Microsoft Windows 10 is big on improvements and light on the processors, but Cortana and microphone are not getting along. We found a couple of fixes that might help

If you were one of the early users to sign up and reserve Windows 10, then Microsoft must have rolled out the update to you now. The update requires some patience as Windows downloads the necessary files and prepares the computer for the installation.

Users are keen to try out Microsoft Edge, tweak around the new features, marvel at the polished UI, and give commands to Cortana. Yes, the last one is what most users are looking forward to. The personal digital assistant from Microsoft that got debuted on Windows Phone with hopes to come to the desktop OS.

Microsoft finally made that possible with Windows 10 and users are quite excited to use it but most have run into some trouble, including us. We took to some forum searching and some fiddling with the settings to come up with possible solutions.




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What usually happens is that Cortana and the built-in microphone do not get along quite well. Some users have also reported that it’s not just the internal microphone that has compatibility issues but external as well. While using Cortana, the microphone levels drop quite low, sometimes all the way down to zero. The digital assistant is unable to hear any commands at all. Possible fixes and solutions indicate, and what we tried that worked out well now with some glitches include:



Fix # 1: This is a trial-and-error process, head towards your speakers settings and select "Recording devices." Select your default microphone and click on properties. From the levels tab, ensure that the microphone is turned way up 1o 100 and tweak the "Microphone Boost" section. +10.0db is what worked for us, but it requires us to speak up. Some users turned it up to +30.0db and have claimed success but then Cortana picks up a lot of background noise and understand your command.



Fix # 2: If the microphone boost trick did not work for you then head to the "Microphone Enhancements" tab in the microphone properties section and tick the box that says "Acoustic echo cancellation" and "Adaptive Noise Reduction." This won’t make a huge difference, but currently it claimed that Microsoft might fix such an issue with an update in some time.



Fix # 3: Another possible fix that also resides in the microphone settings is heading to the "Advanced" tab and ensuring that the two options underneath the "Exclusive Mode" section are turned on. If they are turned on by default, then try unchecking them and see if it works.



Fix # 4: Some users claim that putting Cortana on auto-pilot might solve the issue. What we mean by auto-pilot is that head to the search Cortana box and type "Cortana Settings." Once in the menu head to the "Hey Cortana" section and turn on the "Let Cortana Respond to Hey Cortana." This way instead of clicking and bringing up Cortana, she’s always listening for the catch-phrase and will activate once spoken. Also training Cortana to answer to only you by making her learn your voice also makes her respond better.



Fix # 5: Sometimes a restart fixes the situation but it is not recommended to try restarting every time you run into such trouble. A very basic fix could be actually setting up your microphone. To do that type microphone in Cortana search and select "Set up your microphone" option. Follow the procedure to set it up and hopefully your microphone will respond better and Cortana won’t run into any trouble.







If you find a different fix that resolved your problem, please let us know in the comments below. And if Cortana is working perfectly for you then tell us the how's your experience and the witty suggestions that she came up with.