Fix: Can’t Remove a Keyboard layout in Windows 11/10

Windows allows you to add a new keyboard layout if you use multiple layouts for work or personal work. Sometimes I switch between English US and my native language. And for users who wish to do add or remove the Keyboard layout can do so in Windows 11/10.

Windows PC comes with a lot of workstation power, and without a proper input device such as a keyboard or mouse, it is pretty hard to use your PC properly. To solve this, Microsoft allows users to add multiple Keyboard layouts to their PC. But in case of any issues, users can also remove them to avoid any layout misunderstandings.

With a different keyboard layout, it can affect your typing accuracy and even typing speed. Many users have tried to remove the extra layout from their PC but can’t remove them without a proper guide.

Fix: Can’t remove a Keyboard layout in Windows 11/10

It’s easy to add another layout directly from the settings. But what happens is sometimes you could not remove any keyboard layout that you added from your PC. However, you don’t have to worry because, in this article, we are going to explain how you can fix removing a keyboard layout that you don’t require.

Step 1: From Settings Menu

The usual method is to remove the additional keyboard layout from the settings app. So to do so,

1. Open setting on your PC.
2. Click on Time and region and then click on Region and Language.
3. Now click on the keyboard Language you want to remove.
   
4. Then finally, click on remove, and the layout should be removed.

Step 2: From Registry

The problem is, even after removing the layout, you may still see it listed on the available layouts. This error is common because of some registry files that are still present in your system. So let’s see how you can remove those registry files to get rid of the keyboard layout.

1. Open Registry from the start menu.
2. Navigate to this key location:

   Computer\HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Keyboard Layout\Preload

3. Now you’ll find some keys in that registry.
   
4. Delete the unnecessary key. If you want to know which one you need to delete, search for the keyboard layout you have from this link.
5. After deleting the necessary key, restart your system.

That’s it. You have removed the keyboard layout successfully from your system.

Step 3: Permanent Fix for the issue

So if you are wondering whether I have to change the registry file each time I add or remove the keyboard layout, you can try this permanent fix for the issue because this issue occurs when you have corrupted permissions set for the registry files. But you can change those permissions so that this issue doesn’t happen that often. To do so,

1. Right-click on the “Preload” branch and choose “Permissions”.
2. Click on “Advanced” and click on “Disable Inheritance”, and confirm disabling. Then click the “Apply” button.
   
3. Head back to “Permissions for Preload” and left-click on System.
   
4. In the “Permissions for System” part of the window, UNCHECK the “Full Control” box and hit “Apply”.

Note: Be careful while changing these settings. Do not change or uncheck values on your administrator account.

Conclusion

So that’s it, you can easily remove a keyboard layout from the settings app. If you cannot remove it from there due to some problems, you can use the registry method mentioned above. The registry method may look a bit complicated, but it works all the time without any issues. So I would recommend you try the registry method. However, be warned that changing registry files could cause issues with your PC. So when doing so, always be careful and follow the steps that are mentioned. Else you might break your installation.