Windows 10: Cortana Greyed Out in Privacy Settings Location

I have just bought a new computer with Win10 V.1607. I am trying to understand what is all very new to me. In Privacy, Settings/Location Location is turned on and I assume Location History is as well however the option to turn Cortana on or off under Choose Apps......... is greyed out. It says that "Location History must be on for Cortana to work". Location is turned on and therefore I assume Location History is on as well although there is no option to turn History on or off. There seems to be quite a lot about this on the internet but I can't seem to find a solution. Any thoughts please?

:)

 

Location icon is greyed out in windows 10

*Original Title: Location GREYED out in windows 10

Location icon is greyed out. Also in privacy settings, under "location for this device is off"the CHANGE option has also greyed out. also how to turn on windows location platform in windows 10...i can't seem to find it in windows10...Permission to use location
for all apps is off and also greyed out...hence not able to use Cortana also ... IT was working fine but i don't know what suddenly happened

 

Cortana on Lock screen not working

I have done all of the above but still not working.

In settings Privacy Location under Choose Apps the Cortana on/off button is greyed out with the message

"location history must be turned on for Cortana to work"

Location history is on as far as I can see

Help!

 

Hi, have a look at this:
The issue was linked to location services, which need to be set to "on" in the Action Centre. When I attempted to do this, I found the option was greyed out, which lead to looking at which services were currently running (via "Services.msc"). It transpired that "Geolocation service" was disabled, and I was unable to restart it. A bit of Googling took me to an MS support site, which said this was a known issue with Win 10:


"Geolocation

After disabling the Geolocation Service by changing startup type to Disabled, attempts to re-enable it will fail with an error message. As the Geolocation Service can no longer be started, Geolocation will remain disabled on the device and prevent location based functionality from working. To work around this issue, manually delete the following regkey using regedit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lfsvc\TriggerInfo\3."


I edited the registry as described, and sure enough, after a re-boot, the Geolocation service could then be started. I opened MS Config, and made sure it was set to run at startup, re-booted again, and once Win 10 had started up, my "Location" button was live, along with an all singing and dancing Cortana.

 

Many thanks. By "action Centre" I assume you mean the Privacy Settings/Location that is in Windows Settings. Location Service is not greyed out and I see from Services that Geolocation is "Running" So I don't think that can be the answer.

 

Hi, 'Action Centre' is the title for the flyout that appears if you click the notification icon (empty square with a v at the bottom).
Or Windows key + A.

Ok, so those two services are running. Good.

I see the same as you for that setting- and I have everything changed from US to UK English, and everything is working. That it's greyed out hasn't caused any problems.

Possible fix:
Solved Location Greyed Out - Cortana Set Up Blocked - Windows 10 Forums
#4, #5

I recommend you set a restore point before making changes. Note: System restore is off by default in '10, so you would need to enable it.

Info on Location:
Windows 10 location service and privacy

Do you actually have a problem with Cortana? For example, does its panel pop up if you press Windows key + S, windows key + Q, and does the search box on the task bar respond?

Cortana and Settings search are very sensitive to the several settings that must be consistent if changing language. That this is greyed out could be a minor bug.

============================================
Be aware that Cortana, in searching your files and folders, ONLY finds what's been indexed by Windows search.

Windows search is also available in file explorer, and anything in range will be found, indexed or not.

Much much better freeware tools for file search (often recommended here) for search-as-you-type with parameters for size, date, extension etc etc are:

Everything by Void Tools (use 1.4 beta or later)
Ultrasearch
Locate32 (old, but my preference).

 

Thanks for your help, it is appreciated. I am not much of a techie so I am finding my way around Win 10 at present. I got to Location through Settings on the Start Button and as I said Location is turned on and not greyed out. It is just Cortana under apps that use a precise location that is greyed out. Are you saying that this is greyed out on your computer as well? Do I have to set my precise location to make this work? Also as I trawl around I am being asked to register for a Microsoft Account. I haven't done that and wonder if that might make a difference?

I started looking at Cortana because I had been told that it might be intrusive and that is how I discovered this problem. Yes Cortana responds to the actions you have mentioned and all my language settings seem to be consistent. I am not so sure that this is going to concern me but I was interested in finding out why something appeared not to be working.

Many thanks.

 

The info I posted suggests a solution to that being greyed out. Personally it has no impact on me.

Cortana isn't intrusive: rt click the taskbar, click Cortana, hide it and the search box disappears. If you want Cortana back - set up Hey Cortana (and your microphone - make sure you downloaded Speech in your language- or hit Win key + S.

It just sits there using some RAM.

Recommendation- use Classic Shell as your start menu. It works rationally where the Win 10 menu doesn't (can't drag in to LHS, subfolders in the start menu if any are stripped out and the contents displayed in alpha order.
=>
Help
Help
Help
...

Readme
Readme
Readme
...

- each from a different program. Great.

Having an MS account allows many things to be correlated, and across devices, and use of online resources. You don't have to have one, but this can sometimes trip you up. Some functionality depends on it (universal apps).

No difference, generally, if you use it as a traditional desktop.
==============================================
Do take the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the extensive practical clear Tutorial section- answers to many issues.

Please note, Win 10 breaks in unfamiliar ways sometimes. Be prepared: our strong recommendation is to use disk imaging.

Creating disk images lets you restore Windows and all your disks and partitions to a previous working state, quickly and probably without technical help.

You can recover from:
- a failed disk drive (restore to a new one)
- ransomware (which encrypts your disk)
- user error
- unrecoverable problems from failed updates to problem programs
- unbootable PC (hardware faults aside)

Images also act as a full backup- you can extract files too.

You can even use images to help you move more easily and quickly to a new PC.

Imaging can even help you sleep at night knowing you have a second chance.

Many here recommend Macrium Reflect (free) as a good robust solution and more reliable than some others. It’s
- more feature rich
- more flexible
- more reliable
than Windows Backup and Restore system images.

It's well supported with videos, help and a responsive forum.

There are other such programs, free/commercial, some with simpler interfaces, but Macrium R is one of the most robust and reliable.

How long does it take?
SSD+ USB3 - maybe 15 mins for the first system image, less thereafter
HDD + USB2 - maybe 40-50 mins
That’s with little personal data, few programs installed.
- of course, depends how much you have on C:
(You can and should image all your partitions and disks)

 

Many thanks Dalchina. I think I have some reading to do! I find the scroll bar on the start menu very fiddly, it needs to be bigger and "Ask me anything" gets in the way of the down arrow. I couldn't find any "Help" or "Readme" notes anywhere. I currently back up to a second hard disk in the computer using Windows (It doesn't work properly because of a mysterious "Defaultuser0" file but that is another story and is covered elsewhere on the web) I will look into the backup options.

Many thanks.

 

Hi, mouse scrolling- enable this option (bottom)




and you scroll any time you're hovering over the area you wish to scroll. (Previously needed a 3rd party utility).

Help tightly integrated with Windows with relevant URLs and correct links went out with Win 7. MS now relies on users to document their product.

There are some exceptions, and occasionally you will find MS detail. Just think of the cost saving, Mr Gates sir!

Now if PCs were true consumer products and could be used entirely instinctively...

Additional trouble is the changes MS keep making moving things around..

Do not back up to a disk in the same computer. Backups should be to a medium which can be taken off-line and remote from your PC or removed from it. Think power failure and theft, fire and flood.

Imaging is completely different to backing up files.
Imaging lets you restore a PC to a previous working state- even unbootable PCs (hardware faults aside).

Without imaging, you can be forced to do another clean install. With imaging, you can avoid that saving a huge amount of time and inconvenience.

 

Yes, that mouse facility was turned on but I didn't realise I could use it. Thanks. You are quite right about the removable back up, I will deal with it. Thanks for your advice.