# Symbol Keyboard-Character Pad — user reviews > 121 indexed App Store user reviews of Symbol Keyboard by ShuMei Liang, rated 4.70/5 from 3,133 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/symbol-keyboard-character-pad/id811743313/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/symbol-keyboard-character-pad/id811743313.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 2,639 · 4★ 243 · 3★ 110 · 2★ 48 · 1★ 93 ## What do users think of Symbol Keyboard? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 💎 Wide range of symbols - 👍 Easy to use - 🆓 Free app with no subscription - 📚 Comprehensive symbol library - 🗂️ Ability to organize symbols **Cons** - 🔍 Difficult to find specific symbols - 🧭 Unintuitive category organization - 🚫 Ads interrupt usage - 🔀 Keyboard integration issues - 🔍 Lacking search functionality **Commonly reported bugs** - Crashes when opening the app - Keyboard fails to switch back to default **Most requested features** - Add preset symbol organization (e.g. A-Z) - Implement settings menu (dark mode, custom folders) - Integrate keyboard with system for easier access - Improve search to find symbols quickly ## Newest reviews (15 of 121) ### 2/5 — Keeps getting loaded *2026-06-17, version 1.8.2* I can’t install th3 font sorry it tak3 too long ### 3/5 — Useful but not pleasant to use *2025-07-24, version 1.8.2* I love having all of Unicode available when I’m typing, however it can be challenging to find a specific symbol when it’s hidden at the bottom of the list inside one of countless categories. I would love a search feature where you type in the name of the character you’re looking for, if such a thing is possible. It would also be nice if the categories were arranged more intuitively, because it takes a lot of niche knowledge to understand the default categories. ### 4/5 — Good App *2023-12-19, version 1.7.0* I like the app, there’s a wide range of symbols and you can pick and choose which categories of symbols will be available on your keyboard so it isn’t too cluttered. My only gripe is that there doesn’t seem to be the regular male and female gender/Mars and Venus symbols. There are other gender marking symbols and every other planetary symbol, but not those two which I type a lot and have to go and copy and paste from elsewhere. ### 2/5 — why *2023-08-19, version 1.7.0* when i try opening up symbol it crashes no matter what. ### 4/5 — Good App *2023-07-24* I like the app, there’s a wide range of symbols and you can pick and choose which categories of symbols will be available on your keyboard so it isn’t too cluttered. My only gripe is that there doesn’t seem to be the regular male and female gender/Mars and Venus symbols. There are other gender marking symbols but not those two which I type a lot and have to go and copy and paste from elsewhere. ### 2/5 — ⚠️ Foreign Language Ads *2023-05-20, version 1.7.0* You need to warn people about ads that are written in a language other English. It looks like Chinese, but I don’t know. If I want to use this app, I have no option but to engage the add and click on a button, hoping I’m not sent to a fraudulent website in a language I don’t understand. Apple needs to do something about this unacceptable nonsense. Other issues: • The search feature is useless. • It doesn’t have all of the symbols that I use. • And if I want to remove/delete a symbol from favorites, there is no option to do so. ### 3/5 — Good for the most part but…. *2023-04-14, version 1.7.0* Would really like to see support of all the Unicode characters like Tai Xuan Jing, or the mathematical alphanumeric characters, and the alchemical symbols. ### 4/5 — Excellent! Just ONE fix… *2023-03-10, version 1.7.0* Update to below comment 4 months later: Any chance of updating the emojis !!?? ————— This keyboard is excellent: It’s the only one I could find that has Symbols and Color Emojis — but stays simple/clean. Also, unlike most others, it doesn’t require Full Access. And, layout + organization of Symbols nicely arranged. I’ve been using this for a few years now. There’s just one thing during that time I’ve really been hoping for: Emoji update ( ! ) Thank you! ### 4/5 — Excellent! Just ONE fix… *2022-11-22, version 1.6.8* This keyboard is excellent: It’s the only one I could find that has Symbols and Color Emojis — but stays simple/clean. Also, unlike most others, it doesn’t require Full Access. And, layout + organization of Symbols nicely arranged. I’ve been using this for a few years now. There’s just one thing during that time I’ve really been hoping for: Emoji update ( ! ) Thank you! ### 4/5 — Fontastic *2022-10-04, version 1.6.8* Like the app. because of the keyboard and typing the variety of fonts directly into documents. It would be even better if you could include Anatolian Hieroglyphs. ### 3/5 — Still works *2021-06-13, version 1.6.4* Rate nagged after updating the app. ### 4/5 — Need symbol "SQUARE ERA NAME REIWA" (U+32FF) *2021-03-24, version 1.5.6* The category "CJK Compatibility" needs the symbol U+32FF SQUARE ERA NAME REIWA, placed after the existing U+337B SQUARE ERA NAME HEISEI. It's the third year of Reiwa already. ### 4/5 — Amazing keyboard, one glitch though *2021-03-13, version 1.5.4* So i bought this app and was gonna use it on discord, so when i got to the keyboard it went the the apple emoji keyboard instead. ### 3/5 — good app but.. *2021-03-12, version 1.5.4* it's a great app but after the most recent update, i can't use it. it just won't let me pull it up as a keyboard anymore. ### 4/5 — A little bug that I hate. *2021-03-11, version 1.5.2* Yeah I love the app it’s just when I go to use it on my keyboard it switches me back to my other one and everytime I do, it does the same thing and that’s pretty annoying, and I have to re-download it. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Bro… *2025-10-04, version 1.8.2* Yeah right. Going to the app again and again just to type one symbol over and over again like bro, I can't make a paragraph! ### 1/5 — Almost does what you want it to! *2025-07-06, version 1.8.2* Why can’t this app just be a Unicode keyboard? It almost is, but some elements are removed, moved elsewhere, etc. It has the potential to be great, but right now it’s just ok. Finding the character you need is mostly like searching for a literal needle in a haystack, unfortunately. ### 1/5 — No zero star option *2025-01-27, version 1.8.0* Unusable: goes right to an ad when I open the app and even once the ad is over I can’t get to the actual app. Just a play for ad revenue. ### 1/5 — Useless *2023-10-16, version 1.7.0* The search function only filters the list of alphabets/categories — it does not actually return a selection of symbols. ### 1/5 — Big Ad, cannot close it *2023-05-18, version 1.7.0* I opened this app following an extended absence, and was presented with a full screen advertisement that I could not close. ### 1/5 — Unusable now *2022-09-26, version 1.6.8* I’ve been using this app for over a year and now all of the sudden when I open it there’s always a full page ad in Chinese. I clicked on the ad once to see if it went away and it didn’t. I don’t want to keep clicking on an ad in a language I can’t read so I can’t get the ad to go away. I deleted this app and found a new one. ### 1/5 — Used to be my favorite Symbols app *2021-04-21, version 1.6.0* Initially I would’ve rated this app 5 stars. it was simple, had every symbol and wing ding you could think of and the main reason the integrated iOS keyboard extension. Previously under keyboards you had to assign it full access to be used within the keyboard when used in apps, etc. Now that’s no longer there to grant access and it crashes upon trying to enable it on the KB extension. So thus making it totally useless to me. Using UniChar atm but its not 100% free nor has a space bar option when its enabled. If the dev of this app fixes the issue I will be happy to redownload and update my review. ### 1/5 — Sluggish *2020-12-28, version 1.4.6* When I opened my app, the buttons wouldn’t respond for 15 seconds. Then this review dialogue popped up after that negative experience. Therefore, negative review. ### 1/5 — G *2020-05-12, version 1.3.2* ⥤keeps screwing up and NOT going back to regular keyboard ### 1/5 — Won’t work after update *2018-09-04, version 1.1.8* Won’t work after update. Can you please fix? ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — After 4 years.. *2025-07-11, version 1.8.2* After literally 4 years of trying to find random symbols i can easily copy paste, i finally found this. You can use EVERY symbol in the list, not just the first line. No subscription, hardly any ads, lots to choose from, a way to organize them, and you can access the WHOLE list on a keyboard, and type the symbols. I absolutely LOVE this. I do have a few suggestions: 1: As much as i do love that you can organize the symbols, i do wish there was a preset organizer, (e. A-Z.) so we don’t have to organize it a-z ourselves, but this can be added whenever. 2: An actual settings menu, like to change it to a dark mode or something. 2.5: The ability to make a custom little folder with your favorite ones (the Frequently Used menu is great, but what if we want to revisit an old one and forgot where it was) Other than those suggestions, this app is a really useful for using unique symbols. ### 5/5 — nice! *2024-05-19, version 1.7.2* nice! ### 5/5 — Icons *2023-09-16, version 1.7.0* I ### 5/5 — Good app, but it interrupts my work with Pop-overs! *2023-09-08, version 1.7.0* I would have given this app 4 stars but it interrupted my work with a POP-OVER. I hate them. Imagine that you went into a store to buy milk and your way was suddenly blocked by a man with a sign who jumped out in front of you. Would you shop there again? Sadly there is no option but to return. Arghhhh! ### 5/5 — Great *2022-10-30, version 1.6.8* I love it, and l love having a bunch of little symbols on a keyboard! But can you please add different variations of the pi symbol because I could not find the certain one that I wanted ### 5/5 — 👍👍👍👍👍 *2022-01-12, version 1.6.4* SOLID UNICODE KEYBOARD ❕ ### 5/5 — If it just broke for you, read this, please *2021-03-14, version 1.5.4* Previous title & post: "Was amazing, *literally* unusable after last update ★★☆☆☆ Same as the reviewer before me. I can't even access the keyboard. I also don't have the option to give it full access in settings. If this is fixed, I'll change my rating back to five stars, but at the moment the app is entirely broken." Turns out, either updating to the newest iOS or restarting my phone fixed it, and now it's back to working great! The only things I would change are: - The fact that some characters aren't included, ex: cursive font letters - Needing to open the app to use the search function. It would be nice to be able to search from within the keyboard, though this one is a minor complaint - The biggest thing I would like to see is the ability to create a custom section. I think this would solve a lot of people's complaints. Maybe it could function sort of like an "On The Go" playlist on an iPod, where you can save all or some of your recently used as a new section, and then add and remove from there? Alternatively, there could just be an "add/edit symbols" option that brings up a text field containing what's already in the custom section, and you can just type in whatever characters you would like to add. However, even without these features, I can't recommend this app enough. Literally the only even remotely decent one like it I've found. ### 5/5 — Awesome but I have a suggestion! *2021-02-27, version 1.5.0* This has lots of cool symbols and it’s all organized, but I don’t fully agree with HOW it’s organized. I can tell a lot of work went into this so I don’t mean to be rude but please keep reading! I think it would be better if you could see all the symbols at once, or if there were less categories. The search option is super helpful as well, but there’s lots of cool symbols you wouldn’t even think to search for. My suggestion is that you don’t have to scroll and scroll and scroll, just have all the symbols available to see, or have less categories. It would make the app easier to navigate. Thank you for reading and please take my suggestion into consideration! ### 5/5 — Great app *2021-02-04, version 1.5.0* Wonderful app. Like the variety of symbols I can not get elsewhere ### 5/5 — This app is great but the reviews are not *2021-01-29, version 1.5.0* This app is amazing, and I’ve used it so much and the fact that it doesn’t needs full access And is 100% free makes it perfect, but it is hilarious seeing the reviewers being mad that they didn’t get all the different modern cringeworthy fonts, and Thats not what this app is for. Amazing app, you have everything you could ever have! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-31.*