Update rolls out "Hey Cortana" wake word to more Windows 10 users

Microsoft disabled  “Hey, Cortana” wake word support in the Windows 10 May 2020 update, but in November confirmed it was coming back.

In the end, this rolled out very slowly, but today HTNovo reports that in the recent update to the Cortana app, taking it to version 2.2011.11613.0, the feature is now much more widely available.

To enable it you first have to select it in the Cortana app settings:

This will then direct you to the Voice Activation settings in Windows 10, which will let you activate Cortana by saying its name. (Notably “Cortana” now replaces “Hey, Cortana”.)

Microsoft is once again building up Cortana’s skill set, but it can currently ask about the weather, or to tell you a joke, but also useful things like open Bluetooth Settings.