diff --git a/DOCS/interface-changes/input.txt b/DOCS/interface-changes/input.txt
index ea0f4518877e0..2a0f8dbac139e 100644
--- a/DOCS/interface-changes/input.txt
+++ b/DOCS/interface-changes/input.txt
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 add `--input-ime` to enable or disable the IME on supported VOs (Windows, Wayland)
+disable IME by default; set `--input-ime=yes` to enable it on demand
diff --git a/DOCS/man/options.rst b/DOCS/man/options.rst
index 2716371418a18..ecd0d326a585a 100644
--- a/DOCS/man/options.rst
+++ b/DOCS/man/options.rst
@@ -4496,7 +4496,7 @@ Input
 
 ``--input-ime=<yes|no>``
     Enable keyboard input via an active input method (IME) connected to the VO.
-    (default: yes). The input popup window, if there is any, is always
+    (default: no). The input popup window, if there is any, is always
     positioned at the top left of the window. Whether pre-edit text is drawn
     depends on the platform. You may need to configure your IME to display the
     pre-edit inside of the input popup window if you cannot read the pre-edit
@@ -4504,6 +4504,16 @@ Input
 
     Wayland and Windows only. This option is not applicable to terminal input.
 
+    .. note::
+
+        Enabling IME can cause problems with key bindings, because mpv cannot
+        detect any key presses when they go into the IME pre-edit area.
+        It is recommended to enable IME on demand only for the duration
+        while text input is expected.
+
+        The builtin console and input selector enable IME for the duration
+        of accepting text input.
+
 OSD
 ---
 
diff --git a/options/options.c b/options/options.c
index 8dc3190f284a2..e85e1e9125324 100644
--- a/options/options.c
+++ b/options/options.c
@@ -261,7 +261,6 @@ const struct m_sub_options vo_sub_opts = {
         .keepaspect = true,
         .keepaspect_window = true,
         .native_fs = true,
-        .input_ime = true,
         .taskbar_progress = true,
         .show_in_taskbar = true,
         .border = true,