Windows 10: Cortana doesn't respond - here's how to remedy it

Cortana is an interesting way to search your PC and the Internet to quickly and effectively find the answers to your search query. However, when Cortana doesn't respond, it's not only annoying, but can also have various causes.

You have these options

There are several reasons why you can no longer use Cortana or the program does not respond to your search queries.

• The most common cause of this problem is that your firewall and antivirus program are causing Cortana to stop responding. To check if this is the reason for the problems with Cortana, you should turn off both applications.
• If Cortana works again without problems after you have turned off both services, you should unblock Cortana in your firewall and also set an exception in your antivirus program.
• Another way to make Cortana work again is to restart Windows Explorer process. To do this, press the key combination of CTRL + Shift + Esc.
• Now the task manager opens, where you click on the button "More details". Following this, perform a right-click on "Windows Explorer". Click on "Restart", and subsequently you should be able to use Cortana again.

Communicate with Cortana

To contact Cortana by voice, you need to activate the function. To do this, first click on the search box and then on the notebook. Select the "Hey Cortana" setting and voice control will be activated. For this, however, it is necessary that your PC or laptop has a microphone.