Fix Wi-Fi Country Code Resetting to World on First Boot in Windows 11

After a clean install or first boot of Windows 11, your Wi-Fi adapter may default to a country code of “World” instead of the correct regional setting like “US” or “GB.” This happens because Windows 11 does not always apply the correct radio regulatory domain during the out-of-box experience. When the country code is set incorrectly, your Wi-Fi adapter may fail to connect to certain access points, drop connections, or operate at reduced speed. This article explains why the country code resets to World on first boot and provides three methods to permanently set the correct country code on your Wi-Fi adapter.

Why Windows 11 Resets the Wi-Fi Country Code to World on First Boot

The Wi-Fi country code is a regulatory setting that tells your wireless adapter which radio frequencies and power levels are legal in your region. During the first boot of Windows 11, the operating system may not apply a country code if the user skips the region selection step or if the OEM firmware does not pass the correct code. The adapter then defaults to “World” which uses a conservative set of channels and lower transmit power. This can prevent your adapter from seeing 5 GHz networks, cause authentication failures on enterprise networks, or limit throughput to 802.11g speeds.

The root cause is that Windows 11 does not enforce country code synchronization between the system region setting and the Wi-Fi adapter driver. The adapter’s registry key CountryCode under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\nnnn is often not written during first boot. This means each time the adapter initializes, it reads a default value of 0 which maps to World. The fix involves writing the correct country code to the adapter’s advanced properties.

Methods to Set and Lock the Wi-Fi Country Code Permanently

You can set the country code using Device Manager, PowerShell, or a registry edit. The PowerShell method is the most reliable because it writes the value directly to the driver’s parameter store. Use the two-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for your country. For example: US, GB, DE, FR, JP, AU, CA.

Method 1: Set Country Code via Device Manager

1. Open Device Manager
   Press Win + X and select Device Manager from the menu.
2. Locate your Wi-Fi adapter
   Expand Network adapters. Look for an entry that includes “Wireless,” “Wi-Fi,” or “802.11” in its name.
3. Open adapter properties
   Right-click the Wi-Fi adapter and select Properties.
4. Go to the Advanced tab
   Click the Advanced tab. In the Property list, scroll to find Country Code or Regulatory Domain. The exact name depends on the driver vendor.
5. Select your country
   Click the Value dropdown and choose your two-letter country code. Click OK to save.
6. Restart your PC
   Reboot to apply the change. After restart, verify the country code did not revert to World.

Method 2: Set Country Code Using PowerShell

1. Open PowerShell as administrator
   Press Win + X and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Terminal (Admin).
2. Get the adapter name
   Run Get-NetAdapter -Name Wi-Fi | Select Name. Note the exact name of your Wi-Fi adapter, for example “Wi-Fi” or “Wireless Network Connection.”
3. Set the country code
   Run the following command, replacing Wi-Fi with your adapter name and US with your country code:
   Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name "Wi-Fi" -RegistryKeyword "CountryCode" -RegistryValue "US"
4. Verify the change
   Run Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name "Wi-Fi" | Where-Object {$_.RegistryKeyword -eq "CountryCode"} to confirm the value is set.
5. Restart your PC
   Reboot. After restart, run the same verification command. If the value shows your country code, the fix is permanent.

Method 3: Set Country Code via Registry Editor

1. Open Registry Editor
   Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter. Click Yes on the UAC prompt.
2. Navigate to the adapter registry key
   Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}. Under this key, you will see subkeys numbered 0000, 0001, and so on. Click each one and look for a DriverDesc value that contains your Wi-Fi adapter name.
3. Create or modify the CountryCode value
   In the correct subkey, right-click in the right pane and select New > String Value. Name it CountryCode. Double-click it and set the value to your two-letter country code, for example US. Click OK.
4. Restart your PC
   Reboot to apply the registry change.

If the Country Code Still Resets After Reboot

“Wi-Fi Country Code Reverts to World After Restart on Windows 11”

If the country code reverts after a reboot, the driver may be overwriting the registry value during initialization. This is common with Intel and Realtek Wi-Fi adapters. To force the setting, create a scheduled task that runs the PowerShell command at startup. Open Task Scheduler, create a new task with trigger “At startup,” action “Start a program,” program powershell.exe, arguments -Command "Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name 'Wi-Fi' -RegistryKeyword 'CountryCode' -RegistryValue 'US'". Run the task with highest privileges.

“Windows 11 Shows Country Code as World After Clean Install”

A clean install often leaves the country code unset because the OOBE region selection does not propagate to the Wi-Fi adapter driver. Use Method 2 (PowerShell) immediately after first boot before connecting to any network. If the adapter still shows World, update the Wi-Fi driver to the latest version from the OEM website. Outdated drivers may ignore the country code registry value entirely.

“Wi-Fi Adapter Does Not Have a Country Code Property in Device Manager”

Some Wi-Fi adapters, especially older USB dongles, do not expose the country code in the Advanced tab. In this case, use PowerShell Method 2 or the registry Method 3. If the adapter still does not respond, the driver may not support regulatory domain changes. Replace the adapter with one that has proper country code support.

Device Manager vs PowerShell vs Registry: Country Code Setting Methods

Item	Device Manager	PowerShell	Registry Editor
Interface	Graphical UI	Command line	Registry tree
Reliability	Moderate — some drivers ignore the UI setting	High — writes directly to driver parameter store	High — same registry key as PowerShell
Requires reboot	Yes	Yes	Yes
Works on all adapters	No — property may be hidden	Yes — as long as the keyword is supported	Yes — same condition as PowerShell
Persistence	May reset after driver update	Permanent until overwritten	Permanent until overwritten

You can now set and lock the Wi-Fi country code on Windows 11 using Device Manager, PowerShell, or Registry Editor. The PowerShell method offers the most reliable persistence across reboots and driver updates. If you connect to enterprise or 5 GHz networks, always verify the country code after a Windows feature update by running Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty in PowerShell. For adapters that ignore the registry value, schedule the PowerShell command to run at startup for a guaranteed fix.