This article explains how to enable or disable changing the geographic locations in Windows 11.
Windows uses location service to determine the precise geographic location of your device. For example, with location service enabled, Windows can identify shops, restaurants, and other establishments in your area and help you with directions there.
Location service also enables certain Windows features such as auto-setting the time zone, weather information, or finding my device to work correctly.
Windows also allows you to disable location services if you don’t want apps and features automatically discovering your location and determining what to access.
If you change location or region, you can update the new location or region so that location services can provide services and automatically set your time zone.
Since location service is critical to how you use your device, you can allow or disallow users from changing the geographic location in Windows, and the steps below show you how.
Enable or disable changing geographic location via the Local Group Policy Editor
As described above, the administrator can allow or disallow changing the geographic location in Windows.
Here’s how to do that.
First, open the Local Group Policy Editor.
Then expand the following folders Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Location Services.
Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Location Services
Next, click on the Local Services folder on the left panel, and double-click the setting on the right called “Disallow changing of geographic location” to open.
When the setting window opens, select one of the options:
- Not Configured – Same as Disabled. Users may choose any GeoID.
- Enabled – If enabled, users cannot change their GeoID.
- Disabled – If disabled, users can select any GeoID.
Save your settings and restart your Computer for the changes to apply.
Enable or disable changing geographic location via Windows Registry Editor
Yet another way to turn on or off changing geographic location in Windows is to use the Windows Registry Editor.
If you can’t open the Local Group Policy Editor, use the Windows Registry editor instead.
Open the Windows Registry, and navigate to the folder key path below.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Control Panel\International
If you don’t see the International folder key, right-click on the Control Panel key, then create the subkey (International) folders.
Right-click the International folder key’s right pane and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Type a new key named PreventGeoIdChange.
Double-click the new key item name (PreventGeoIdChange) and make sure the Base option is Decimal, and then update the Value data:
- To turn this feature on. Type 1.
- To turn this feature off. Type 0.
Save your changes and restart your Computer.
That should do it!
Conclusion:
This post showed you how to enable or disable changing geographic locations in Windows 11. If you find any errors above or have something to add, please use the comment form below.
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