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Key board preference keeps changing

iMac running Mac OS 10.13.6


I have my keyboard set to U.S. however when I boot-up the iMac the keyboard changes to British. I change it back to U.S. but next time I start the iMac up, it changes back to British. Region is set to United States. Any idea what I should check?

iMac 21.5", macOS 10.13

Posted on Jan 15, 2020 4:41 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 16, 2020 9:15 AM

romad wrote:

What is the ABC - Extended board? Also I remember an alternate US board but it is no longer there - was it removed when I updated to High Sierra? And what is the difference between the US and US - International boards?

ABC Extended is the same as US or ABC but allows a much wider range of accents to be produced via the Option key.


US and ABC are identical except the ABC does not have the American flag.


US International PC is like US but uses the marks ` ~ ^ " ' as dead keys to produce accented characters. To get the marks themselves you have to type a space after them.


Clicking on something in the Input Sources pane does not do anything other than show you the layout over at the right. To make a keyboard active you have to use the "flag" menu at the top right of the screen or a keyboard shortcut. You should definitely remove British and Canadian if you do not need them to avoid accidentally using them when you don't want to.

7 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 16, 2020 9:15 AM in response to romad

romad wrote:

What is the ABC - Extended board? Also I remember an alternate US board but it is no longer there - was it removed when I updated to High Sierra? And what is the difference between the US and US - International boards?

ABC Extended is the same as US or ABC but allows a much wider range of accents to be produced via the Option key.


US and ABC are identical except the ABC does not have the American flag.


US International PC is like US but uses the marks ` ~ ^ " ' as dead keys to produce accented characters. To get the marks themselves you have to type a space after them.


Clicking on something in the Input Sources pane does not do anything other than show you the layout over at the right. To make a keyboard active you have to use the "flag" menu at the top right of the screen or a keyboard shortcut. You should definitely remove British and Canadian if you do not need them to avoid accidentally using them when you don't want to.

Jan 16, 2020 8:47 AM in response to romad

Well, this morning I started up the iMac and lo & behold the keyboard stayed on US! I think it is because previously I'd only been setting it via the Keyboard Menu up in the Menu Bar. After setting it there the last time yesterday, I launched System Preferences went to the Keyboard Control Panel and selected the Input Sources tab. There, I clicked again on the US keyboard then closed the control panel and System Preferences. I'll go back and remove the British & Canadian boards. What is the ABC - Extended board? Also I remember an alternate US board but it is no longer there - was it removed when I updated to High Sierra? And what is the difference between the US and US - International boards?

Key board preference keeps changing

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