How to turn off T9 messaging on a sonim verizon xp5800

Question

I have a new sonim verizon xp5800 phone. It appears to be stuck in T9 mode. When I try to text, it keeps wanting to throw suggested words at me. I've tried going in the settings to see if I can turn it off or try to get the messaging to go into abc mode or something but still no luck. Does anyone know if there is a way to turn off T9 mode? I've used the xp5800 model for a few years and was never stuck in T9 mode like this. I appreciate any help. Thanks.

SynthpopAddict · Accepted Answer

I'm not sure if this will help, as the video is probably showing a different Sonim model, but maybe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2u3kRzeNMg

Someone asked this same question in the forums some years ago, but I couldn't get the thread to appear, so don't know if there was a definitive answer in there.