Traditional T9

TT9 is a 12-key T9 keyboard for devices with a hardware numpad. It supports predictive text typing in 30+ languages, configurable hotkeys, and an on-screen keypad that can turn your smartphone into a Nokia from the 2000s. And, best of all, it doesn't spy on you!

Supported languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati (phonetic), Hebrew, Hindi (phonetic), Hinglish, Hungarian, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Kiswahili, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (European and Brazilian), Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Moroccan Tamazight (Latin and Tifinagh), Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Yiddish.

Philosophy and Privacy Policy:

  • No ads, no premium or paid features. It's all free.
  • No spying, no tracking, no telemetry or reports. No nothing!
  • No unnecessary bells or whistles. It only does its job, typing.
  • The Full version operates entirely offline with no Internet permission. The Lite version connects only when downloading dictionaries from GitHub and when the voice input is active.
  • Open-source, so you can verify all the above yourself.
  • Created with help from the entire community.
  • Things it will (probably) never have: QWERTY layout, swipe-typing, GIFs and stickers, backgrounds or other customizations. "It can be any color you like, as long as it is black."
  • Not intended as a clone of Sony Ericsson, Nokia C2, Samsung, Touchpal, etc. It is understandable to miss your favorite old phone or keyboard app, but TT9 has its own unique design, inspired by the Nokia 3310 and 6303i. While it captures the feel of the classics, it offers its own experience and won’t replicate any device exactly.

Thank you for understanding, and enjoy TT9!

Screenshots

Install

Download from Play StoreDownload from F-DroidDownload from UptodownDownload from GitHub

If your phone does not have Google Play and does not allow installing custom APKs, please consult the Installation Guide.

System Requirements

  • Android 5.0 or higher.
  • A hardware keypad or a keyboard. For touchscreen-only devices, an on-screen keypad can be activated from the Settings.
  • Storage space depends on the Android version. The lite version requires at least 5-8 Mb and the full version requires at least 160 Mb.
  • Extra storage space is necessary for language dictionaries in Predictive Mode.
    • Languages with character predictions only (Korean): ~1 Mb per language
    • Tiny languages (< 100k words; Kiswahili, Indonesian, Vietnamese): 5-6 Mb per language.
    • Small languages (100k-400k words; e.g. English, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, German, French): 15-30 Mb per language.
    • Medium languages (400k-800k words; e.g. Danish, Greek, Italian, Portuguese): 40-75 Mb per language
    • Large languages (800k-1.5M words; e.g. Arabic, Bulgarian, Hebrew, Romanian, Spanish): 100-165 Mb per language

Storage usage for the dictionaries depends on the word root count and the average word length in each language. Some languages will require more space, even if they have fewer words than others.

Compatibility

If you own a phone with Android 4.4, the latest TT9 version you can use is v44.0. On devices with Android 4.3 or earlier, please refer to the original Traditional T9 from 2016.

TT9 may not work well on TCL Flip 2, Kyocera phones, especially ones running Android 10 or newer, or other devices that run highly customized Android versions, where all apps are integrated and intended to work with the respective native keyboard. You may experience missing functionality, empty gaps/misaligned items on the screen, or unexpected text/numbers appearing when you try to type.

Compatibility has been verified only on the following devices:

  • CAT S22 Flip (Android 11)
  • Unihertz Atom L (Android 11)
  • Qin F21 Pro+ (Android 11)
  • Energizer H620SEU (Android 10)
  • Sonim XP3800 (Android 8.1)
  • Vodaphone VFD 500 (Android 6.0)

How to Use Traditional T9?

Before using Traditional T9 for the first time you need to configure it and load a dictionary. After that, you can start typing right away in one of the three modes: Predictive, ABC, or Numeric (123). And even if you have mastered the keypad back in the day, you will still find the Predictive mode now offers more powerful and smart new ways of typing with even fewer key presses.

So make sure to read the initial setup and the hotkey tips in the user manual. Also, don't miss the convenient compatibility options aimed to improve the experience in some applications.

The user manual is also available in: Brazilian Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian.

Support

If you want to show appreciation, give the project a star on GitHub. Higher-ranked projects can use development tools for free and apply for funding more easily. You can also give it 5 stars on Google Play to increase its rating, which will prompt the Play Store to recommend it to more people.

You could also donate on PayPal.

Source Code

All source code and documentation are mirrored on the project's GitHub page.