How to Set Default Keyboard Layout in Windows 10

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Recent Windows 10 builds come with a new "Region & Language" page in the Settings app. It completely replaces the classic "Language" applet of Control Panel, which is removed starting with Windows 10 Build 17063. The new page allows users to change the display language, text-to-speech, speech recognition, and handwriting options. Here is how to set the default keyboard layout in Windows 10 because the UI for it has changed.

If you upgraded to a recent Windows 10 release (build 17063 and above), its new language options can look strange to you. Unlike previous releases, it does not include the Language settings UI in the Control Panel. Now you have to use Settings to configure language settings in Windows 10.

For users who need to use more than one input language, it is required to add a different keyboard layout or input method to type in the required language. The language of the keyboard layout defines the set of characters available for the language. If you have more than one keyboard layout added, you can set one to be the default.

As of this writing, Windows 10 Build 17083 is most recent release of the OS. It comes with a number of new pages in Settings which allow the user to set the default keyboard layout.  Here is how it can be done.

To change hotkeys to switch keyboard layout in Windows 10, do the following.

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Devices - Typing.
  3. Click on the Advanced keyboard settings link.
  4. On the next page, use the drop down list Override for default input method. Select the default language in the list.

You are done.

Tip: If you are running the stable version of Windows 10, refer to the following article:

How to configure language settings in Windows 10

The method described in the mentioned article works in all previously released Windows 10 versions and builds prior to Windows 10 Build 17063.

Alternatively, you can use PowerShell to set the default keyboard layout in Windows 10. Here's how it can be done.

Set Default Keyboard Layout with PowerShell

  1. Open PowerShell.
  2. To get the list of the available languages, type or copy-paste the following command: Get-WinUserLanguageList.
  3. See the LanguageTag value for each of the languages.
  4. Execute the following command to re-order the language list in Windows 10.
    Set-WinUserLanguageList -LanguageList LanguageTag1, LanguageTag2, ..., LanguageTagN -Force
    Use the language tag for the language you want to set default in the list of parameters.

For example, the following command will set Russian as my default keyboard layout:

Set-WinUserLanguageList -LanguageList ru, en-US -Force

That's it.

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Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

5 thoughts on “How to Set Default Keyboard Layout in Windows 10”

  1. Hi. If they have removed the “Region and Languages” from Control Panel, how are we supposed to set default language for new users and, especially, for the login screen? That new Languages app (starting with Windows 8) is an absolute horror; is it better now?

    1. It is not better. In my opinion, it is even worse. The ability to copy your language is still implemented via the classic dialog. As of this writing, the settings app doesn’t offer the appropriate option. However, Microsoft will add it soon.

  2. Thanks a bunch for this useful yet effective cmdlt.
    I have been looking for to switch my default windows Keyboard language , Automatically,
    Using Task Scheduler. I have been able to do so, by saving and executing this commands in an executable file.

  3. You are missing something important: Before one can switch the keyboard layout via the procedure you described, it is necessary to install the corresponding keyboard layout:
    Open the Settings app, go to Time & Language > Language, click on the entry for the language you use, then click on the Options button that appears. On the next page, click on Add a keyboard.

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