How to delete a keyboard layout in Windows 10

Question

I installed Windows 10 on a physically German keyboard, then installed a Window English software keyboard and bought some little stickers to make my keyboard look OK.

However, Windows shows 2 keyboards installed & occasionally toggles back to German.

Note that I am not talking about removing a language (which is all that I can find when I Google).

How do I remove the German keyboard layout?

See this question if Control panel doesn't show your keyboard layout, but it does appear in the system tray: https://superuser.com/questions/685078/how-do-i-remove-english-us-from-windows-8-1 — cbp, Jan 24 '18 at 22:05
This is a bug. Add the German Keyboard layout and remove it again. Press the Windows key, type "Edit Language and keyboard options", left click on English --> Options. "Add a keyboard", scroll to German QUERTZ and add it. If you now remove it, it should be gone for good. — Jubei, Jul 09 '18 at 14:52
The previous comment should be a seperate answer – this was the only one that solved it for me. — dreamflasher, Jun 20 '19 at 09:27
@MawgsaysreinstateMonica apparently I don't have the necessary reputation for that... — Jubei, Jan 17 '20 at 12:12
The question here, after removing a keyboard for the n-time, is: How can I remove a keyboard, so it stays removed after a reboot? — Nicolay77, Jan 19 '22 at 20:19
Second method from here worked for me. https://www.repairwin.com/remove-qaa-latn-unknown-locale-language-windows/ — Jacob, Sep 02 '22 at 08:43

harrymc · Answer 1 · 2022-01-12T09:00:50.800

136

To remove a keyboard under Windows 10 is done this way :

Method 1 : Settings

Select the Start button
Go to Settings > Time & Language > Region & language
Under Languages, click your language
Click Options
Under Keyboards click your keyboard
Click Remove

Method 2 : Preloaded

Use regedit to navigate to following registry keys, where you will find there the list of keyboards that are preloaded at boot.

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Keyboard Layout\Preload
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Keyboard Layout\Preload
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\International\User Profile
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\International\User Profile System Backup

Find the keyboard identifier among the list of Keyboard Identifiers
Delete the key.

Update January 2022:

The language settings are now found in Settings > Time & Language > Language.

edited Jan 12 '22 at 09:00

answered Jul 16 '18 at 08:08

harrymc

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The Remove button is disabled. Isn`t it? – Alexander Pravdin Nov 13 '18 at 14:15
@AlexanderPravdin: Good eyes. Yes, since it is the only one left. – harrymc Nov 13 '18 at 14:16
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The question was how to remove the keyboard layout which is the last for the selected windows language. So I was wandered of this picture... – Alexander Pravdin Nov 13 '18 at 14:21
@AlexanderPravdin: The Preloaded method fixed the problem of the poster, and is specified in case the keyboard is not found in the list. – harrymc Nov 13 '18 at 15:00
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Only method 2 works for me, ty! – xxxbence Mar 02 '19 at 06:07
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I used method 2, but it was back after reboot. I had to delete C:\Windows\en-GB and "Preload" registry key in HKEY_CURRENT_USER and registry key "Control Panel\International\User Profile\Languages" in both HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_USERS, finally it's gone. Thanks Microsoft! – Blackfighter Jul 17 '19 at 07:32
This (Method 2) was _the_ answer, thank you! I have two custom layouts (created with [KbdEdit](http://kbdedit.com/)), derived from the standard US layout, but Win 10 kept adding the default layout back in. Following the Method 2 the extraneous default is now gone. – Ville Jul 23 '19 at 04:41
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Preload? This is nasty, who designed it? – Al Kepp Dec 05 '19 at 17:48
United Kingdom 0x00000809 – Smart Manoj Jan 31 '20 at 02:52
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I had only two languages (Russian and English US) but still had 3-rd UK keyboard. For me the fix was to open Administrative Language Settings then in Language for Unicode Programs i noticed there was UK selected. Changing Unicode lang to English US was the only fix. – lavrik Mar 10 '20 at 08:34
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Using Method 2. Anyone knows for `English - Dvorak`, why is my registry key value at 0xD0010409 and not 0x00010409 (Dvorak in the list of Keyboard Identifiers)? Basically, the 0xD0000000 bits were set, when by default it shouldn't? This is after a Windows 10 clean installation. – tom_mai78101 Mar 29 '20 at 22:26
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Latest Windows 10, 'Region & Language' no longer exists. – niico Jun 11 '20 at 08:31
I have the same issue after before windows update I had only `en-Us` and `Ukrainian` languages but after the update new keyboard was `UK - QWERTY` layout. To remove: I removed `Uk` from languages settings and used method 2 and dropped all `Uk` mentions in regestry. – OxQ Sep 11 '20 at 13:16
in method 2, can we apply changes without reboot? – Smart Manoj Oct 17 '20 at 04:48
"Region & Language" doesn't exist. Under Language options I can see the layout I want to remove but the Remove button is disabled. How do you do this in 2020? – Turkeyphant Nov 08 '20 at 18:05
O my.. SERIUSLY Microsoft... Having to hack the registry to get rid of keyboards layouts?.. And fellow coders working at Microsoft, walk over to whoever made THIS happen and throw an egg at them... Okay, enought ranting. I hope this work as british keyboard has been naging me over a year now. All of a sudden it's preselected and buttons don't work as I'm used to. – Griffin Feb 12 '21 at 22:29
Thank you very much, this problem wasted 30 mins from my life but your solution is great <3 – Mo Ok Oct 10 '21 at 18:33
Something has changed, the UI looks different now and these screenshots do no longer exist here. The answer needs an update for Windows 10 20H2. – ygoe Jan 11 '22 at 23:59
@ygoe: Updated. The language settings are now found in *Settings > Time & Language > Language*. – harrymc Jan 12 '22 at 09:02
Method 2 works. IDK what whoever is responsible for this at MS is even thinking. – Alexander Revo Mar 14 '22 at 09:59
In my case, I had to install the language, add another keyboard layout to it (because I had two unnecessary keyboard layouts, not just one), then remove both the newly added keyboard layout and the language. It is extremely annoying that the display language keeps seeping into the keyboard layouts for no goddamn reason. – jurchiks Aug 07 '22 at 13:35
For more detail on keyboard language IDs, see [this](https://renenyffenegger.ch/notes/Windows/registry/tree/HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Keyboard-Layout/index) and [this](https://renenyffenegger.ch/notes/Windows/development/Internationalization/language) – BrockenDuck Feb 03 '23 at 09:38
Hi! Worked like a charm! Much appreciated! :) – soaresbra Mar 01 '23 at 07:53

Peter Hahndorf · Answer 2 · 2018-09-23T20:06:18.340

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Edit: This section of the control panel has been removed from newer versions of Windows 10. You need to use the settings app instead.

Open Control Panel, under the Clock, Language and Region heading click Change input methods, you should see your language, click on Options, in the Input method section you should see two entries, remove one.

edited Sep 23 '18 at 20:06

answered Aug 15 '15 at 15:44

Peter Hahndorf

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In Widows 10, on the Control Panel, I do not see "Clock, Languages and Regions". I see Language and Region as two separate items, but I don@t see the option that you mention. – Mawg says reinstate Monica Aug 16 '15 at 08:16
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The system installs "English (United States) US Keyboard" even though none of my input methods has that keyboard listed in the options. How can I get rid of it then? – roberto tomás Dec 09 '15 at 16:00
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I have two languages (EN + CZ) and had two keyboard layouts for Czech language (QWERTY+QWERTZ). I wanted to get rid of Czech QWERTZ layout. Although there were both layouts shown in system tray, there was only QWERTY in Input methods section. Probably caused by bug in Windows. Solution: add QWERTZ layout in Input methods section and then remove it. – Tomáš Záluský Apr 13 '16 at 11:09
Thanks @TomášZáluský, that helped a lot! Until now I had to restart the system, now I know how to handle this exact problem :-) – janhink Feb 26 '18 at 09:48
@TomášZáluský I had the same problem, I could swear that "Odebrat" (Remove) button wasn't there the first time I checked (or was greyed out). – rluks Apr 08 '18 at 08:29
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@Mawg I don't have "Clock, Languages and Regions" either. For me, the solution by Johannes Rudolph below worked. – user4954 May 31 '18 at 14:57
That's useful to know. Thanks (+1). It should help others in a similar situation. – Mawg says reinstate Monica Jun 01 '18 at 05:56
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I have no such section in settings either, there is NO WAY to remove a keyboard layout/input method in settings, it's ridiculous – szx Sep 23 '18 at 08:40
"use the settings app instead" Which app? – Pedro77 Nov 01 '18 at 11:08
For me, the solutions by harrymc and Johannes Rudolph below worked. – Meltdown Jul 25 '19 at 15:51
I have UK and US keyboards both listed in the tray tool. but under keyboards only US is installed. I add and remove UK again, no change. – niico Jun 11 '20 at 08:39

score 27 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 17 '20 at 04:55

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Posting @Jubei's comment as an answer.

Due to a bug in Windows, the keyboard layout might not appear in the languages list in the Settings app.

To remove it, you need to add that language and that keyboard layout to the Settings app yourself, then immediately remove them, as described in https://superuser.com/a/1025157/338981.

answered Jul 17 '20 at 04:55

Petr Hudeček

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The only thing worked for me. – Amr SubZero Jul 20 '22 at 02:35

score 13 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 02 '17 at 09:20

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I finally managed to solve this. Go to Settings, Time&Language, Region&Language:

I had German (Deutsch) as the default language, with English US as display language. Then: - Click on English and select Options - Add a Keyboard in your preferred layout (Swedish, German, whaterver) - Then remove the US Keyboard Layout for english language

The language selector (win+space) now shows like: English US - German Layout German - German Layout

It's not a 100% solution but at least it will fix random keyboard layout swaps.

answered Aug 02 '17 at 09:20

Johannes Rudolph

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Do you have any idea about where this VIE IME come from? [Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/fK5Gmmv.png) – Luke Jun 25 '18 at 09:06
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'Region and Language' is now gone in Windows 10. In the end I went to Language, had to re-add the keyboard that wouldn't go away, then remove again. finally fixed. – niico Jun 11 '20 at 08:39

score 10 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 22 '19 at 13:22

10

In Windows 10, on the Control Panel, I chose "Languages". There was a rectangle labelled English and next to it was some text saying "keyboard layout: English, German".

I clicked on that box and then there was an option to remove each keyboard.

I have searched through every possible selection under Language and Region and this is the only way that I found to remove keyboard.

edited Jul 22 '19 at 13:22

Dmitry Grigoryev

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answered Aug 16 '15 at 08:20

Mawg says reinstate Monica

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I am using english display language but a swedish keyboard layout. However my keyboard switches to english all the time and i cannot delete the english layout. When i edit the layouts i can only see the swedish keyboard, but when i click "ENG" in the system tray i can pick between both keyboards. Its driving me insane! – Maciej Swic May 16 '16 at 15:37
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I have the same problem. In system tray i see ENG. But I dont have english keyboard layout. Found this post and it works, for now... http://superuser.com/questions/685078/how-do-i-remove-english-us-from-windows-8-1 – Mikkel Nielsen Jun 20 '16 at 07:32
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This works, but the problem is that you will also remove the language. In my case, I only wanted to remove the EN keyboard but keep my OS in English - and this side effect might actually be more annoying than having an extra keyboard – Żubrówka Aug 31 '18 at 13:51
There is, alas, an arrogance/blinkered Weltanschauung in some developers that simply cannot see why anyone would ever want to remove "English". Almost inevitably, that means U.S "English" :-( – Mawg says reinstate Monica Feb 15 '21 at 09:31

Ohad Cohen · Answer 6 · 2020-03-01T11:02:20.010

1. first thing to check:

open settings -> language settings -> Administrative language setting -> welcome screen and new user accounts -> copy settings.

make sure non of the settings is set to the undesired language.

thanks it's 42

2. another reason why display languages keep adding themselves to keyboard layout lists:

1) press winkey+R

2) enter lpksetup and press enter

3) choose "uninstall display languages"

4) choose the language you want to remove and click "next"

5) restart your computer

answer taken from this thread

3. When the two solutions above don't help

open registry editor (WinKey + r -> regedit), edit Languages under Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\International\User Profile\ to list desired keyboard layouts and restart computer.

4. This is a really dangerous option, use it only as last resort

Go to C:\Windows, look for a folder named as the layout you want to remove (en-GB in my case) and remove it / change it's name.

restart your computer

thanks for the answer with lpksetup! I tried everything and only this works. — emnha, Nov 27 '20 at 15:37

score 7 · Answer 7 · edited Apr 20 '22 at 08:09

This solution worked for me:

Open registry Editor (Win+R -> regedit) as Administrator.
Navigate to Computer\HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Keyboard Layout\Preload
Delete the unnecessary keyboards based on the language codes

To prevent these from re-appearing:

Right-click on the "Preload" branch and choose "Permissions".
Click on "Advanced".
Click on "Disable Inheritance" and confirm disabling. Then click "Apply" button.
In "Group or user names" in the Security tab, if the user names disappeared, add back yourself and the administrators. Make sure that "Permissions for system does not have write access.

pashute · Answer 8 · 2018-05-26T21:48:13.020

I don't know why but I don't have any of the above options in the Control panel.

I have Clock and Region (no Language mentioned) and inside cannot set the language.

If I click the ENG on the language bar in the tray I finally get: Language Preferences. Choosing that, takes me to the Languages control panel.

I cannot delete the UK keyboard (I have Israel and the US keyboard set, and Hebrew as a second language). Standing on the UK keyboard the Remove button is disabled.

Deleting the UK key (809) from the registry Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\International\User Profile\Languages should do the trick (in older versions it was a different key with a dword for each language: 409 was English US, 40d is Hebrew, 809 is UK) Thanks Ohad!!!!

I had to go under the Region and Languages Settings panel, Advanced Keyboard Settings, and Override for default input method.

Changed from Use Language List (recommended) to Hebrew

Rebooted and all's ok now.

you have edited the wrong registry key, see my answer – Ohad Cohen May 25 '18 at 18:23 — Ohad Cohen, May 25 '18 at 18:23

Yousef Albakoush · Answer 9 · 2023-05-20T01:41:23.987

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I have suffered from from similar issue and solve it by removing undesirable language as shown in the screenshot

From any Microsoft Office application (e.g Word),

click on Office Button ,
go to Word Option button ,
from Popular option in (Office 2007)

or Language option (later versions)

at the Editing language table, remove undesirable language
then press OK

Note : You need to restart your computer to activate this change.

edited May 20 '23 at 01:41

answered May 19 '23 at 12:07

Yousef Albakoush

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Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community May 19 '23 at 13:01

How to delete a keyboard layout in Windows 10

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