Relatively recently, stationary and mobile Windows systems have acquired an interesting tool in the form of an intelligent assistant, or rather, an assistant called Cortana, which in many ways resembles Apple's Siri. Initially, it focuses on several countries in Europe, the USA, Japan, Australia and China. Therefore, if you decide on how to enable Cortana in Russia, you cannot do without observing several mandatory conditions. Whether you want it or not, the assistant cannot speak Russian. That is, trying to activate the Russian version in any case will fail.
How to enable Cortana (Windows 10): prerequisites
Since the Russian-language version is still under development (although Microsoft experts vowed to present this software product by the end of 2016), our users who would like to use all the features of Cortana have no choice but to activate the version with any of the six supported languages (English, German, French, Chinese, Spanish, Italian).
In the question of how to enable Cortana on Windows, the first unwritten condition is the user's possession of at least one of the above languages. However, if the user can ask a question, the assistant will not understand it, since most of the post-Soviet space uses versions of Windows with a Russian-language interface. In addition, thanks to the default activated geolocation, and the location is indicated accordingly. Thus, the basic algorithm at the initial stage includes changes in the language and region of the user's location (the latter condition, unlike mobile systems, is not mandatory).
Change system language and region
So, we are faced with the problem of how to enable Cortana. We will consider Windows 10 for the reason that this system is now gaining unprecedented popularity. On legacy OSs, even if you download the distribution kit, installing Cortana makes absolutely no sense. All the same, it will have no effect. First of all, you need to change the language of the system itself so that the assistant can give tips and tricks, understanding the names of system components and processes (so far they are all presented in Russian).
How to enable Cortana? First of all, the parameter menu is called, where the time and language section is selected, after which the language and region item is used. Here you need to select the desired language (for example, take English) and set it as the main one for the system used by default.
But the assistant still does not know how to speak, so we press the button on the right and proceed to download a special speech file (in our case, for English).
Cortana Activation Actions
Further in the question of how to enable Cortana, you need to activate voice recognition so that the virtual assistant understands you. This is done from the appropriate section, which indicates the language in which you will speak.
To avoid problems, let's say when you do not have a clear pronunciation or use some kind of dialect, just below you need to check the line for recognizing non-native accents of the specified language. Upon completion of all these steps, it is necessary to make a complete restart of the system, and after loading you will see a completely English-language interface.
Now in solving the problem of how to enable Cortana, you need to activate it. First, a search is used, in which the gear button is pressed on the left, and the line for activating the mode for issuing hints, ideas, reminders, notifications, etc. is marked to the right (Cortana can give ...).
You can also go to the settings and enable the assistant call when pronouncing the phrase Hey, Cortana, checking the line Let Cortana respond .... After that, you can safely start communication.
Please note: as soon as you change the system language to Russian, the assistant will automatically become unavailable. If you select one of the supported languages for them, you will have to download the corresponding speech file again.
How to enable Cortana (Windows Phone)?
As for mobile devices with Windows Phone on board, they have practically the same scheme of action. How to enable Cortana on such a smartphone? In the settings, the system language first changes, the US region of residence is mandatory, and the smartphone is completely restarted.
After loading, the assistant will appear in the list, but, again, in the form of an English version, with which you can communicate in the same way as in stationary Windows-systems.