How to switch keyboard language on every device

Last updated: 14 October 2026 · 6 min read

The short version: Windows Alt+Shift or Win+Space · Mac Ctrl+Space or the Globe key · Chromebook Ctrl+Space · Android the globe key or a swipe on the space bar · iPhone the globe key. Below: how to add Hebrew on each, why the language jumps back by itself, and the one way to never press the shortcut again.

Windows 10 and 11

Shortcut: Alt+Shift switches to the next language; Win+Space opens a picker you can hold and cycle. Click the ENG/עב indicator on the taskbar to pick with the mouse.
Add Hebrew: Settings → Time & Language → Language & region → Add a language → Hebrew → Install. The Hebrew layout now appears in the switcher.
Change the shortcut: Settings → Time & Language → Typing → Advanced keyboard settings → Input language hot keys.
Per window or global: by default Windows remembers the language per app window. Same screen, tick or untick "Let me set a different input method for each app window".

Full walkthrough with screenshots and the fixes when nothing happens: switching keyboard language on Windows 11. Alt+Shift stopped working? That has its own page.

Mac

Shortcut: Ctrl+Space switches to the previous input source, Ctrl+Option+Space cycles through all of them. On recent keyboards the Globe (fn) key does it too. The flag or א/A symbol in the menu bar opens the list.
Add Hebrew: System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → Edit → + → Hebrew. Pick Hebrew (the standard Israeli layout) unless your keyboard is a PC one, then Hebrew – PC.
Per document: System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → "Automatically switch to a document's input source".

Details, including the Globe-key setting and what to do when the shortcut is taken by Spotlight: switching keyboard language on a Mac.

Android

Gboard (most phones): tap the globe key, or swipe left/right on the space bar. Long-press the globe for the list.
Add Hebrew in Gboard: keyboard → settings gear → Languages → Add keyboard → Hebrew. Or Android Settings → System → Languages & input → On-screen keyboard → Gboard → Languages.
Samsung Keyboard: swipe left/right on the space bar; add languages under Settings → General management → Samsung Keyboard settings → Languages and types.

iPhone and iPad

Switch: tap the globe key next to the space bar; hold it for the list of keyboards.
Add Hebrew: Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Hebrew.
Hardware keyboard on iPad: Ctrl+Space or the Globe key, like on a Mac.

Chromebook

Switch: Ctrl+Space goes to the last used input method, Ctrl+Shift+Space cycles through all. The language indicator sits on the shelf, next to the clock.
Add Hebrew: Settings → Languages and inputs → Inputs and keyboards → Add input methods → Hebrew.

Why the language jumps back by itself

Three usual causes. Per-window memory: Windows keeps a language per app, so the chat you left in Hebrew is still Hebrew when you come back, while the browser stayed English. Auto-switch by document on the Mac does the same per document. Another shortcut: an app or a graphics driver grabbing Alt+Shift (see Alt+Shift not working). None of these is a bug; they are settings, and the links above show where each one lives.

Stop switching by hand

However you switch, the mistake happens before you notice: the first word of the message comes out as akuo because the keyboard was still in English. On Windows and Mac you can hand that job to Kavanati: it watches what you type, and when a word only makes sense in the other language it retypes it correctly and switches the keyboard for you, in every app. Real words are never touched, and Ctrl+Z undoes a fix you did not want. On a phone the fix is manual: paste the gibberish into the free gibberish converter.

Frequently asked questions

What is the shortcut to switch keyboard language?

Windows: Alt+Shift or Win+Space. Mac: Ctrl+Space (or the Globe/fn key). Chromebook: Ctrl+Space, or Ctrl+Shift+Space to cycle. Android (Gboard): the globe key, or swipe left/right on the space bar. iPhone: the globe key next to the space bar.

How do I add Hebrew to the keyboard?

Windows: Settings → Time & Language → Language & region → Add a language → Hebrew → Install, then the layout appears in the language switcher. Mac: System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → Edit → + → Hebrew. Android (Gboard): Gboard settings → Languages → Add keyboard → Hebrew. iPhone: Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Hebrew.

Why does the language switch back by itself?

On Windows the input language is remembered per window by default: each app keeps the language you last used in it. Settings → Time & Language → Typing → Advanced keyboard settings → tick 'Let me set a different input method for each app window' to control it, or untick it for one global language. On a Mac, 'Automatically switch to a document's input source' in Keyboard settings does the same per document.

Is there a way to stop switching by hand?

Yes. Kavanati watches what you type on Windows and Mac: when a word only makes sense in the other keyboard language it fixes the word and switches the language for you, in every app. It is free to try.

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