If you’re unable to remove an unwanted keyboard layout from your Windows Settings, then you can try the solution that we will provide in this post to successfully resolve the issue.
A keyboard layout is any specific physical, visual or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key-meaning associations of a computer keyboard, mobile phone, or other computer-controlled typographic keyboards. The physical layout is the actual positioning of keys on a keyboard.
Read: Windows 10 Upgrade stuck at Choose your keyboard layout screen.
Can’t remove a Keyboard layout in Windows 11/10
You can easily remove keyboard layouts on your Windows 10 device. However, in the case whereby you can’t remove a keyboard layout using the standard method, you can follow our instructions below to remove the keyboard layout via the registry.
To remove a keyboard layout via the registry, do the following:
Since this is a registry operation, it is recommended that you back up the registry or create a system restore point as necessary precautionary measures. Once done, you can proceed as follows:
- Press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog.
- In the Run dialog box, type regedit and hit Enter to open Registry Editor.
- Navigate or jump to the registry key path below – where you will find 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
- At each of the registry locations, on the right pane, match the keyboard identifier among the list of Keyboard Identifiers here on Microsoft.com.
- Delete the key.
- Exit Registry Editor.
- Restart computer.
Your problem should be resolved.
TIP: Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator lets you create custom keyboard layouts.