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

Yep, same problem! Fixed it by adding UK Extended Keyboard input method to the UK Language pack. I was then able to remove the U.S keyboard.  I followed this with a restart and "hey presto".

@kkrishKK:

Language options hands me precisely an opposite problem: Cannot get the "English United States" to...I have no idea what a correct term would be...anyway, STAY set.

I keep getting "English U K" which I do not want.

Weird: when the board goes to English UK, the @ key becomes a quotation mark: " and the quotation mark becomes the @ symbol.

Okay, I figured, I will just set English United States and everything will be okay, the board language will stay at English United States.

No such luck. At random intervals --- no idea what causes the language preference to change --- the board language changes to English UK which is no use to me.

If I lived somewhere in the UK and tried to keep preference set at English UK, I suppose the board language would change to English US.

This is ridiculous. Yes, I can keep checking the language setting and, if it has set itself to English UK, just go ahead and hit Windows key + Space bar.

Should NOT have to constantly do this checking/changing.

Hello, Microsoft?? Do these things have to be made annoying or difficult? Had to accept the blasted W8.1...okay. I am trying to learn what all the things called "charms" or "tiles," whatever the right term(s) might be.

Putting up with the seeming "auto-switch" of language preference, added to the much-loathed W8.1, is at the very least JUST A BIT MUCH.

MSoft: PLEASE figure out a way to keep language preference set where the computer-user wants it to be. Then do us all the favor of letting us know how to set preferences and KEEP them the way we want/need them to be!!!

Added note: I did not slog through the five pages of computer-user questions regarding language preference. For all I know, someone besides myself has the same problem I have and posted the same question I have written here.

If such a post exists and I did not read it, I am very sorry.

Just in case, though, no one posted the same issue I keep having to deal with, I am hoping I am not the only one to constantly have to check the right-hand corner to see whether MY PREFERENCE has stayed as I put it.

Thanks for reading this rant. There must be some way to keep setting as I or anyone else want it to be. Want to bet that MSoft will not bother to set up a real fix? Advice: Do not make such a bet.

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

This worked for me as well ! Thank you