Can't set Windows 8.1 to use a UK Keyboard and English (United Kingdom) as Language Preference

Have this issue on my son's account on home PC, all other accounts are fine. No amount of hunting and poking in the UI works to fix the keyboard in UK English. He is learning to use the computer, but all the symbols are in the wrong place.

Doubling baffling that just one account is affected and not all.

Managed to fix this after much hunting around:

1. Go to Settings -> Change PC Settings -> Time and Language -> Region and Language -> Click "English United Kingdom" and add UK extended keyboard.
2. In the language click US as the primary language.
3. Now click UK as the primary language.
4. Now remove the US language.
5. Log out and log in again.

Tried quite a few variations on this, but this is the path that worked here. Absolutely bonkers :-)

I was getting this problem. On one of my accounts it appeared to be using the keyboard set to US English. No amount of changing settings to set it use the UK English keyboard layout worked. If I tried Windows Key + Space nothing happened happened

• no selections appeared for choosing the desired keyboard. There was no language icon on the taskbar.

I added the UK English language pack and set the preferred language to UK English via Control Panel, Then via the Charms settings/PC Settings/Change PC Settings/Time and Language/Region and Language.

Selected 'Options' for UK English and Added the UK Extended Keyboard.

After that I could use Windows Key + Space to select the UK keyboard.

To be honest, I have no idea why that worked or which was the critical step. The other account on the PC did not of this problem. I assume I must have missed something when setting the new account.

this worked for me

Thank you ! This worked for me also !

I have worked in IT for over 25 years and cannot believe how difficult some of the most basic of tasks are to perform within Windows 8.  Software development should always be about making the user experience simpler.  Microsoft you have failed badly in Win 8 and have made the user experience one of frustration and full of time consuming tasks.

I have wasted so much time trying to set up Windows 8 computers I feel like sending you an invoice for time spent !

Get you acts together and think of your users like you used to and forget about trying to merge desktop computer operating systems with tablet style functions that no sane computer user would want.  We purchase tablets for that !

Right, its time I got back to some proper work !

Sean.

Thanks this worked, this was driving me nuts! Probably the most ridiculous Windows bug of all time. Well done Microsoft for releasing this rubbish!

I was getting this problem. On one of my accounts it appeared to be using the keyboard set to US English. No amount of changing settings to set it use the UK English keyboard layout worked. If I tried Windows Key + Space nothing happened happened

• no selections appeared for choosing the desired keyboard. There was no language icon on the taskbar.

I added the UK English language pack and set the preferred language to UK English via Control Panel, Then via the Charms settings/PC Settings/Change PC Settings/Time and Language/Region and Language.

Selected 'Options' for UK English and Added the UK Extended Keyboard.

After that I could use Windows Key + Space to select the UK keyboard.

To be honest, I have no idea why that worked or which was the critical step. The other account on the PC did not of this problem. I assume I must have missed something when setting the new account.

this worked for me

THANK YOU So much. Have just spent hours and evenings trying to fix this.

Why can't Microsoft get this sorted out or put it into their help system !?

Thanks again