How to change the language of Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 (French, Italian, Spanish, German…)

Installed Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 and want it in French, Italian, Spanish, German or another language? The official Windows 11 IoT LTSC image is English only, so the language has to be added after installation. Many people only get halfway: Settings or File Explorer stay in English, or switch back to English after updates. This guide shows how to change the language of Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 completely, step by step. The examples use French; the table below has the codes for other languages.

Why Windows 11 IoT LTSC is English only

Microsoft ships Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 as a single English (en-US) image: other languages are added with the official language packs, downloaded from Windows Update. The result matches a native version, but only if every step is done, in the right order.

Before you start: the PC must be online and Windows Update must not be disabled (this is common on LTSC): that’s where the language packs come from.

Method 1 (the best): install Windows 11 IoT LTSC 2024 directly in your language

On our Download links page you’ll find the Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024 image in your language: French, Italian, Spanish, German and English. Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 is based on the same version (24H2): starting from the image in your language, the whole system is in that language, including the sign-in screen, the recovery environment and the system tools.

1. Make a backup of your files.
2. Download the Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024 image in your language from the Download links page and create a bootable USB drive.
3. Start the PC from the USB drive and install Windows.
4. When it’s done, go to Settings → System → Activation → Change product key and enter your Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 product key.
5. Check in Settings → System → About: the edition should show as Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC, activated.

If Windows doesn’t accept the key or shows an activation error, message us with a screenshot: we’ll help right away. You can also use method 2 below, starting from the English image.

Method 2: Windows 11 IoT LTSC already installed in English? Change the language in Settings

1. Open Settings → Time & language → Language & region.
2. Next to Preferred languages click Add a language, search for your language (for example Français (France)) and click Next.
3. Tick Set as my Windows display language and leave all features selected (Language pack, Text-to-speech, Speech recognition, Handwriting). Click Install.
4. Wait until the download has completely finished: it can take a few minutes. Don’t remove English yet.
5. On the same page set Country or region and Regional format to your country and language.
6. Sign out and back in (or restart): Windows is now in your language.

The step almost everyone skips: copy the settings

Without this step the sign-in screen, new users and some parts of the system stay in English.

1. Go to Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Administrative language settings.
2. On the Administrative tab click Copy settings.
3. Tick Welcome screen and system accounts and New user accounts, then OK.
4. In the same window click Change system locale and choose your language.
5. Restart the PC.

(Once the language has changed, these menus appear in your language.)

Method 3: change the language of Windows 11 IoT LTSC with PowerShell (complete)

If you’d rather do it all in one go, or if method 2 leaves parts in English, open PowerShell as administrator and run these commands one at a time. The example is for French; use the table below for other languages.

Install-Language -Language fr-FR -CopyToSettings

Wait until it finishes (it can take several minutes), then:

Set-SystemPreferredUILanguage -Language fr-FR
Set-WinUILanguageOverride -Language fr-FR
Set-WinUserLanguageList -LanguageList fr-FR -Force
Set-Culture -CultureInfo fr-FR
Set-WinSystemLocale -SystemLocale fr-FR
Set-WinHomeLocation -GeoId 84
Copy-UserInternationalSettingsToSystem -WelcomeScreen $true -NewUser $true

Restart the PC.

Language	Language code	GeoId (country)
French (France)	fr-FR	84
Italian (Italy)	it-IT	118
Spanish (Spain)	es-ES	217
German (Germany)	de-DE	94

What the commands do, in short:

• Install-Language downloads and installs the full language pack;
• Set-SystemPreferredUILanguage and Set-WinUILanguageOverride set it as the Windows display language;
• Set-WinUserLanguageList sets the language and keyboard for your user;
• Set-Culture, Set-WinSystemLocale and Set-WinHomeLocation set the date and number format, the language for non-Unicode programs and the country;
• Copy-UserInternationalSettingsToSystem copies everything to the sign-in screen and new users.

You can check the result with Get-InstalledLanguage: next to your language you should see LpCab (language pack installed).

Windows 11 IoT LTSC switches back to English after updates: how to fix it

This is the most reported problem on the forums. In most cases it happens because English was removed while the new language pack wasn’t fully installed yet. To fix it:

1. Check with Get-InstalledLanguage that the pack is complete; if it isn’t, run Install-Language -Language fr-FR -CopyToSettings again (with your language code).
2. Run Set-SystemPreferredUILanguage -Language fr-FR and Copy-UserInternationalSettingsToSystem -WelcomeScreen $true -NewUser $true again.
3. Restart.

If you want to remove English, do it only after the new language is completely installed and after a restart, from Settings → Time & language → Language & region. Keeping English installed causes no problems.

What may stay in English

With methods 2 and 3, some very technical parts may stay in English, for example the recovery environment or some setup tools. That’s normal and changes nothing in everyday use: menus, Settings, File Explorer, the sign-in screen and programs are in your language. If you really want everything translated, use method 1.

Why choose Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024

It’s the Windows 11 edition with security updates until 10 October 2034, no preinstalled apps, and TPM and Secure Boot optional: ideal for older PCs and workstations that need to stay stable. You’ll find all the differences in Windows 11 LTSC and IoT LTSC 2024: which to choose and, if your PC has no TPM 2.0, in PC without TPM 2.0: how to move to Windows 11.

See Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024

Frequently asked questions

Does changing the language remove Windows activation?

No. The language has nothing to do with the licence: Windows 11 IoT LTSC stays activated.

Which languages can I use?

All the languages Windows 11 supports. Just use the right language code and GeoId: the table above covers the most common ones.

Install-Language shows an error: what should I do?

Usually Windows Update is disabled or blocked by a company policy. Turn it back on, restart and try again. If the error persists, message us with a screenshot: we’ll help for free.