A small percentage of Windows 10 users frequently use Cortana as it is not as powerful as its digital personal assistants offered in smartphone operating systems. Moreover, Cortana is not available in all regions/countries. So, you might want to get rid of Cortana from your Windows 10 computer. Or, you might want to reinstall Cortana when it’s not working correctly.
With the May 2020 Update for Windows 10, Microsoft made several changes to Windows 10, including the built-in digital personal assistance Cortana.
Cortana is no longer integrated into Windows 10, which is a good thing mostly. That is, Cortana is now shipped as a separate app.
Because Cortana is an app now, you can uninstall, remove, or reinstall it if you want. Although Cortana is now an app, Windows 10 does not offer an option to uninstall or reinstall it via the Settings app. That is, there is no option in the GUI to uninstall or reinstall Cortana despite it being an app now.
However, we can use the PowerShell to uninstall or reinstall the Cortana app in Windows 10.
In this guide, we will see how to uninstall or reinstall the Cortana app in Windows 10 version 2004 and above.
IMPORTANT: Uninstalling Cortana is supported only in version 2004 or later versions. Type Winver.exe in the Start/taskbar search field and press the Enter key to know the installed version number.
Uninstall Cortana via PowerShell in Windows 10
Step 1: Launch the PowerShell as an administrator. To do that, right-click on the Start button on the taskbar and click Windows PowerShell (Admin) option.
When you get the User Account Control prompt, click the Yes button. If asked for the password, please type the admin password.
Step 2: At the PowerShell window, copy and paste the following command and then hit the Enter key to remove or uninstall the Cortana app.
To remove Cortana from the current user:
Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.549981C3F5F10 | Remove-AppxPackage
To remove Cortana from all user accounts on your PC:
Get-appxpackage -allusers Microsoft.549981C3F5F10 | Remove-AppxPackage
Once done, you may exit the PowerShell window.
Reinstall the Cortana app in Windows 10
Step 1: Use the instructions mentioned above to uninstall the Cortana app using the PowerShell.
Step 2: Once the Cortana is removed, launch the Store app offered in Windows 10, search for the Cortana app and then install the same just like any other app. Simple as that! You do not need to sign in to Store to download the Cortana or any other free up.
Hide or show Cortana icon on the taskbar
Between, if you want to just hide the Cortana icon instead of removing it from your computer, right-click on an empty spot on the taskbar and then deselect the Show Cortana button option.