Cortana is the personal assistant for Windows 10. If you have used Google Now in Android devices or interacted with Siri in Apple devices, then you already know what it is and how it works. Using Cortana you can just speak out what you want to do or find. The smart assistant will reply to your requests. You can find things in your computer, manage tasks and do a whole lot more. If the answer is not within your PC, it will search the web for you.
But the fact is, Cortana isn’t globally available. You might have read about it or even seen videos of people interacting with her. To begin, everyone just says, “Hey, Cortana”. But if you try it in your PC and nothing happens, then you will realize that the feature isn’t activated for your region. It is available only for the US, China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom. The rest of the world is deprived of this interesting virtual assistant.
All we have is a “Search Windows” feature which searches for files and settings. If you want voice feedback then there’s a simple thing that you have to change in the settings. If you have not guessed it already, we need to change our region to United States. Then amazingly, Cortana will pop up to help you out the next time you say, “Hey, Cortana”.
Here’s how you can enable Cortana anywhere in the world by setting your region to United States:
- Click on the Start menu and then on Settings.
- Choose on Time & language.
- Navigate to the option on the left that says, Region & language.
- In Country or region, select United States from the dropdown.
- Click on the new Cortana icon (Circle) in the task bar, right next to the Start menu. The first setup steps to activate Cortana will begin.
- Enter your name or nickname, and click Next.
It will show a few default cards like weather and the latest news. You now need to make some change to allow your PC to respond to “Hey Cortana”.
- Click on the Cortana icon that shows up instead of the search icon.
- In the search area, type Cortana.
- Click on the option that says Cortana & Search settings.
- Turn on all the options that you need.
Now your PC will respond to your voice commands. It is an interesting feature that is helpful in locating files or getting quick information from the internet. There also some fun and jokes hidden in there.
Please note that if you change your region to something else other than yours, you will not be able to shop at the Windows store or use the things that you have purchased. Also, if you do not see the search box or button, you need to right-click on the taskbar and choose it from the sub-menu under Search.
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