Pixel users are running into a bizarre Gmail problem when replying to emails

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A strange Gmail bug appears to be affecting some Pixel users, making something as simple as replying to an email far more difficult than it should be.

Multiple users have reported that when they tap “Reply” in the Gmail app on their Pixel phones, the keyboard doesn’t automatically appear. Instead, Gmail prominently displays Gemini’s “Help me write ” interface, complete with the icon and the “Swipe” prompt encouraging users to generate an AI-assisted response.

In our own testing, the issue appears on both a Pixel 10 Pro XL and a Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

On the Pixel 10 Pro XL, it’s still possible to start typing, but only after a series of extra steps. Tapping the keyboard hide button in the lower-left corner and then repeatedly tapping the text field eventually brings up the keyboard.

The situation is worse on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, where the reply field doesn’t appear to expose a cursor at all. Tapping on the reply field does nothing, effectively leaving Help Me Write as the only visible option to reply to an email.

The issue doesn’t appear to be widespread across all Android devices. Members of our team were unable to reproduce the behavior on a vivo X300 FE or a OnePlus 15, suggesting the bug may be limited to Pixel devices. The Gmail app on iOS also seems to be working just fine, bringing up the keyboard instantly when you hit reply.

At this stage, it’s unclear whether Gmail, Gemini, Gboard, or Pixel software itself is responsible. The behavior feels more like a keyboard detection bug, where the app fails to recognize that the user intends to type into an editable field and instead prioritizes the AI writing interface.