Change Display Language in Windows 10/11

Buying a laptop with the wrong language pre-installed, sharing a PC with someone who prefers another language, or setting up a machine for a colleague abroad: changing the Windows display language is a five-minute job once you know that it is really two steps. First you install the language pack, then you switch the display language and sign out. This guide covers the Settings route on Windows 10 and Windows 11, the PowerShell route for scripting, and the fixes for the errors people hit most often.

Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025, but plenty of machines still run it, so the steps for both versions are given side by side. The path through Settings is almost identical.

Diagram of the path Settings, Time and language, Language and region, add a language, set Windows display language, sign out — The whole process in one line: install the language, choose it as the display language, then sign out and back in.

Before you start

Single Language editions cannot do this. Some laptops ship with “Windows Home Single Language”. If you see the message “Only one language pack allowed” or “Your Windows license only supports one display language”, the licence does not allow a second display language. Check under Settings, System, About; the edition is listed there.
You need an internet connection, because Windows downloads the language pack from Microsoft.
Installing a language needs an administrator account. After that, each user can pick their own display language.

Method 1: Change it in Settings

Windows 11

Open Settings (Windows key + I) and go to Time & language, then Language & region.
Next to Preferred languages, choose Add a language, search for the language you want and click Next.
Under Install language features, leave the display-language option ticked, optionally add speech or handwriting, and click Install.
When the download finishes, pick the language in the Windows display language drop-down.
Windows tells you to sign out. Click Sign out and sign back in.

Windows 10

Open Settings, then Time & Language, then Language.
Under Preferred languages, choose Add a language, select one and click Next.
Tick Install language pack and Set as my Windows display language if you want it applied straight away, then click Install.
Or, once installed, choose it in the Windows display language drop-down and sign out and back in.

The change applies to the account you are signed in with. Another user on the same PC keeps their own display language until they change it themselves.

Make the sign-in screen and new users match

After switching, you may find the sign-in screen and any new accounts still use the old language. To copy your settings to them, open Control Panel, Region (or search for “Region” in the Start menu), go to the Administrative tab and choose Copy settings. On Windows 11 the same dialog is also reachable from Settings, Time & language, Language & region, under Administrative language settings. Tick Welcome screen and system accounts and, if you want, New user accounts, then confirm and restart.

Method 2: PowerShell

PowerShell is quicker when you are setting up several machines or working over a remote session. The LanguagePackManagement module is available on current builds of Windows 10 and Windows 11, and the commands need an elevated PowerShell window (right-click, Run as administrator).

Install-Language -Language fr-FR -CopyToSettings
Set-SystemPreferredUILanguage -Language fr-FR
Set-WinUILanguageOverride -Language fr-FR
Restart-Computer

Install-Language -Language fr-FR downloads and installs the French (France) language pack. Replace fr-FR with the language tag you want, such as de-DE, es-ES, hi-IN or en-GB.
-CopyToSettings also applies the language to the system and default device settings (display language and regional formats) once the install finishes.
Set-SystemPreferredUILanguage sets the installed language as the system preferred UI language. It needs a restart or a fresh sign-in to take effect, and new accounts created afterwards pick it up.
Set-WinUILanguageOverride sets the display language for the current user; sign out and back in for it to apply.
Run Get-InstalledLanguage at any time to list what is installed.

Some related settings are separate, and worth knowing about. Set-Culture fr-FR changes regional formats (dates, numbers, currency), Set-WinSystemLocale fr-FR sets the language used by older non-Unicode programs, and Set-WinHomeLocation -GeoId 244 sets the home location (244 is the United States; look up the ID for your country in Microsoft’s list). Be careful with Set-WinUserLanguageList: it replaces your whole list of input languages, and removes any you do not name.

Troubleshooting

The language pack will not download or gets stuck

Check that you are online and that Windows Update is not paused or blocked by a metered connection, then retry. Language packs come through Windows Update, so a broken update service also breaks them. Restarting the PC and trying again often clears a stuck download.

Parts of Windows are still in the old language

Some apps use their own language setting or take it from the account rather than the system. Sign out and back in, restart, and check the app’s own settings. Third-party programs may simply not be translated.

The language keeps reverting

On a work or school PC, an organisation policy can force the display language. Ask your administrator if the change will not stick. On a personal PC, make sure you used the same account in both the installation and the switch, and that you signed out afterwards.

Wrong keyboard after switching

The display language and the keyboard layout are separate settings. Add or remove keyboards under the same Language & region page, and switch between them with the language indicator in the taskbar or Windows key + Space.

Common questions

Can I go back to English?

Yes. Repeat the steps and choose English as the display language. You can also remove the extra language pack afterwards from the same page if you want the disk space back.

Does changing the display language affect my files?

No. Your documents, apps and settings are untouched. Only the text that Windows itself displays changes, plus, if you choose to change them, the regional date and number formats.

Which tag do I use for my language?

Language tags combine a language and a region, such as en-GB for English (United Kingdom) or fr-FR for French (France). Not every regional variant is offered as a display-language pack, so check Microsoft’s list of available language packs for the exact tags.

Keep reading

How to Disable Start Menu Ads in Windows 11 — Tidy up the Windows 11 Start menu.
Top 5 Windows Security Tips to Protect Your PC From Malware — Basic security habits for Windows.
Fix “wmic is not recognized” on Windows 11 — Fix a common Windows command-line error.

How to Change Display Language in Windows 10 and 11

Before you start