How to Turn On or Off Cortana Listening Mode Keyboard Shortcut in Windows 10

This tutorial is no longer valid starting with Windows 10 version 2004.

Cortana is your cloud-based personal assistant that works across your devices and other Microsoft services. Depending on the capabilities of your device and the version of Cortana you’re using, Cortana can provide a range of features, some of which are personalized. Cortana on Windows is available in certain regions and languages. If Cortana isn’t available for your Windows device, you can still search for files on your device in the search box on the taskbar. Cortana is also available on other platforms, such as Android and iOS, in select markets.

Cortana works best when you sign in and let her use data from your device, other Microsoft services, and third-party services you choose to connect. To provide you with personalized experiences, Cortana learns from certain data about you, such as your searches, calendar, contacts, and location. You’re in control of how much data you share. If you choose not to sign into Cortana on Windows, you can still chat with Cortana and use her to help you search the web, documents stored in Microsoft services like OneDrive, and your Windows device. See the section about Windows Search in the Privacy Statement for more information. If you don’t sign in, or you choose to sign out, your experiences will be more limited and they won’t be personalized with your Cortana data. On iOS and Android devices, Cortana only works when you sign in.

Starting with Windows 10 Creators Update build 15002, you can let Cortana listen for your voice commands when you press the Win+C keys.

For more information about Cortana, see:

• What is Cortana - Microsoft Windows
• Cortana, Search, and privacy: FAQ - Microsoft Windows
  

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off the Cortana voice listening mode Win+C keyboard shortcut for your account in Windows 10.

 CONTENTS:

• Option One: To Turn On or Off Cortana Win+C Keyboard Shortcut in Cortana Settings
• Option Two: To Turn On or Off Cortana Win+C Keyboard Shortcut using a REG file

OPTION ONE

To Turn On or Off Cortana Win+C Keyboard Shortcut in Cortana Settings

1. Open Settings, and click/tap on the Cortana icon.

2. Click/tap on Talk to Cortana on the left side, and turn On or Off (default) Let Cortana listen for my voice commands when I press the Windows logo key + C for what you want. (see screenshot below)

4. When finished, you can close Settings if you like.

OPTION TWO

To Turn On or Off Cortana Win+C Keyboard Shortcut using a REG file

The downloadable .reg files below will modify the DWORD in the registry key below.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search

VoiceShortcut DWORD

0 = Off
1 = On

1. Do step 2 (on) or step 3 (off) below for what you would like to do.

 2. To Turn On Cortana Win+C Keyboard Shortcut

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Turn_on_Cortana_Win+C_keyboard_shortcut.reg

Download

 3. Turn Off Cortana Win+C Keyboard Shortcut

This is the default setting.

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Turn_off_Cortana_Win+C_keyboard_shortcut.reg

Download

4. Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5. Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6. When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7. You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.

That's it,
Shawn

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