Technology has made our lives very easy. It wasn’t very long ago when the world was introduced to digital or virtual assistance. Just like Siri by Apple, Cortana was developed by Microsoft for its users. Cortana is a voice-enabled virtual assistant. It helps Windows 10 users to initiate requests, complete tasks, and anticipate the future needs of its users. Cortana does all these amazing tasks by surfacing relevant data in a personal context. However, few of the Windows 10 users have been having issues with Cortana not working properly. This article will walk you through various steps on how to fix Cortana.
How To Fix Cortona Not Working Issue
Below, we have mentioned a few steps on how to fix Cortana in your Windows. Try these steps until Cortana operates properly on your Windows 10:
Step 1: Turn on Cortana
Turn on the virtual assistant, Cortana, and then configure the microphone. Make sure the virtual assistant is enabled on your Windows 10 and configure it correctly in the system settings.
Step 2: Change your region
If the region set on your Windows 10 is wrong then your virtual assistant might fail to function properly. Follow these steps given below to change your region:
- Open the Setting app in your system or you can even use Windows key + I as a shortcut.
- Navigate to the time and language section in the settings Windows.
- From the left side menu, click on the region and language option. After it opens, on the right pane, set your country or region to your location.
After making these changes on your Windows 10, Cortana should start working properly on your PC without any issues.
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Step 3: Test the microphone
Your virtual assistant won’t be able to respond to your commands if your mic isn’t working properly. So make sure the audio is connected, enabled, and is not muted on your system.
Follow the steps given below to test the microphone of your system:
- Right-click on the speaker icon in the taskbar, then go to sounds and then to the recording.
- In that section, you will be able to see a list of microphones, with a sound meter next to the microphone that is enabled.
- If your microphone is Disabled, then it will be grayed out. To enable it, right-click on the microphone and press enable.
- To check whether it is enabled or working or not, try speaking into the microphone, you will see green bars being displayed in the sound meter next to it.
- Now, your microphone is connected and tested and is working properly.
This must solve the problem of Windows 10 Cortana not working.
Step 4: Reboot your system
If when you bought your Windows 10, Cortana was working properly and recently started facing issues with Cortana, then you might want to try restarting your system. Restarting the system has proved to be very efficient in solving many problems caused in your system. Restarting your system will turn off all the programs and software that are interrupting the virtual assistant.
Step 5: Check for any Windows Updates
Check your system for any Windows 10 updates. Microsoft releases plenty of frequent updates to fix issues in your Windows 10. Use the Windows 10 update to make sure you have the latest version of the operating system. Below we have given steps to check whether you have updates in your system or not:
- Open the Settings app.
- After opening the settings go to the update and security section in it.
- Now click on the check for updates button
If you have any pending updates left, then this should automatically download and install them in your system. You might even have to do a restart to complete the update.
Step 6: Disable Antivirus Software
In a few cases, your Cortana not working might be caused by the Antivirus Software installed in your system. Sometimes it treats Cortana software as a threat and does not allow it to access your system or few requirements that are needed for the proper functioning of Cortana. Therefore, try to disable your antivirus software first and check if your Windows 10 Cortana not working issue is solved or not. If it is solved, then we suggest you uninstall your antivirus software and try installing a new antivirus for your system.
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Step 7: Fix the Windows Start menu
Most of the time if Cortana is not working properly in your Windows 10 then you might even notice that your Windows 10 start menu is not working properly either. There are plenty of reasons why your start menu might not be working. For instance, an incomplete Windows update, or an update bug, corrupted system files or even the corrupted user-account files might cause this problem. This might even be the solution to your question “how to fix Cortana”.
Step 8: Reinstall the virtual assistant
Sometimes reinstalling an app resolves the issues linked to it. Even after trying all the above fixes if your Windows 10 Cortana is still not working, then you can reinstall Cortana using a PowerShell prompt. Open the PowerShell prompt and type the following command on it.
‘Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage-DisableDevelopmentMode -Register”$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml”}’.
After typing this in your PowerShell Prompt wait for the process to finish. Check whether the Windows 10 Cortana is working or not.
Step 9: Reset the PC
If all the above fixes fail to fix the “Windows 10 Cortana not working” issue, then you should try resetting your computer. Windows 10 has a reset feature in it. This feature will let you keep your files while changing Windows 10 to its original version. You can even try a clean install of Windows 10 on your system. However, we must caution you that doing so will cause you to lose all the files and software from your system. Hence back up the files first then reinstall Windows 10 again.
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Hopefully, these fixes helped you solve the Cortana not working issue. Moreover, you don’t have to try all the fixes given above. You have to just keep trying until one of them works for you.
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