Keyboard Typing the Wrong Characters in Windows? Fix the @ and " Swap and US vs UK Layout

You press a key and a different character appears — the @ and " are swapped, # comes out as £, or the symbols above the number row are all wrong.

Why: The character you get is decided by the keyboard layout Windows is using, not the letters printed on your keys. If Windows is set to a US layout but you have a UK keyboard (or vice versa), the symbols won’t line up. Microsoft’s own fix is to make the input language match your physical keyboard. The most common offender is a stray United States-International layout, whose “dead keys” turn ' and " into accent marks.

Fix 1: Switch to the right layout with Win + Space

Windows often has more than one layout installed, and you may have switched by accident.

1. Press and hold the Windows logo key, then tap Spacebar. A small panel shows every installed layout.
2. Keep tapping Space (while holding Windows) to cycle until the highlighted layout matches your keyboard — e.g. English (United Kingdom) for a UK keyboard.
3. Release and test: type @ and " (Shift+2 and Shift+’) to confirm they’re correct.

This is the fastest fix and usually solves an accidental swap immediately.

Fix 2: Add the correct layout if it isn’t listed

If Win + Space only offers the wrong layout, add the right one:

1. Open Settings > Time & language > Language & region.
2. Click your language (e.g. English), then Language options.
3. Under Keyboards, click Add a keyboard and pick the layout that matches your hardware — for a UK keyboard choose United Kingdom; for a US keyboard choose US.
4. Use Win + Space to switch to it, then remove the wrong layout: click it, then the three dots (…) > Remove.

Fix 3: Keep the intended input layout selected

The Windows display language controls menus and other interface text. The keyboard layout determines the characters produced by the keys; the two do not have to match.

In Settings → Time & language → Typing → Advanced keyboard settings, select the intended default input method if you need an override. Keep only the layouts you actually use, and test the selected layout with Win + Space. Changing the Windows display language is not required to make a UK or US physical keyboard type the expected symbols. Sign-in-screen language settings can be configured separately if that screen uses a different layout.

Fix 4: Turn off United States-International if quotes become accents

If typing ' or " does nothing until you press another key (then adds an accent like é or ü), you’re on the US-International layout with dead keys.

• Press Win + Space and switch to plain US or United Kingdom.
• Or remove US-International: Settings > Time & language > Language & region > [language] > Language options > click United States-International, then (…) > Remove.
• Tip while you’re stuck on it: to type a literal quote, press ’ then Spacebar.

FAQ

Why does my keyboard keep switching back on its own? A hotkey (often Ctrl+Shift or Left Alt+Shift) cycles layouts. See a second language keeps switching.

The letters are fine but @ and “ are swapped — is my keyboard broken? No. That’s the classic US-vs-UK layout mismatch. Switch to the layout that matches your keyboard (Fix 1).

Sources: Microsoft Support — Manage display language and keyboard input layouts