The region or the home location is a rather hidden setting in Windows 8 which is important when using the operating system and even more important when trying to find, access and use localized apps. If you have set the wrong region, you won't be able to find certain apps or access relevant content for your location. Here's how to change the location in Windows 8 so that you can solve such problems.

Why does the Region Matter in Windows 8?

The region or Home location setting in Windows 8 is used by the operating system and by apps to provide localized content. For example, the Windows Store shows local apps for your region. Windows 8 apps that show local information such as weather information, news, traffic information, etc will use the region setting to provide relevant content.

This is also the reason why the Windows Store may not show an app that you are searching for. That app is set to be available only for certain regions while your Windows 8 computer or device is set to use another region.

How to Change the Region in Windows 8

Let's see how to change the region so that you can access or use localized apps, or at least find them on the Windows Store.

Go to the Start screen and type region. Then, filter by Settings.

Click or tap the search result named Region.

Alternatively, you can open the Control Panel and go to Clock, Language, and Region -> Region.

The Region window opens. Click or tap the Location tab. There you will find an entry named Home location.

This is the region used by Windows 8 and Windows 8 apps to display localized content.

Click or tap the drop-down list and select the new country you want applied.

Click or tap OK. The new location is used as your Windows 8 region.

Conclusion

As you can see, this procedure is very simple. However, Windows 8 apps won't be able to use the new home location immediately. You must close them first. A safer solution, to be sure that the new location is applied and used, is to sign out from Windows 8 and sign in again. The next time you use any Windows 8 app, it will use the new region you have set.