How to change DVD Blu-ray drive region on Windows 10

Do you have a collection of discs encoded for a different region? Use this guide to change the drive region to make the discs playable on Windows 10.

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@Pureinfotech
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Change DVD Blu-ray region on Windows 10
Change DVD Blu-ray region on Windows 10

On Windows 10, you can change the playback region of DVD and Blu-ray drives (via Microsoft forums), if you’ve purchased one or multiple discs encoded for a specific region.

Usually, you don’t have to worry about this setting, because there’s a good chance the drive and discs you purchase are designed for your current region. However, if you have a drive that doesn’t have the correct region configured or you have a collection of discs encoded for a different region, Windows 10 allows you to change the settings directly on your disc drive.

In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to change disc drive region to play DVDs and Blu-rays on your computer running Windows 10.

How to change DVD Blu-ray drive playback region

To play DVDs or Blu-rays built for a different region, use these steps:

Important: You can only change the playback region a limited number of times. You’ll notice a “Changes remaining” warning with a number, when it reaches to zero, you won’t be able to change the region even after reinstalling Windows 10 or moving the drive to another device. Use this option wisely. You have been warned.

  1. Open Start.

  2. Search for Device Manager and click the top result to open the experience.

  3. Expand the DVD/CD-ROM drives branch.

  4. Right-click the DVD or Blu-ray drive and select the Properties option.

    Device Manager DVD Blu-ray settings
    Device Manager DVD Blu-ray settings

  5. Click on the DVD Region tab.

  6. Select the correct region for the discs that you’ll be watching.

    Change DVD drive region settings on Windows 10
    Change DVD drive region settings on Windows 10

  7. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, you can watch videos on DVD or Blu-ray discs encoded for your specific region on your computer.

If your DVDs or Blu-rays encoded for a different region, and you don’t have a disc drive on your device, you can purchase an external USB combo drive like the one from LG.

About the author
Avatar for Mauro Huculak

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].