Do you know how to change languages on a laptop? Well, we are going to show you how you can easily do this in this guide. We will focus on Windows 10 laptops here, but the methods that we will show you should apply no matter what version of the Windows operating system your laptop uses.
When installing Windows 10 on your laptop, there will be an option to change the operating system’s language. But this is not much use to you if you have purchased a new laptop with Windows 10 already installed.
You may need to change the language on your Windows 10 laptop if you share it with someone who speaks a different language naturally. Or you may want to purchase a nearly new Windows 10 laptop from someone that used it with a different language to yours. Whatever your reason for changing the language, it is all straightforward to do this.
How to change default system language on Windows 10
You may think that you will have to reinstall Windows 10 again to change the system language, but this is not true. It is possible to change the system language through the use of the Settings application in Windows 10.
A lot of Windows 10 installations are synchronized with a Microsoft account. So, if your Microsoft account is in English, then the system language for Windows 10 will be English as well. In order to change the system language, you will need to disable the language sync to your Microsoft account for your laptop.
If you fail to disable the Microsoft account syncing, Windows 10 will likely revert to the language of your account. To disable the syncing, just open your Settings application and then choose Accounts. Look for Sync your settings, and then turn off the switch for Language preferences.
After disabling the Microsoft account syncing, you can safely proceed to change the Windows 10 system language. The first thing you need to do is to close any applications currently running on your laptop.
Click on your Windows button and choose the Settings application. Once it has opened, you need to look for Time & Language and click on this when you find it. Choose the Language option and then look for Preferred languages.
There will be a button with a cross in it and the words Add a language, and you need to click this. Use the name of the language, for example, Spanish to search for the language you want. You can also perform a search by the country name.
Once you have found the language pack you want, you will need to select it and then click on Next.
You will then see a screen Install language features and here you need to ensure that both Install language pack and Set as my Windows display language are checked. There are other options available so check those that you want.
Now it is time to click on the Install button. When you do this, you will receive a message from Windows requesting that you sign out. You will need to choose the Yes, sign me out now option here.
When you are prompted to do so, you will need to sign back into Windows. You will see that all of the Windows 10 elements are now in the new language. This includes the screen that you will use to sign in and all of your applications.
How to change the keyboard language on Windows 10
When you change the system language for Windows 10 on your laptop, you may need to change the keyboard language as well. During a Windows 10 installation, you have the option to create different keyboard layouts if you so choose. But you do not have to reinstall Windows 10 again to add a new keyboard layout.
Open your Settings application from the Start menu. Find the Time & Language option and click on this. Now you need to choose the Language option and then find the section for Preferred languages and click the link for this.
When you are in the Preferred languages section, you will need to choose the default language if this is not already selected and click on Options.
There is a Keyboard option at the bottom of the screen. You need to click on the button that says Add a keyboard.
You will then see a number of keyboard layouts and select the one you want to use. If you want to add additional keyboard layouts, you can do this following the same process as explained above.
Switching your keyboard layout will probably change the configuration of your keyboard, so you will have some work to do here. You should now see an Input Indicator on your taskbar at the far right. Choose the alternate keyboard layout that you want.
Conclusion
As you can see, it is pretty easy to change the Windows 10 system language for another. There is no need for you to install Windows again as you can do this from your existing installation. It is also simple to add a keyboard layout for another language and switch between different layouts.
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