Microsoft started seeding Windows Phone 8.1 to developers today. While anyone can “pretend” to be a developer and snag away the update, one key feature of Windows Phone 8.1, the much anticipated voice assistant service Cortana, isn’t an easy one to obtain, especially if you don’t live in the United States. But don’t worry, there is always a way!
Microsoft announced Cortana at its Build developer conference earlier this month. Still in the beta stage, Microsoft confirmed that Cortana won’t be rolling out to any region other than the US anytime soon. This decision reflects in the developer preview as well. People from outside United States aren’t getting Cortana in the update. If you’re facing similar issues, here is how to get Cortana, no matter what part of the globe you inhabit.
- Step 1. Make sure you have changed the region to United States and your default language to English (United States).
- Step 2. Go to language settings, select United States. Change the Regional format to “match phone language”.
- Step 3. Go to keyboard settings, (add and) move up the English (United States) option. By now, you should have initiated some downloads. If Cortana still isn’t there, try rebooting the phone.
- Step 4. If Cortana is still not visible in the Menu, go to settings -> Speech, and double check if the preferred language is English (United States).
- Step 5. If for some reason you are still out of luck, sign into your Microsoft account, go to the personal information, and change any region-based information to United States.
You will now have Cortana. Let us know if you have any questions.
Further reading: Cortana, Windows Phone, Windows Phone 8.1
