Alt+Shift not working? The fixes, in order

Last updated: 14 October 2026 · 4 min read

Try Win+Space first: if that switches the language, the keyboard is fine and only the Alt+Shift shortcut is lost (fix 2 below). If nothing switches at all, start with fix 1. Most cases are one of six settings, none of them a broken keyboard.

1. There is no second language to switch to

Settings → Time & Language → Language & region. If only one language is listed, add Hebrew (or English): Add a language → Hebrew → Install. The ENG/עב indicator appears on the taskbar once two are installed.

2. The hot key was reset or changed

Settings → Time & Language → Typing → Advanced keyboard settings → Input language hot keys. Select "Between input languages" → Change Key Sequence → Left Alt+Shift. Windows updates and some keyboard utilities set this to "Not assigned". Win+Space always works regardless of this setting.

3. The language is remembered per window

By default each app window keeps its own language. You switched to Hebrew in Word, went to the browser, and it was still English, so it looks like the switch "did not take". Same settings screen → tick or untick "Let me set a different input method for each app window". Untick it for one global language everywhere.

4. Another program grabbed the shortcut

Graphics driver hot keys (Intel Graphics Command Center, older Intel/AMD panels) register Alt+Shift combinations for screen rotation. Disable their hot keys.
Remote desktop and virtual machines pass the shortcut to the remote system, where the language setting lives.
Games and some IDEs capture the keyboard while focused. Switch before focusing them, or use Win+Space.
Sticky Keys / Filter Keys (Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard) change how modifier combinations are read. Turn them off to test.

5. A stuck Alt, Shift or Ctrl

Press and release each modifier once, on both sides of the keyboard. A laptop Fn-lock or a remote session can leave a modifier "held". The on-screen keyboard (Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard) shows which keys Windows thinks are pressed.

6. After a Windows update

Feature updates occasionally reset the hot keys (fix 2) or re-order the languages. Check both, then sign out and back in: the language bar only reloads with the session.

If you switch dozens of times a day anyway

Fixing the shortcut does not fix the real cost: the word you typed before you noticed the language was wrong. Kavanati runs in the tray and takes care of that part. When a word only makes sense in the other keyboard language it retypes it correctly and switches the layout for you, in every app, so you press Alt+Shift far less and retype never. Real words are never touched; Ctrl+Z undoes a fix.

Frequently asked questions

Alt+Shift does nothing. What is the first thing to check?

Whether a second language is installed at all: Settings → Time & Language → Language & region. With one language there is nothing to switch to. Then check the hot key: Settings → Time & Language → Typing → Advanced keyboard settings → Input language hot keys → Between input languages, and set it to Left Alt+Shift (or Ctrl+Shift, or Win+Space).

Alt+Shift works in some apps but not others.

Some apps swallow the shortcut (remote desktop, virtual machines, some games and IDEs), and Windows keeps the language per window, so the app may simply be in the language you last used in it. Try Win+Space in that app; if that works, the app took Alt+Shift for itself.

Alt+Shift switches the keyboard but Hebrew comes out as English letters.

The layout switched but you are typing in a field that forced English (web-address and email fields often do), or the Hebrew layout installed is 'Hebrew (Standard)' while you expect the old layout, or the reverse. Settings → Language & region → Hebrew → Language options → Keyboards shows which layouts are installed.

Can Kavanati switch the language for me?

Yes. Kavanati notices a word typed in the wrong keyboard language, retypes it correctly and switches the layout, in every app on Windows and Mac. It does not replace Alt+Shift; it makes you need it less.

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