How to Change Geographic Location in Windows 11

How to Change Your Region via Settings

To change the geographic location (region) in Windows 11, update the country or region in the language settings. Local apps then show the right weather, news and formats for where you now live. The change takes effect right away. Any user can make it, and it does not need administrator rights.

1. Open Settings by pressing Win+I. The Settings ⚙️ window opens with the system categories listed on the left.
2. Go to Settings › Time & language › Language & region You should see your display language, preferred languages and regional settings on this page.
3. Under Region, select your new country from the Country or region dropdown menu. The change applies immediately, and you can close Settings. To undo it, open the same dropdown and pick your original country. Some apps only pick up the new region the next time they start, so close and reopen any app that still shows old data.

Note that this does not change your Microsoft Store region automatically. To change your store region, you need to visit your Microsoft account profile online. Store region rules are set by Microsoft, so that change can be limited or delayed.

Privacy and Location Services

You can control which apps have access to your location. Here is how:

1. Open Settings › Privacy & security › Location
2. Look at the Location services switch at the top. Setting it to Off stops Windows from sharing your location with all apps. This is the quickest way to cut off tracking, but features that rely on location, such as local weather, will stop working or ask you to enter a place by hand.
3. To keep location on but limit it, leave Location services switched on and scroll down to the list of apps. Each app has its own switch, so turn off the ones you do not trust.
4. To set the fallback location, look for the Default location entry on the same page and use its button. This is the spot Windows uses when it cannot detect where you are. On some builds the button opens the Maps app to finish the change.

If the Location services switch is greyed out, your organization may be controlling it through policy, or the policy in the next section may be applied. Switch it back to On at any time to undo the change.

Advanced Configuration (Admin Only)

Using the Local Group Policy Editor

1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor by typing gpedit.msc in the search bar. The editor opens with a folder tree on the left. This tool is only included in Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise and Education. On Home, the search finds nothing, so use the Registry Editor method further down.
2. Navigate to: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Location Services. Expand each folder by clicking the arrow next to it.

3. Click on the Location Services folder. The policies it contains are listed in the right pane. If you cannot find the setting below, check the neighbouring Locale Services folder under System, because the policy sits there on some builds.
4. Double-click Disallow changing of geographic location. A settings window opens for that policy.
5. Select Enabled to block users from changing the location, or Disabled to allow it. Click Apply, then OK. Not Configured returns the setting to its default. If the change does not show up right away, sign out and back in, or restart the PC.

Using the Windows Registry Editor

Editing the registry can break things if you get it wrong, so create a restore point or export a backup first. Open the Registry Editor by searching for it in the Start menu, then browse to the key below in the left pane.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Control Panel\International

1. Right-click in the empty space on the right side. A small context menu appears. If part of the path above does not exist, right-click its parent key and choose New › Key to create it first.
2. Select New › DWORD (32-bit) Value. A new value appears in the right pane with its name ready to edit.
3. Name it PreventGeoIdChange. Press Enter to confirm the name.
4. Set the Value data to 1 to block changes. Double-click the new value, type the data, and click OK. Restart the PC, or sign out and back in, so the policy takes effect. To undo it, set the value data back to 0 or delete the value.

Summary

Changing your geographic location in Windows 11 lets you adjust settings for things like date formats, and it controls what local content apps show you. The location services settings let you decide which apps can see where you are. On shared or managed PCs, you can also lock the region with Group Policy on Pro editions, or with the registry on Home.