Turn off Cortana via Registry in Windows 10
If you have a Windows 10 Home, you’ll have to edit the Windows Registry to make these changes. You can also do it this way if you have Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise but are just more comfortable working in the Registry than the Group Policy Editor. (However, if you have a Pro or Enterprise, we recommend making it easier to use the Group Policy Editor, as described in the next section.)
Standard warning: Registry Editor is a powerful tool, and overusing it can render your system unstable or even inoperable. This is a pretty simple hack, and as long as you stick to the instructions, you shouldn’t have any problems. That said, if you haven’t worked with it before, consider reading about how to use Registry Editor before getting started. And be sure to back up the Registry (and your computer!) Before making changes.
You should also perform a System Restore point before proceeding. Windows will probably do this automatically when you install the Anniversary Newsletter, but you can’t do it manually that way. If something goes wrong, you can always go back.
Then open Registry Editor by pressing Windows + R on your keyboard, type “regedit” in the box, and press Enter.
Navigate to the following key in the left bar:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Policies Microsoft Windows Windows Search.
If you don’t see the “Windows Search” key below the Windows folder, right-click the Windows folder and choose New> Key. Name it “Windows Search”.
Right-click on the “Windows Search” key (folder) in the left pane and choose New> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the value “AllowCortana”. Double click it and set the value to “0”.
Now you can close the registry editor. You will have to sign out and sign in again or restart your computer before the changes take effect.
To undo your changes and restore Cortana in the future, you can go back here, specify the value “AllowCortana” and delete it or set it to “1”.
Download Our One-Click Registry
Instead of editing the registry, you can download our Disable Cortana registry. Just open the downloaded .zip file, double click on the file “Disable Cortana.reg” and agree to add the information to your registry. We’ve also included a “Turn on Cortana.reg” file if you want to undo your changes and re-enable Cortana later.
You’ll have to sign out and sign in again or restart your computer – before the changes will take effect.
These reg files only need to change the registry settings we outlined above. If you want to see what this .reg file will do before running it, you can right-click the .reg file and choose “Edit” to open it in Notepad. You can quickly implement your Registry hacks.
Disable Cortana through Group Policy
If you are using Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise, the easiest way to disable Cortana is to use the Local Group Policy Editor. It’s a pretty powerful tool, so if you’ve never used it before, you should take the time to learn how to do it. If you are on a corporate network, please do everyone and check with your administrator first. If your work computer is part of a domain name, it’s also possible that it’s part of a domain group policy that replaces the local group policy.
You should also perform a System Restore point before proceeding. Windows will probably do this automatically when you install the Anniversary Newsletter, but you can’t do it manually that way. If something goes wrong, you can always go back.
First, start the group policy editor by pressing Windows + R, type “gpedit.msc” in the box, and press Enter.
Navigate to Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates> Windows Components> Search.
Locate the “Allow Cortana” setting in the right pane and double click it.
Set the Allow Cortana option to “Disabled” and then click “OK”.
You can close the group policy editor. You will have to log off and back in again or restart your computer – for this change to take effect.
To re-enable Cortana, come back here, double-click the “Enable Cortana” setting, and change it to “Not Configured” or “Enabled”.
