Install Guide
How to install JustType, HeadBoard, and the optional OpenBoard keyboard on your Android phone or tablet. Take it slowly — if you can tap a button, you can do this.
Which apps should I install?
You can install any one of these apps on its own, or any combination. Three possible setups are:
- JustType + Notepad Free only — if you want the 8-key keyboard and you'll type using touch, switches, a joystick, or directional swipes (but you don’t want head-tracking).
- JustType + Notepad Free + HeadBoard (optionally + OpenBoard) — if you want to type with head movements. HeadBoard provides the head-tracking; JustType is the keyboard you'll type on. You can also add OpenBoard if you want to experiment with Swype-style input on a traditional QWERTY layout.
- HeadBoard + OpenBoard — if you want to try head-tracking with a traditional QWERTY keyboard (typing by tracing a continuous path across the keys, Swype-style). But we highly recommend also trying JustType — you may well find it faster and easier if you give it a try.
Notepad Free — this version of JustType adds a number of features that work automatically with this free app that is available on the Play Store. It will enable you to easily switch between different notes, keeping your conversations and documents organized and easily available. Just use the link below. The heading in the Play Store will read “Notepad - simple notes”.
If you're not sure, read more on the For Users & Families page or email us — we're happy to help you decide.
Before you begin
Our apps come as APK files — the standard format for an Android app. Because they aren't on the Play Store yet, you download the file from this page and install it yourself. It's the same software, just delivered in a different way. Android shows a few extra warnings for apps installed like this; the steps below tell you exactly what each one says and what to tap.
You'll need:
- An Android phone or tablet. A 10-inch tablet works well.
- Android 8.0 or newer for JustType; Android 9.0 or newer for HeadBoard.
- Wi-Fi for the download. JustType is about 16 MB. Spanish adds about 15 MB, and Vietnamese adds about 4.5 MB. HeadBoard (75 MB) and OpenBoard (55 MB) are larger.
- For HeadBoard: a front-facing camera and a well-lit room.
- Your screen-lock PIN, pattern, or fingerprint — Android asks for it once or twice.
The steps are the same on every Android device. Where a brand uses a different menu name or adds a switch, you'll find a grey "On your device" box to open — you only need the one for your brand.
Samsung Galaxy: one extra step
Most Galaxy phones and tablets sold since 2024 have Auto Blocker switched on, which stops any app from outside the Play Store from installing. Step 2 shows you how to turn it off. Everything else is the same, with slightly different menu names.
Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, vivo, Honor: one extra setting for head-tracking
These brands close background apps aggressively, which stops HeadBoard's head-tracking. Step 3 has a one-time "keep running" setting for each brand. Installing is otherwise the same.
Amazon Fire tablets and Huawei
JustType and OpenBoard install and work normally. These devices don't include Google's services, and we haven't yet confirmed HeadBoard's head-tracking on them — if you try it, please tell us what happened.
Devices we can't support: Chromebooks, mainland-China phones, managed devices
- Chromebooks can't install APK files without developer tools.
- Phones bought in mainland China add identity checks or block outside apps entirely.
- Devices managed by a school, employer, or a parent's Family Link may not allow outside apps. If a switch is greyed out, or you see a message mentioning your admin, IT, or organization, the person who manages the device will need to allow it.
A note about 2027
As of September 2026, installing our apps from this page works the same on every Android device. Google has announced that, starting in 2027, Android devices with Google services will begin requiring apps installed from outside the Play Store to come from developers registered with Google. We're following this closely and will update this page as Google's plans become concrete.
Step 1 — Download the app(s) you want
Tap Download APK below. If you're reading this on a computer, point your phone or tablet's camera at the QR code instead and tap the link that appears.
JustType
The 8-key keyboard. Works on its own, or pairs with HeadBoard for head-tracking input.
HeadBoard
Head-tracking using your device's front camera. Pairs with JustType or OpenBoard.
OpenBoard (optional)
A traditional QWERTY keyboard, tuned to work well with HeadBoard's head-tracking. Only needed if you want a full QWERTY layout in addition to (or instead of) JustType.
Companion to HeadBoard.
Notepad Free
A notes app that is integrated with JustType. We are confident that you’ll find it helpful (without it, some features won’t work).
Companion to JustType.
Your browser will probably warn you that the file "might be harmful". Browsers say that about every APK file. Tap Download anyway (or Keep, or Download). When the download finishes, a message or notification appears with an Open button — that's where Step 2 starts.
What the warning looks like in each browser
- Chrome: a box titled "File might be harmful" asking "Do you want to download "justtype.apk" anyway?" Tap Download anyway. Older Chrome says "This type of file can harm your device" with a Keep button.
- Firefox: shows the file name and size with a Download button.
- Samsung Internet, Edge, Brave, others: a similar warning with a Download anyway, Download, Keep, or OK button.
Missed the notification? The file is in your Downloads folder. Open the Files app (on Samsung, My Files) and tap Downloads.
Step 2 — Install
The same five taps for each app (except Notepad Free — that will take you to the Play Store, where you can install it like any other app). The first time, Android asks for one permission; after that it's just Install.
- Tap Open on the download message or notification.
- Tap Settings when Android says "For your security, your phone currently isn't allowed to install unknown apps from this source." Turn on Allow from this source, then press Back. Android carries on to the install screen by itself. (First time only.)
- Tap Install when asked whether you want to install the app.
- Tap Scan app if Google Play Protect asks to check the app first. (Or Send this time, or Install anyway — whichever it offers.)
- Tap Open when you see "App installed." — or Done if you have more apps to install. Then go back to Step 1 for the next one.
Samsung Galaxy: a pop-up about Auto Blocker appeared
Samsung's Auto Blocker only allows apps from the Play Store and Galaxy Store. Turn it off, then tap the file again:
- Open Settings → Security and privacy → Auto Blocker.
- Tap the switch at the top to turn it off. Confirm with your screen lock or fingerprint.
- If you see "Turn on Auto Blocker automatically", switch it on — Auto Blocker will turn itself back on 30 minutes later, once you're done.
- Go back to your download and tap Open again.
If your Galaxy never showed this pop-up, Auto Blocker is already off. No other brand has it.
On your device: where "Install unknown apps" lives, if the Settings button doesn't take you there
You shouldn't need this — the Settings button on the message goes straight to the right screen. If it didn't, open Settings, type unknown in the search box, and tap Install unknown apps. Or use the path for your brand:
- Pixel and other plain Android: Settings → Apps → Special app access → Install unknown apps → your browser → Allow from this source. (Android 8 to 11: Settings → Apps & notifications → Advanced → Special app access → …)
- Samsung: Settings → Apps → ⋮ (top right) → Special access → Install unknown apps → your browser → switch on.
- Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO: Settings → Privacy protection → Special permissions → Install unknown apps → your browser → Allow from this source.
- OnePlus, OPPO, Realme: Settings → Security and privacy → More security and privacy → Installation sources → your browser. (Older: Settings → Password & security → System security → Installation sources.)
- vivo: Settings → More settings → Permission management → Install unknown apps → your browser.
- Honor and Huawei: Settings → Security → More settings → Install apps from external sources → your browser → Allow app installs.
- Amazon Fire tablet: Settings → Security & Privacy → Apps from Unknown Sources → Silk Browser → switch on.
The permission is per app. If you open the file from a Files app instead of the browser, Android asks once more for the Files app — tap Settings and allow it too. Some devices also show a warning paragraph about "unknown apps" on that screen; it appears for every app installed this way.
What Play Protect's messages mean
Play Protect is Google's safety check. Because our apps aren't on the Play Store, it usually wants to scan them first. Any of these is normal — tap the button shown and wait a moment:
- "App scan recommended" → Scan app
- "Send app for security check" → Send this time
- "Unsafe app blocked" (older devices) → More details → Install anyway
If instead it says "App blocked to protect your device" with no way to continue, see Troubleshooting.
Step 3 — Set up each app
Opening each app for the first time is where you finish setup. JustType and HeadBoard both use an Android Accessibility service (that's what lets HeadBoard move the cursor for you, and lets JustType work with head-tracking and its advanced input modes). Turning one on takes a short detour on newer Android, so it gets its own instructions first — you'll do them once for each app.
Turning on an Accessibility service (JustType and HeadBoard)
- Open Settings → Accessibility, tap the app's name in the list (JustType or HeadBoard), and tap its switch. If Android simply asks you to confirm, tap Allow — you're done.
- On Android 13 or newer, a box titled "Restricted setting" appears instead, saying "For your security, this setting is currently unavailable." That's expected — Android shows it for any app installed outside the Play Store. Tap OK, then:
- Go to your home screen. Press and hold the app's icon and tap App info (or the ⓘ symbol).
- Tap ⋮ in the top-right corner (labelled More on some Samsung devices), then Allow restricted settings. Unlock with your PIN or fingerprint.
- Go back to Settings → Accessibility, tap the app again, tap the switch, and tap Allow.
On your device: where the app appears in Accessibility settings
- Pixel and other plain Android: Settings → Accessibility → the app (under Downloaded apps).
- Samsung: Settings → Accessibility → Installed apps → the app.
- Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO: Settings → Additional settings → Accessibility → Downloaded apps → the app.
- OnePlus, OPPO, Realme: Settings → Accessibility (sometimes under Additional settings) → Installed apps or Installed services → the app.
- vivo, Honor, Huawei: Settings → Accessibility (or Shortcuts & accessibility / Accessibility features) → the app.
- Amazon Fire tablet: Settings → Accessibility → the app.
"Allow restricted settings" isn't in the menu
Android only adds that item after you've tried the Accessibility switch once and been blocked. Go back to Accessibility, tap the switch, get the "Restricted setting" message, then return to App info. On Android 12 and older, and on Amazon Fire tablets, the message never appears — you go straight to Allow.
JustType
JustType opens on its settings screen. A banner at the top says it "is not currently selected as your keyboard". Setting it up is three separate steps — enable the keyboard, select it, then turn on its Accessibility service:
- Enable it. Tap Open Keyboard Settings on the banner, find JustType in the list, and turn its switch on. Android warns that the keyboard "may collect the text you type" — it says that about every keyboard. JustType never sends what you type anywhere (see our privacy page). Tap OK.
- Select it. Tap any text box so a keyboard appears, tap the small keyboard-switcher icon in the bottom corner, and choose JustType.
- Turn on its Accessibility service. Follow the Accessibility steps above for JustType, including the "Restricted setting" detour on Android 13 or newer.
Speech output works right away using your device's built-in voice; to change the voice, search Settings for "Text-to-speech".
On your device: where the keyboard list lives
On any device, search Settings for keyboard. The full paths:
- Pixel and other plain Android: Settings → System → Keyboard (older: Languages & input) → On-screen keyboard → Manage on-screen keyboards.
- Samsung: Settings → General management → Keyboard list and default → switch it on, then tap Default keyboard and choose it.
- Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO: Settings → Additional settings → Languages & input → Manage keyboards.
- OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, vivo: Settings → Additional settings (or System management) → Keyboard & input method → Manage keyboards.
- Honor and Huawei: Settings → System & updates → Language & input → Default keyboard.
- Amazon Fire tablet: Settings → Keyboard & Language (on some models under Device Options) → Current Keyboard.
HeadBoard
HeadBoard needs two permissions: the camera, and its Accessibility service so it can move the cursor and tap for you. Opening HeadBoard walks you through both:
- On the welcome screen, tap Grant access.
- Camera: choose While using the app.
- Accessibility: HeadBoard sends you to Android's Accessibility settings. Follow the Accessibility steps above for HeadBoard, including the "Restricted setting" detour on Android 13 or newer.
- Place your device at about eye level on a stand, with a clear view of your face.
- Calibrate. The app asks you to move your head to each extreme ("Perform 'Head Up'" and so on) while meters fill up. Move all the way in each direction until each meter is full.
HeadBoard doesn't type by itself — it moves a cursor and taps for you on whatever keyboard is on screen. Once JustType or OpenBoard is set as your keyboard, there's nothing to connect. In JustType's settings you'll also find a Head Tracking option for fine-tuning sensitivity.
Xiaomi, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, vivo, Honor, Huawei: keep HeadBoard and JustType running
These brands close background apps to save battery, and when HeadBoard is closed, head-tracking stops (on Xiaomi, the Accessibility permission can even switch itself off). Do this once for HeadBoard, and again for JustType if you use its head-tracking or advanced input modes:
- Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO: Settings → Apps → Manage apps → the app. Turn on Autostart (or Background autostart). Under Battery saver choose No restrictions. Then open recent apps, pull down on the app's card, and tap the lock icon.
- OnePlus, OPPO, Realme: Settings → Apps → App management → the app → Battery usage. Turn on Allow auto launch and Allow background activity.
- vivo: Settings → More settings → Permission management → Autostart → switch on the app. Then Settings → Battery → High background power consumption → allow the app.
- Honor and Huawei: Settings → Apps → Apps → the app → Battery (or App launch). Switch off automatic management and turn on Auto-launch, Secondary launch, and Run in background.
Menu names on these brands change often. If yours don't match, search Settings for autostart or battery, or email us your device name.
OpenBoard
OpenBoard opens a short setup wizard. It has no Accessibility service, so there's no "Restricted setting" detour:
- Tap Get started.
- Tap Enable in Settings, switch OpenBoard on, and tap OK on Android's standard "may collect all the text you type" warning.
- Tap Switch input methods and choose OpenBoard.
- Tap Finished.
Nothing extra is needed for head-tracking: gesture (swype) typing is on by default and HeadBoard drives it directly. If you have two keyboards installed, switch between them any time with the keyboard-switcher icon that appears while typing. If the settings screen the wizard opens doesn't list OpenBoard, use the keyboard-list path for your device in the JustType section.
Troubleshooting
Tap the problem that matches what you're seeing.
The download didn't start, or my browser blocked it
Every browser warns before downloading an APK. Look for a Download anyway, Download, Keep, or OK button. If Samsung Internet won't download at all, open its ≡ menu → Settings → Sites and downloads and allow downloads — or open this page in Chrome. If Chrome says the file "contains malware or comes from a suspicious site," stop and email us; that shouldn't happen for our downloads.
I tapped the APK and nothing happened, or it went straight back to my files
Android probably showed the "For your security…" message and you pressed Back without turning on Allow from this source. Tap the file again, tap Settings, turn the switch on, then press Back. The permission is per app: if you're opening the file from a Files app rather than the browser, the Files app needs it too. On Samsung, also check Auto Blocker is off (Step 2).
"App not installed as app isn't compatible with your phone"
Usually the download is an old version or was interrupted. Delete the file from Downloads, download it again from this page, and try once more. If it happens again, email us your device model and Android version.
Play Protect blocked the app and there's no way to continue
Normally Play Protect only asks to scan the app. Occasionally, on some devices and in some countries, Google's automated fraud protection shows "App blocked to protect your device" with no Install button. This can happen to JustType or HeadBoard because they ask for the Accessibility permission — which some scam apps misuse — even though our apps use it to help you control your device. If you see this:
- Please email us your device model and country. Every report helps us work with Google on this.
- You can pause Play Protect for a day: open the Play Store, tap your profile picture (top right) → Play Protect → the gear icon → turn off Scan apps with Play Protect, choosing Pause if offered. Try the install again, then turn scanning back on.
If the message is "Harmful app blocked" instead, don't proceed — that shouldn't appear for our apps, and we'd want to hear about it right away.
"Restricted setting — For your security, this setting is currently unavailable"
This appears when you turn on JustType's or HeadBoard's Accessibility switch on Android 13 or newer. It's expected — follow the Accessibility steps in Step 3: App info → ⋮ → Allow restricted settings → unlock → back to Accessibility and switch it on. You'll do it once for each app. If "Allow restricted settings" isn't in the menu, try the Accessibility switch once more first.
I installed JustType (or OpenBoard) but I don't see it in my keyboards
The keyboard was enabled but not selected — two separate steps. Check its switch is on in your device's keyboard list (see the box in the JustType section), then tap a text box, tap the keyboard-switcher icon in the corner, and pick it. On Samsung you can also set it under Keyboard list and default → Default keyboard.
HeadBoard's camera permission was denied
Open Settings → Apps → HeadBoard → Permissions → Camera and choose Allow only while using the app. Then re-open HeadBoard.
HeadBoard (or JustType's head-tracking) works at first, then stops after a while
Your device is closing the app in the background to save battery — most common on Xiaomi, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, vivo, Honor and Huawei. Follow the keep running steps, then check the app's Accessibility switch is still on.
A switch is greyed out, or I see a message about my admin, IT department, or organization
The device is managed by a school, an employer, or a parent through Family Link, and they've turned off installing apps from outside the Play Store. Only the person who manages the device can change that. Ask them to allow "Install unknown apps" for your browser, or to install the apps for you.
Something else is wrong
Email us (below). Tell us what you tried, what you saw — the exact words of any message help enormously — and, if you can, your device and Android version. We use real reports to improve this guide.
Stuck? We want to hear from you
If any step in this guide didn't work, or anything was confusing, please tell us. A real person reads every message, and your feedback is how this guide gets better.