Nightly Version (Dev Build)

We provide a nightly version of the keyboard as a faster release cycle. It will receive updates and improvements faster, but may be less stable.

If you’re testing it, please make sure to let us know if you experience any instabilities. See How to Submit a Good Bug Report. For a more synchronous chat with the developer you can also join the FUTO Keyboard Discord or the Zulip chat.

You can download the nightly version at: https://keyboard.futo.org/nightly.apk. Like the standalone version, this won’t automatically update, so you have to manually check for updates by tapping the “Check for updates manually” option in the keyboard settings. You can check for the current version here.

Automatic Updates with Obtainium

If you have Obtainium, you can try using this link to import it into Obtainium with automatic update checking.

Risk of using Nightly with Password screen lock type

On modern Android, when your device boots, much of the storage stays encrypted before it’s first unlocked. This state is called Before First Unlock (BFU) or Direct Boot. The only way to decrypt the storage and access your phone is to unlock it through the screen lock you’ve set up.

The PIN, Pattern, and Swipe screen lock types are handled by Android itself, while the Password screen lock type requires entering a text password through your keyboard app, which needs to have special handling for the case of Direct Boot.

You should not rely on unstable software as your only way of unlocking your phone. The nightly version may be unstable and may malfunction in Direct Boot. You should take the following steps to make sure your device doesn’t become unrecoverable:

1. Avoid using text password screen lock (use PIN, Pattern or Swipe instead) - so that in the event that the keyboard stops working, it won’t affect your ability to access your device. This alone is enough to be safe, the other steps are only necessary if you want to keep using text password.

2. Keep your system default keyboard enabled - in the event the nightly keyboard stops working and you can’t enter your text password to unlock your phone, you may be able to boot into safe mode which will default to the system keyboard, unless you’ve already disabled or uninstalled it. Don’t rely on the keyboard switch button to switch to another third-party keyboard, it doesn’t always work in direct boot; safe mode and system default keyboard may be your only way of recovery. Note that there is an Android bug preventing the system keyboard loading even in safe mode in some cases, so you may need the next step still.

3. Keep a USB keyboard and OTG adapter available - in case your phone doesn’t have safe mode or the system keyboard is already disabled, and you have to enter a text password, and the nightly keyboard isn’t working, your only chance of recovery is to plug in a physical keyboard to enter your password.

4. Keep USB-C port accessible - some operating systems let you disable the USB-C port for extra security, you should keep the USB-C port setting set to only either “On” or “Charging-only when locked, except before first unlock”, do not use any of the other options.

5. Use stable FUTO Keyboard instead - in case this risk is not acceptable to you and you do not want to switch away from a text password, and you do not want to keep USB-C port enabled (or your USB-C port is already broken), or you don’t have a USB keyboard or OTG adapter, please do not use the nightly version except for short testing. The stable version is much more thoroughly tested and has better guarantees to work in direct boot.