With Windows 11, Microsoft has made Cortana less intrusive than ever before. Cortana is no longer part of the first boot experience, as the company detailed in the list of features removed in Windows 11. As a result, you will no longer receive the Cortana voice announcement when you first set up a new Windows 11 PC. However, Cortana is still available in Windows 11. And to help you get rid of it, in this article we will teach you how to disable Cortana in Windows 11. We’ve also included steps to remove Cortana to completely remove Microsoft’s voice assistant from your Windows 11 computer.
Disable/Remove Cortana in Windows 11 (2021)
We have added four methods to disable Cortana in Windows 11, two of them are very easy, others require you to edit the Registry and Group Policy. You will need to use Windows Powershell to remove Cortana from your computer. Use the table below to choose the method you want
Disable Cortana from Windows 11 Settings
1. Open the Settings app using the Windows 11 keyboard shortcut ‘Win+I’ and switch to Apps from the left sidebar. Now, Click on ‘Apps and features’ to manage application settings
2. In the application list search box, type Cortana. When the Cortana app list appears, click the vertical ellipsis menu next to it and Select “Advanced options”.
3. Under the ‘Works at login’ section, Disable Cortana toggle. And you are all set. Cortana no longer starts automatically when you log into your Windows 11 PC.
Disable Cortana from Task Manager
1. Another way to disable Cortana is from the task manager. Use the ‘Ctrl+Shift+Esc’ keyboard shortcut to open the Task Manager in Windows 11. When Task Manager appears, Switch to the ‘Startup’ tab To check the tasks that open when you start your PC.
2. Find Cortana from the list of startup items and Click the ‘Disable’ button. Cortana will no longer use resources when starting your Windows 11 machine.
Disable Cortana from Registry Editor
1. Use the ‘Win+R’ keyboard shortcut to open the Run window and type “regedit” To open the Registry Editor. Then press Enter.
2. Navigate to the following path, right click anywhere in the right pane and New->DWORD (32-bit) Value. If you don’t see Windows Search here, right-click the Windows folder in the left pane and create a new ‘Windows Search’ folder.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search
3. When the new value appears, Name it ‘AllowCortana’.
4. Double click ‘Allow Cortana’ and set value data to ‘0’. Click OK to save the changes. Once done, restart your Windows 11 PC and you will see Cortana has been disabled.
Disable Cortana from Group Policy Editor
1. Open a Run window using the ‘Win+R’ keyboard shortcut, Type ‘gpedit.msc’and press OK.
2. Visit the path below and double click on ‘Allow Cortana’.
Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Search
3. From the dialog that appears, Click on ‘Disable’ and select ‘OK’. After that restart your computer and Cortana will no longer work in Windows 11.
Re-enable Cortana in Windows 11
Now, if you have used any of the above four methods to disable Cortana on your Windows 11 PC, find the steps to re-enable Microsoft’s voice assistant right here:
1. If you disabled Cortana in Settings, you can enable Cortana toggle here: Settings -> Apps & features -> Cortana Advanced options. Just enable the Cortana toggle under the ‘Works at login’ section.
2. If you used the registry method to disable Cortana, navigate to the path given below and set the value of AllowCortana to 1.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search
2. If you have chosen to use the Group Policy Editor method, navigate to the following path and select the ‘Enabled’ radio button for ‘AllowCortana’.
Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Search
Removing Cortana from Windows 11
Now you can also completely remove Cortana from your Windows 11 PC instead of disabling Microsoft’s voice assistant. It requires a few more steps and knowledge of Windows Powershell. However, let’s look at the steps:
1. Open a PowerShell window as an administrator. To do this, press the Windows key, type ‘PowerShell’ in the search bar and select ‘Open as administrator’.
2. Paste the following command in the PowerShell window and press Enter.
Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.549981C3F5F10 | Remove-AppxPackage
That is all. You will no longer see the Cortana application on your Windows 11 computer. If you later change your mind, see the next section to revert Cortana in Windows 11.
How to Reinstall Cortana in Windows 11
1. Open Cortana app list in Microsoft Store using this link and click the ‘Get’ button.
2. Windows 11 will automatically redirect you to the Microsoft Store. Here, click the ‘Install’ button to get the Cortana app back on your Windows 11 PC.
Permanently Remove Cortana on Windows 11 PC
So you can disable or remove Cortana in Windows 11 in few easy steps. While Cortana is no longer part of the first boot experience, we hope this guide helped you enable, disable or remove Cortana on your Windows 11 machine. If you’re looking to boost your PC’s performance even more, check out our guides on reducing Windows 11 bloat and speeding up Windows 11. If you have questions about any of the ways to remove Cortana from Windows 11, feel free to comment them below.
