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Fix: Alt + Shift Not Changing Language on Windows 11
Only use the Left Alt and Shift for switching the keyboard language
4 min. read
Updated onFebruary 20, 2024
updated onFebruary 20, 2024
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Key notes
When Alt + Shift is not changing the language on Windows 11, you can use Win + Spacebar for the same effect. Also, make sure to use the Left Alt + Shift not the ones from the right of your keyboard.
Why is Alt + Shift not working to change language?
How do you change the language on Windows 11 with Alt Shift?
1. Use the correct sequence of key presses
First of all, make sure you are using the correct method of using theAlt+Shiftcombination. Press and hold theLeft Altkey, then press theLeft Shiftkey. It won’t work with theRight AltandRight Shift.
If you look at the keyboard language selection, that will be changed, but only if you have other languages available.
Now, if you release the Shift key and keep the Alt key pressed, you will also see the pop-up prompt showing you the change, and pressing the Shift key while still keeping Alt pressed will continue to switch between them.
If you press both left Alt and left Shift together and release them at the same time, the language will change, but you won’t see the prompt on the screen.
2. Set Alt + Shift as the input language hotkeys
Please note that the input language is not the same as the keyboard layout. While theinput language changes the languageyou’re using while typing, the keyboard layout will remap the keys on the keyboard to match the standard layout of the keys for a language.
3. Make sure that the keyboard language is not hidden
The reason you can’t change the keyboard language in Windows 11 might be just because you can’t see the change. If the keyboard language bar is hidden or transparent when inactive, you might simply not notice it.
If that’s not the case, we also have a dedicated guide on what to do if thelanguage bar is missing on Windows 11.
Other methods to change the language on Windows 11
Now that you know how to change on-screen keyboard language on Windows 11, you might also be interested in themost useful shortcuts on the latest OS.
Here we conclude our guide on what to do if Alt + Shift is not changing the language on Windows 11 and we hope that now everything returned to normal.
If you stillcan’t change the display language, you should consider the possibility that one of the Alt or Shift keys is stuck or malfunctioning.
One last advice is to minimize all the apps that are opened on the screen and try the Alt + Shift combination. An active app may circumvent the shortcut for another action with the same hotkey.
Before you go, don’t miss our guide onAlt F4 not working, since it can provide you with more potential solutions.
For any other suggestions on better ways to fix this problem, use the comments section below.
More about the topics:Keyboard issues,Windows 11
Claudiu Andone
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Oldtimer in the tech and science press, Claudiu is focused on whatever comes new from Microsoft.
His abrupt interest in computers started when he saw the first Home Computer as a kid. However, his passion for Windows and everything related became obvious when he became a sys admin in a computer science high school.
With 14 years of experience in writing about everything there is to know about science and technology, Claudiu also likes rock music, chilling in the garden, and Star Wars. May the force be with you, always!
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Claudiu Andone
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Oldtimer in the tech and science press, with 14 years of experience in writing on everything there is to know about science, technology, and Microsoft
