diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8bd34eedf..6906f934c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@ jobs:
 | `disable-spellchecker` | Optional | `false` | Whether to disable spellchecker - `true` or `false`. |
 | `disable-autofill` | Optional | `false` | Whether to disable autofill - `true` or `false`. |
 | `longpress-timeout` | Optional | 500 | Longpress timeout in milliseconds. |
+| `enable-hw-keyboard` | Optional | `false` | Whether to enable the hw keyboard and disable soft keyboard - `true` or `false`. |
 | `emulator-build` | Optional | N/A | Build number of a specific version of the emulator binary to use e.g. `6061023` for emulator v29.3.0.0. |
 | `working-directory` | Optional | `./` | A custom working directory - e.g. `./android` if your root Gradle project is under the `./android` sub-directory within your repository. |
 | `ndk` | Optional | N/A | Version of NDK to install - e.g. `21.0.6113669` |
diff --git a/__tests__/input-validator.test.ts b/__tests__/input-validator.test.ts
index 729013765..9985811c1 100644
--- a/__tests__/input-validator.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/input-validator.test.ts
@@ -145,6 +145,27 @@ describe('disable-autofill validator tests', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('enable-hw-keyboard validator tests', () => {
+  it('Throws if enable-hw-keyboard is not a boolean', () => {
+    const func = () => {
+      validator.checkEnableHwKeyboard('yes');
+    };
+    expect(func).toThrowError(`Input for input.enable-hw-keyboard should be either 'true' or 'false'.`);
+  });
+
+  it('Validates successfully if enable-hw-keyboard is either true or false', () => {
+    const func1 = () => {
+      validator.checkEnableHwKeyboard('true');
+    };
+    expect(func1).not.toThrow();
+
+    const func2 = () => {
+      validator.checkEnableHwKeyboard('false');
+    };
+    expect(func2).not.toThrow();
+  });
+});
+
 describe('longpress-timeout validator tests', () => {
   it('Throws if longpress-timeout is not a number', () => {
     const func = () => {
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index f86c65bc6..2b9637a63 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ inputs:
   longpress-timeout:
     description: Longpress timeout in milliseconds.
     default: 500
+  enable-hw-keyboard:
+    description: Enable hw keyboard and disable soft keyboard - `true` or `false`.
+    default: 'false'
   emulator-build:
     description: 'build number of a specific version of the emulator binary to use - e.g. `6061023` for emulator v29.3.0.0'
   working-directory:
diff --git a/lib/emulator-manager.js b/lib/emulator-manager.js
index 604e359a1..c0fb4b4bb 100644
--- a/lib/emulator-manager.js
+++ b/lib/emulator-manager.js
@@ -34,13 +34,16 @@ const EMULATOR_BOOT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 600;
 /**
  * Creates and launches a new AVD instance with the specified configurations.
  */
-function launchEmulator(apiLevel, target, arch, profile, sdcardPathOrSize, avdName, emulatorOptions, disableAnimations, disableSpellChecker, disableAutofill, longPressTimeout) {
+function launchEmulator(apiLevel, target, arch, profile, sdcardPathOrSize, avdName, emulatorOptions, disableAnimations, disableSpellChecker, disableAutofill, longPressTimeout, enableHwKeyboard) {
     return __awaiter(this, void 0, void 0, function* () {
         // create a new AVD
         const profileOption = profile.trim() !== '' ? `--device '${profile}'` : '';
         const sdcardPathOrSizeOption = sdcardPathOrSize.trim() !== '' ? `--sdcard '${sdcardPathOrSize}'` : '';
         console.log(`Creating AVD.`);
         yield exec.exec(`sh -c \\"echo no | avdmanager create avd --force -n "${avdName}" --abi '${target}/${arch}' --package 'system-images;android-${apiLevel};${target};${arch}' ${profileOption} ${sdcardPathOrSizeOption}"`);
+        if (enableHwKeyboard) {
+            yield exec.exec(`sh -c \\"printf 'hw.keyboard=yes\n' >> ~/.android/avd/"${avdName}".avd"/config.ini`);
+        }
         // start emulator
         console.log('Starting emulator.');
         // turn off hardware acceleration on Linux
@@ -75,6 +78,9 @@ function launchEmulator(apiLevel, target, arch, profile, sdcardPathOrSize, avdNa
         if (longPressTimeout) {
             yield exec.exec(`adb shell settings put secure long_press_timeout ${longPressTimeout}`);
         }
+        if (enableHwKeyboard) {
+            yield exec.exec(`adb shell settings put secure show_ime_with_hard_keyboard 0`);
+        }
     });
 }
 exports.launchEmulator = launchEmulator;
diff --git a/lib/input-validator.js b/lib/input-validator.js
index 87a80c7ff..fb4717b6d 100644
--- a/lib/input-validator.js
+++ b/lib/input-validator.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 "use strict";
 Object.defineProperty(exports, "__esModule", { value: true });
-exports.checkEmulatorBuild = exports.checkLongPressTimeout = exports.checkDisableAutofill = exports.checkDisableSpellchecker = exports.checkDisableAnimations = exports.checkArch = exports.checkTarget = exports.checkApiLevel = exports.VALID_ARCHS = exports.VALID_TARGETS = exports.MIN_API_LEVEL = void 0;
+exports.checkEmulatorBuild = exports.checkLongPressTimeout = exports.checkEnableHwKeyboard = exports.checkDisableAutofill = exports.checkDisableSpellchecker = exports.checkDisableAnimations = exports.checkArch = exports.checkTarget = exports.checkApiLevel = exports.VALID_ARCHS = exports.VALID_TARGETS = exports.MIN_API_LEVEL = void 0;
 exports.MIN_API_LEVEL = 15;
 exports.VALID_TARGETS = ['default', 'google_apis', 'google_apis_playstore'];
 exports.VALID_ARCHS = ['x86', 'x86_64'];
@@ -43,6 +43,12 @@ function checkDisableAutofill(disableAutofill) {
     }
 }
 exports.checkDisableAutofill = checkDisableAutofill;
+function checkEnableHwKeyboard(enableHwKeyboard) {
+    if (!isValidBoolean(enableHwKeyboard)) {
+        throw new Error(`Input for input.enable-hw-keyboard should be either 'true' or 'false'.`);
+    }
+}
+exports.checkEnableHwKeyboard = checkEnableHwKeyboard;
 function checkLongPressTimeout(timeout) {
     if (isNaN(Number(timeout)) || !Number.isInteger(Number(timeout))) {
         throw new Error(`Unexpected longpress-timeout: '${timeout}'.`);
diff --git a/lib/main.js b/lib/main.js
index 4e54d333b..ac35bc9f0 100644
--- a/lib/main.js
+++ b/lib/main.js
@@ -77,6 +77,11 @@ function run() {
             input_validator_1.checkDisableAnimations(disableAnimationsInput);
             const disableAnimations = disableAnimationsInput === 'true';
             console.log(`disable animations: ${disableAnimations}`);
+            // disable ime
+            const enableHwKeyboardInput = core.getInput('enable-hw-keyboard');
+            input_validator_1.checkEnableHwKeyboard(enableHwKeyboardInput);
+            const enableHwKeyboard = enableHwKeyboardInput === 'true';
+            console.log(`enable hw keyboard: ${enableHwKeyboard}`);
             // disable spellchecker
             const disableSpellcheckerInput = core.getInput('disable-spellchecker');
             input_validator_1.checkDisableSpellchecker(disableSpellcheckerInput);
@@ -127,7 +132,7 @@ function run() {
             // install SDK
             yield sdk_installer_1.installAndroidSdk(apiLevel, target, arch, emulatorBuild, ndkVersion, cmakeVersion);
             // launch an emulator
-            yield emulator_manager_1.launchEmulator(apiLevel, target, arch, profile, sdcardPathOrSize, avdName, emulatorOptions, disableAnimations, disableSpellchecker, disableAutofill, longPressTimeout);
+            yield emulator_manager_1.launchEmulator(apiLevel, target, arch, profile, sdcardPathOrSize, avdName, emulatorOptions, disableAnimations, disableSpellchecker, disableAutofill, longPressTimeout, enableHwKeyboard);
             // execute the custom script
             try {
                 // move to custom working directory if set
diff --git a/src/emulator-manager.ts b/src/emulator-manager.ts
index 5d4cf1fbc..c8c51ee83 100644
--- a/src/emulator-manager.ts
+++ b/src/emulator-manager.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ export async function launchEmulator(
   disableAnimations: boolean,
   disableSpellChecker: boolean,
   disableAutofill: boolean,
-  longPressTimeout: number
+  longPressTimeout: number,
+  enableHwKeyboard: boolean
 ): Promise<void> {
   // create a new AVD
   const profileOption = profile.trim() !== '' ? `--device '${profile}'` : '';
@@ -26,6 +27,10 @@ export async function launchEmulator(
     `sh -c \\"echo no | avdmanager create avd --force -n "${avdName}" --abi '${target}/${arch}' --package 'system-images;android-${apiLevel};${target};${arch}' ${profileOption} ${sdcardPathOrSizeOption}"`
   );
 
+  if (enableHwKeyboard) {
+    await exec.exec(`sh -c \\"printf 'hw.keyboard=yes\n' >> ~/.android/avd/"${avdName}".avd"/config.ini`);
+  }
+
   // start emulator
   console.log('Starting emulator.');
 
@@ -64,6 +69,9 @@ export async function launchEmulator(
   if (longPressTimeout) {
     await exec.exec(`adb shell settings put secure long_press_timeout ${longPressTimeout}`);
   }
+  if (enableHwKeyboard) {
+    await exec.exec(`adb shell settings put secure show_ime_with_hard_keyboard 0`);
+  }
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/input-validator.ts b/src/input-validator.ts
index 5c32a1e09..defe83dc9 100644
--- a/src/input-validator.ts
+++ b/src/input-validator.ts
@@ -41,6 +41,12 @@ export function checkDisableAutofill(disableAutofill: string): void {
   }
 }
 
+export function checkEnableHwKeyboard(enableHwKeyboard: string): void {
+  if (!isValidBoolean(enableHwKeyboard)) {
+    throw new Error(`Input for input.enable-hw-keyboard should be either 'true' or 'false'.`);
+  }
+}
+
 export function checkLongPressTimeout(timeout: string): void {
   if (isNaN(Number(timeout)) || !Number.isInteger(Number(timeout))) {
     throw new Error(`Unexpected longpress-timeout: '${timeout}'.`);
diff --git a/src/main.ts b/src/main.ts
index c613fe7d4..964d216b5 100644
--- a/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/main.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,16 @@
 import * as core from '@actions/core';
 import { installAndroidSdk } from './sdk-installer';
-import { checkApiLevel, checkTarget, checkArch, checkDisableAnimations, checkEmulatorBuild, checkDisableSpellchecker, checkDisableAutofill, checkLongPressTimeout } from './input-validator';
+import {
+  checkApiLevel,
+  checkTarget,
+  checkArch,
+  checkDisableAnimations,
+  checkEmulatorBuild,
+  checkDisableSpellchecker,
+  checkDisableAutofill,
+  checkLongPressTimeout,
+  checkEnableHwKeyboard
+} from './input-validator';
 import { launchEmulator, killEmulator } from './emulator-manager';
 import * as exec from '@actions/exec';
 import { parseScript } from './script-parser';
@@ -57,6 +67,12 @@ async function run() {
     const disableAnimations = disableAnimationsInput === 'true';
     console.log(`disable animations: ${disableAnimations}`);
 
+    // disable ime
+    const enableHwKeyboardInput = core.getInput('enable-hw-keyboard');
+    checkEnableHwKeyboard(enableHwKeyboardInput);
+    const enableHwKeyboard = enableHwKeyboardInput === 'true';
+    console.log(`enable hw keyboard: ${enableHwKeyboard}`);
+
     // disable spellchecker
     const disableSpellcheckerInput = core.getInput('disable-spellchecker');
     checkDisableSpellchecker(disableSpellcheckerInput);
@@ -116,7 +132,7 @@ async function run() {
     await installAndroidSdk(apiLevel, target, arch, emulatorBuild, ndkVersion, cmakeVersion);
 
     // launch an emulator
-    await launchEmulator(apiLevel, target, arch, profile, sdcardPathOrSize, avdName, emulatorOptions, disableAnimations, disableSpellchecker, disableAutofill, longPressTimeout);
+    await launchEmulator(apiLevel, target, arch, profile, sdcardPathOrSize, avdName, emulatorOptions, disableAnimations, disableSpellchecker, disableAutofill, longPressTimeout, enableHwKeyboard);
 
     // execute the custom script
     try {