One of the most interesting features of Windows 10 operating systems is its virtual assistant – Cortana. Many of us have switched to Windows 10 only to use the digital assistant.
To keep Cortana exclusive, Microsoft has made it available in select regions. You need to know whether Cortana is available in your region before you start to wonder – “ Why isn’t Cortana available on my Windows 10 PC? ”
Personally, I was interested in using Cortana, but it wasn’t available on my Windows 10 PC. Like me, if you are living in countries where Cortana is not available, then you won’t get the digital assistant as a default utility on your Windows 10 computers.
Your location or the region where you live is the only reason why Cortana isn’t available on your Windows 10 PC. Even so, I have found a way to enable Cortana on Windows 10 in countries where it is not available.
Let’s first find out the countries where Cortana is available in Windows 10. And, then, you’ll learn some tricks to enable this digital assistant on Windows 10 even in unsupported countries.
13 Countries Where Cortana is Available on Windows 10
Initially, Microsoft had kept its digital assistant exclusive to not more than seven countries (regions) in the whole world.
I believed Microsoft planned Cortana’s “limited” launch to test its deployment in countries with technological superiority. After months of its launch, Microsoft made Cortana available in a few other parts of the world.
Seven countries where Cortana is available on Windows 10:
- Italy
- China
- Germany
- Spain
- France
- the UK and,
- the United States
New countries were recently added to this list, bringing the total of Cortana-supported countries to thirteen.
- Canada
- Australia
- India
- Brazil
- Japan
- Mexico
If you’re living any of these countries and your Windows 10 computer is registered here, then Cortana is available on your Windows 10 PC. But, if you’re not from these regions, then you won’t be able to use Cortana on Windows 10.
Corresponding to these seven countries, Cortana is available in seven languages – English (US), English (UK), Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese (simplified Cantonese), and so on.
The countries that didn’t make this list are all the countries where Cortana is not available. Microsoft could expand this list in the future, but not anytime sooner.
Why is Cortana not available in my country?
To develop a virtual assistant like Cortana, decoding the language and understanding the regional preferences play key roles. Microsoft needs more time to develop Cortana that understands a new language and works in a new region.
It’s quite a “mission impossible” for Microsoft to make Cortana available in all countries around the world.
How to Enable Cortana on Windows 10 in Unsupported Countries
Living in a country where Cortana is not available should not stop you from using it. There is a simple trick that can enable Cortana on Windows 10 even in the unsupported countries.
If you don’t reside in any of the countries mentioned above, follow the steps below and enable Cortana on your Windows 10 PC.
- Go to the Start menu on your Windows 10 PC
- Click on the gear icon (Settings)
- In the Settings window, click on the Time and Language section
- Here, you’d find a box for – Country or region
- Select a country which supports Cortana (say the United States )
- Likewise, change the language to – English (US)
Now, you close the windows and restart your PC. When you log in again, you’d see Cortana’s icon next to the search box on the Start menu.
With this simple trick, Cortana can be used on Windows 10 anywhere in the world. You can switch the language and region of your Windows 10 PC and use the digital assistant.
The only downside – results, and tasks performed by Cortana would be linked with the user preferences and linguistic characteristics of the selected region.
Thankfully, most countries around the world are familiar with English as the global language. So, Microsoft doesn’t need to put efforts to make Cortana available in more languages.
If you switch to Cortana’s United States version, you’d be able to use the virtual assistant easily and in the way you wanted.
NOTE
Changing the country and language from Windows 10 Settings can be a problem in some regions. This trick conflicts with Windows Store and other apps & programs on your computer. You’d have to go back to your current language & region when you’d want to use these apps.
Switching the regions back & forth is your only option to enable Cortana and at the same time, use other apps and programs on your Windows 10 computer.
Related Posts:
- How to Completely Disable Cortana in Windows 10?
- How to Fix Start Menu Critical Issues and Cortana Not Working on Windows 10?