Use the “Input method picker” shortcut
Sometimes it is faster than digging through menus:
- Open any app where you can type (Messages, WhatsApp, browser URL bar).
- Tap the text field so your current keyboard shows.
- While the keyboard is open, drag down the notification shade.
- Look for something like:
- “Choose input method”
- “Select keyboard”
- Tap that and pick your new keyboard.
That temporarily sets it; on many phones this effectively becomes your default until you change it again.
I slightly disagree with @reveurdenuit on one small point: they say “nothing you do in these menus breaks the phone.” In reality you can annoy yourself if you turn all keyboards off and then forget what you did. But even then, a reboot + going back into Settings fixes it, so it’s more “mild self‑sabotage” than actual damage.
3. Double-check permissions if it keeps switching back
If the new keyboard keeps dropping back to Gboard or Samsung Keyboard:
- Go to Settings → Apps → your new keyboard.
- Make sure:
- It isn’t restricted in battery settings (turn off “Optimize” or aggressive power saving).
- It has allowed permissions if it asks for them (e.g. “Full access” is needed for some features).
Some “phone manager” or “security” apps like to kill third‑party keyboards in the background, which makes Android fall back to the stock one.
4. Quick way to swap when you’re testing
While you’re deciding if you like the new keyboard:
- Use that keyboard/globe icon on the navigation bar or on the keyboard itself to flip between them on the fly, instead of going back into Settings every time.
- If there’s no icon, the notification “Select keyboard” shortcut I mentioned is your friend.
5. If you really panic and want everything “back to normal”
- Uninstall the new keyboard app.
- Restart the phone.
- Android will auto-switch to the built‑in keyboard (Gboard, Samsung, whatever came with your phone).
There’s nothing permanent here; you can’t ruin anything by turning a keyboard on or off.
TL;DR: poke around in Language & input without fear. You’re more likely to get slightly confused than to mess something up. And if it does get weird, just switch back via the notification “input method” option or uninstall the new one and you’re back where you started.