Why don't smileys work in Kit Kat?

[JonnieChimpo1]

It seems like smileys no longer work. or 😘 no longer translate into graphic symbols. Seems like it is a deliberate choice by Google on all Kit Kat phones to use emoji now embedded into OS. Makes no sense though that smileys don't function. They don't work in the stock Messages app or Hangouts but 8Sms does have an option to turn them on. Anyone seeing this problem?

[Ann154]

Are you using the stock keyboard or a replacement keyboard?

[JonnieChimpo1]

I am using Google Keyboard but I have tried the HTC Sense keyboard.  It's not only that a colon and right parenthesis won't show this but that even looking back at my old texts, they don't translate into graphical images.  Here is what happens when I type them manually or select them from Google Keyboard emoji screen.  I have a feeling this is by design now.

[stapel_eliz]

You mention 8sms. Does this app allow smileys to be inserted? Does it allow old messages to display the emoticons as smileys rather than as keyboard characters?

Thank you.

Eliz.

[B33]

Sometimes if you see something as in the Smileys and you make changes updates and such and then go there gone a simple power cycle of the phone can possible restore them..  ya might give that a try. b

[soldierone]

You are not alone. HTC has their own little software to make these smileys, and its gone. My girlfriend has an HTC phone without Kit Kat, the smileys still show up on her phone, but they no longer work on mine. What a pain, how do we downgrade?

[Ann154 · Accepted solution]

JonnieChimpo1 wrote:

I am using Google Keyboard but I have tried the HTC Sense keyboard.  It's not only that a colon and right parenthesis won't show this but that even looking back at my old texts, they don't translate into graphical images.  Here is what happens when I type them manually or select them from Google Keyboard emoji screen.  I have a feeling this is by design now.

You are using the last tab of smiley choices. Select the smiley character (second from the left) to get the yellow colored emoticons. It is the same thing on the HTC keyboard.

[Ann154]

soldierone wrote:

You are not alone. HTC has their own little software to make these smileys, and its gone. My girlfriend has an HTC phone without Kit Kat, the smileys still show up on her phone, but they no longer work on mine. What a pain, how do we downgrade?

I have a friend with the HTC One running KitKat and the smileys work on their phone.

[soldierone]

Dunno why mine is doing this then. Wish I can just downgrade, this update obviously didn't work right on my phone 😕