How to Change System Locale in Windows 11

Checking Your Current System Locale

Check your current setting before you change it. That gives you a value to return to if the new locale doesn’t help.

Control Panel, Command Prompt and PowerShell all show the same value, so use whichever you prefer.

Method 1Using the Control Panel

Control Panel shows the current system locale in plain words. It works the same on Home and Pro editions of a currently supported Windows 11 version (such as 25H2). You open the Region window, go to the Administrative tab and read the language listed for non-Unicode programs.

You can also reach these settings from Settings. Go to Settings › Time & language › Language & region and click the Administrative language settings link under Related settings. It opens the same Region window. The steps below use Control Panel.

1. Open Control Panel🎛️. Type “Control Panel🎛️” in the Windows search bar🔍 and click the result.

   

2. Find Region. Check the View by setting in the top-right corner. If you see categories such as System and Security or Clock and Region, click Clock and Region. If you see small or large icons, click Region and skip the next step.

   

3. Click Region if you opened Clock and Region. The Region window opens on the Formats tab, which shows your current regional settings.
4. Click the Administrative tab. It holds the section for non-Unicode programs.

   

5. Read the language under Current language for non-Unicode programs. It sits in the Language for non-Unicode programs section. That language is your system locale.

   

If the language doesn’t suit the programs you want to run, or you don’t recognize it, you probably need to change it. Write down the current value first so you can go back to it. The change methods follow later in this guide.

Method 2Using Command Prompt

Command Prompt shows the current system locale with one built-in command, so you skip the settings windows. You run the locale query command and read the active language setting for older programs.

1. Open Command Prompt. Type cmd in the Windows search bar🔍 and press Enter. If you plan to make changes afterwards, right-click the result and choose Run as administrator instead, then click Yes if User Account Control asks for permission.
2. Run the command. Type the command below exactly as shown and press Enter:
   

   ⬛Command Prompt

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   systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"System Locale"

3. Wait for the output to finish. The command can take a moment. Don’t press Enter again.
4. Read the line labelled “System Locale.” That line is your current system locale.

Method 3Using PowerShell

PowerShell shows the language code Windows uses for non-Unicode programs with a short command. It works on every edition of Windows 11.

1. Open PowerShell as administrator (administrator rights required). Type “PowerShell” in the Windows search bar🔍, right-click Windows PowerShell and select Run as administrator. Click Yes if User Account Control appears.
2. Run the command. Type the command below and press Enter:
   

   ⬛PowerShell

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   Get-WinSystemLocale

3. Read the result. PowerShell shows a code such as “en-US” or “de-DE.” That code is the language and region Windows uses for older apps.

Good to know: The system locale mainly affects how non-Unicode programs display text. Date, time and currency formats are set separately on the Formats tab of the same Region window. After a change, check that tab if an older program still shows dates or money amounts wrongly.

Changing Your System Locale in 🪟 Windows 11

This change requires administrator permission. If you are signed in with a standard account, Windows asks for an administrator password. Windows applies the setting to the whole PC, not only to your account.

If the Change system locale… button does nothing, or you can’t get past the prompt, your account doesn’t have administrator rights. Sign in with an administrator account and try again.

Method 1Using the Control Panel

This is the most common and recommended method. The steps run from opening Control Panel to the final restart.

1. Open Control Panel🎛️. Type “Control Panel🎛️” in the Windows search bar🔍 and click the result.
2. Open the Region window. If you see categories, click Clock and Region, then Region. If you see icons, click Region. The window opens on the Formats tab.
3. Click the Administrative tab. The Language for non-Unicode programs section appears.

   

4. Click Change system locale… (administrator rights required). Approve the prompt if Windows asks. The Region Settings window appears.
5. Open the Current system locale dropdown menu. Choose the language the older programs expect. For an old German program, choose German.
6. Leave Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support cleared. Tick it only if you know you need it. It changes how Windows handles text across the whole system and can break other older programs.

   

7. Click OK in the Region Settings window. Windows will likely tell you to restart your🔄 computer.
8. Save your work, then click Restart now. If you click Cancel, the change doesn’t take effect until the next restart.
9. Confirm the change. After the restart, open the Administrative tab again and check that the new language appears. To undo the change, repeat these steps and pick your original language.

Method 2Using Command Prompt for Quick Access

One Command Prompt command opens the right settings window directly, so you skip the menus. The steps below take you from an administrator Command Prompt to a finished change.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator (administrator rights required). Search for “cmd,” right-click the result and select Run as administrator. Click Yes if User Account Control appears.
2. Open the Region window on the right tab. Type `control.exe intl.cpl,,8` and press Enter. Type it exactly as shown, including both commas.
3. Check the tab. The Region settings window should show the Administrative tab. If it opens on a different tab, click Administrative.
4. Click Change system locale… Approve the administrator prompt if Windows shows one. The Region Settings window appears.
5. Choose your language in the Current system locale dropdown menu. Pick the one your older program expects.
6. Click OK. Windows asks you to restart the🔄 PC.
7. Click Restart now. Save your work first, because the PC restarts straight away.

The `control.exe intl.cpl,,8` command opens the “Administrative” tab of the Region settings window directly, so you reach the system locale setting faster.

Method 3Using PowerShell with a Specific Command

PowerShell changes the system locale straight from the command line. This suits automated setups and people who manage several PCs. You run a cmdlet (a PowerShell command) that applies a new language code to your non-Unicode program settings.

1. Open PowerShell as administrator (administrator rights required). Search for “PowerShell,” right-click the result and select Run as administrator. Click Yes if User Account Control appears.
2. Choose the locale you want. PowerShell needs the language code, so replace <LocaleName> with the correct one. Examples:

   • English (United States): en-US
   • German (Germany): de-DE
   • Japanese (Japan): ja-JP
   • French (France): fr-FR
3. Check the command format. The command looks like this:
   

   ⬛PowerShell

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   Set-WinSystemLocale -SystemLocale <LocaleName>

4. Type your own version. For example, to set German, type:
   

   ⬛PowerShell

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   Set-WinSystemLocale -SystemLocale de-DE

5. Press Enter to run it. Windows might ask you to install extra language features. If an error appears, check that you opened PowerShell as administrator and that the language code is spelled correctly.
6. Restart your🔄 computer. The new system locale applies only after the restart.

To go back, run the same command with your original language code, then restart. Confirm the result with the PowerShell check from earlier in this guide.

If the problem remains after the restart

Check that the right language pack is installed. Go to Settings › Time & language › Language & region and add the pack your program needs. To return to your original setting, repeat the steps with your original language and restart again.