Often, Windows users find themselves in an extremely unpleasant situation when they need to quickly change the input language (for example, when typing a test), but the keyboard does not switch to English. What is the problem? How to fix such a failure yourself? This will be discussed in the article.
Why does not switch to English language bar?
The reasons for this phenomenon can be quite a lot: from short-term failures to breakdown of the keyboard itself. Let's figure it out together.
When the keyboard does not switch to English, the following are considered the main facts that affect the appearance of such a failure:
- short-term system failure;
- lack of language required to switch;
- incorrect switching settings;
- lack of installed keyboard layout;
- Disabled service responsible for layout and switching;
- device breakdown.
Actually, in the simplest case, sometimes just restarting a computer terminal or laptop is enough. If you restart it, this problem may disappear. But in a situation where Russian does not switch to English, other reasons are usually guilty. They will be discussed now.
The keyboard does not switch to English: adding a language
The most common phenomenon is considered to be the situation when, for some reason, the second language in the system was deleted or was initially absent altogether (although English is enabled by default in the standard Windows settings). To solve the question of why the language bar and, as a result, the keyboard does not switch to English, you just need to check whether a second language is installed in the system.
So, we go into the standard “Control Panel” and turn to the section of languages and regional standards. After that, in the settings window you need to go to the tab languages and keyboards. Use the keyboard change button to display all the languages installed in the system.
We pay attention to the tab of general parameters (in the window in the middle). Languages are displayed there. If only one Russian is specified, the second language needs to be added. To do this, use the corresponding button located slightly to the right.
Next, from the list, you just need to select English, expand the keyboard menu, set the value of the “US” layout. Be sure to save the changes. In theory, after the actions taken in the previous list, the second language will appear immediately.
Keyboard Shortcut Settings
But it also happens that a language is present in the system or, as in the previous list, its configuration is done correctly, but this does not give an effect. So why does the keyboard switch to English by default, but not to Russian?
Perhaps the problem is that the so-called hot keys, which are responsible for quick switching, are not configured. The standard system settings initially use the combination Alt + Shift. If the user thinks that you can immediately switch using Ctrl + Shift, he is deeply mistaken. To get started, try the standard version. If this does not help, on the switching tab, you need to see from the drop-down menu at the top whether such a combination is specified at all.
Next, use the button to change the keyboard shortcut, which is located at the bottom right, after which one of the proposed options is installed to change the language or layout.
But on the question of why the corresponding layout does not switch to English, one more important point needs to be paid attention to. In the previous window, after installing the main combination, try selecting the line corresponding to the inclusion of the English language in the drop-down menu and set your own combination (for example, Ctrl + 1), save the changes and check if switching works. Perhaps the failure is due to the inoperability of the buttons, and a new combination will give the desired effect.
Language bar display settings
Fast switching is not possible for another reason. Why doesn’t switch to the English keyboard? Sometimes this is due only to the fact that the language bar itself is not fixed in the tray. It is not known why, but this can also be.
In the above section, go to the tab of the language panel and make sure that the checkbox is selected in front of the line for docking it in the "Taskbar". If for some reason the buttons do not work, switching languages can be done directly from the corresponding panel (the icon near the clock in the system tray) using the mouse.
Checking the functionality of the buttons
Finally, the most unpleasant situation associated with the breakdown of the keyboard itself. You can check its performance in any text editor (but only for keys with letters, numbers and special characters). But what to do to check the rest of the buttons like Ctrl, Alt, Shift, etc.?
To do this, you will need to call the on-screen keyboard (accessibility section) from the main menu, and then check with it. This is done by successively pressing the desired buttons. A change in their color on the virtual keyboard will signal their operability. If the color change does not occur, you can be sure that the key does not work. As already clear, in this case you will either have to carry the keyboard for repair, or (for cases with laptops) to buy a new one. But in the simplest case, you can try to perform some actions yourself, for example, remove the buttons and clean the contacts from accumulated dirt (this, unfortunately, is very common).
Additional actions
If all else fails, go to startup through the "Run" console with the msconfig command and check if the ctfmon service, which is responsible for layouts and languages, is turned on.
If it is deactivated, just check the box next to it and reboot.
Finally
To summarize, it can be noted that the most common situations were described above. If nothing helps at all, try connecting another keyboard. Perhaps the malfunction lies precisely in the device that was used before. By the way, check yet, a third-party program responsible for changing the language and layout is not installed in the system. And, of course, try checking your computer for viruses.