iPadOS 18 Notes - How do I turn off spell check for handwriting?

It cannot be disabled at the moment, but I can imagine that more people want to use this feature without the spell check

`you can submit a future feature request through this form, to tell Apple that you want this to be an option ]

Product Feedback - Apple

FOUND IT! The option is imbedded within the options where you can change the types of pen tips (eraser, pen, ruler, etc.) of the Apple Pencil! Click the 3 dots and unselect the ‘Auto-refine handwriting’!

Hey! I believe you can disable the feature by pressing the three dots when the Apple Pencil menu is open, and disabling the switch ‘Auto-refine handwriting’. I also got frustrated with this because it would end up making my writing unintelligible, found this and it is working for me. Let me know if it works :)

Alternative option: Go to General > Dictionary > turn off "Apple Dictionary". This removes any spell-check related dotted lines in Apple Notes. However its more of a global setting and Apple Notes should have a local spell-check off option for Apple Notes.

The issue of blue dots appearing under all types of handwritten text and drawings when using an Apple Pencil extends beyond the notes app; it is system-wide. 

When annotating PDFs, presentations, screenshots, or even when writing my signature iPadOS starts autocorrecting, assuming I’m writing a word. Suggested words are often nonsensical—for example, “afternoon” may be changed to “alj 7momn”. When drawing a line or underlining text blue dots can appear because Apple somehow interprets a drawing as a word. It’s utterly ridiculous.

These blue dots appearing across presentations and during online meetings when sharing my screen are highly unprofessional. I purchased an Apple Pencil Pro and can no longer use it effectively.

Despite submitting feedback via Apple’s official website for eight months, this bug remains unaddressed.

Quite a few posts by different authors in this thread have been removed by moderators. This doesn’t seem an appropriate way to handle paying customers.

I strongly recommend contacting Apple and requesting to speak with a senior advisor to report this issue. It’s worth mentioning that the bug persists in the latest iPadOS, introduced at the recent Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Resetting an iPad does not resolve the problem. Every iPad in every Apple Store exhibits this issue.

Hayythere wrote:

Apple notes with pencil is now unusable due to this **** blue dotted lines with every words.. Is it their new AI??

Have you tried the tip outlined in jkirton2’s reply of 8th January?

"The option is imbedded within the options where you can change the types of pen tips (eraser, pen, ruler, etc.) of the Apple Pencil! Click the 3 dots and unselect the ‘Auto-refine handwriting’!"

Found out it's all were Dictionaries settings

Just disable English dictionaries and blue lines disappear

General > Dictionary > turn off "Apple Dictionary"

it worked after a restart

thanks!

No. Wait for a few seconds and the blue dots/lines are back.

finally apple fixed it with "check handwritten spelling" option in notes app

now is it better than goodnotes ?

probably not

maybe is better with synchronization with iphone

inevo wrote:

As a Hebrew speaker, to me it’s a horrible user experience. Not only that apple doesn’t support Hebrew for many of its features like scribble, but while I simply want to journal in Hebrew I can’t do so due to these spell check underlines. Every word I write seems to it like a total gibberish (understandably).

I would really appreciate that if they don’t spell check other languages other than English, at least give us the option to turn that thing off…

This is a user-to-user technical community. Contributors here are all end-users, just like you. Other than the site Moderators, Apple neither monitors nor participates within this Community. As such, your comments here will not be seen by Apple Support.

Apple invites submission of constructive comments via its Product Feedback portal. For iPad and iPadOS:

Feedback - iPad - Apple

Apple have killed all my notes, everywhere i see its blue underline... boils my brain... it is sooooo annoying... imagine going back to refer my notes and i get 200+ spelling underlines.

I've stopped using notes and freeform completely, I suggest using "notes+" app from app store, its good enough for most scenarios (but had some glitches around)

try to delete and turn off all the dictionaries not just apple dictionary

then restart

what I did to disable the blue dots:

Disable every auto correction in General > Keyboards

Disable auto-refining

Disable every Dictionary in General > Dictionary

Restart in General > Shut Down

But the blue dots come back after some minutes

I think I have to ditch Apple Notes

i went settings / apple intelligence & siri / apps / notes/ and removed everything (learn from this app / show on home screen / and suggest app )

blue lines disappeared for now

lets hope never return and it was just apple intelligence causing the issue

edit : reappeared

there is no hope in this life

maybe in 10 years apple reinvent notes app and make a press conference to announce that blue lines will disappear only with the apple pencil ultra pro 8 special edition (that will cost 350 euros )