Windows 10: Microsoft deprecates the Windows Cortana app

GHacks · Aug 4, 2023

If you are one of the few Windows users who is using the Cortana standalone application for Windows, you will soon no longer be able to do so.

A recent update of the Cortana application in the latest Windows 11 Insider build ends Cortana's short reign on Windows. Instead of providing its usual functionality, Cortana displays "Cortana in Windows as a standalone app is deprecated" instead when it is launched.

A support page, End of support for Cortana in Windows, confirms Microsoft's plan to deprecate Cortana starting in August 2023. Microsoft is quick to point out in it that other tools and apps available that offer "powerful productivity features", including Windows Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot, the new Bing, and voice access in Windows 11.

Furthermore, while the standalone Cortana app is going away, Cortana lives on in several of Microsoft's products, including Outlook mobile, Teams mobile, Microsoft Teams display and Microsoft Teams rooms.

The company revealed its plans in early June 2023. Back then, it stated that the deprecation would begin in late 2023.

The deprecated Cortana app has the version 4.2308.1005.0, the version that is currently available in stable and some development builds is 4.2204.13303.0. One good thing that comes out of this is that users may uninstall the Cortana application once it has reached deprecation status. Microsoft locked the uninstallation of Cortana previously. While it is possible to circumvent this, it could cause issues.

Users of stable versions of Windows will have to wait a bit longer before Cortana is deprecated on their devices. The change landed in the latest Canary build of Windows 11 only and it will usually move from there to other development builds before it lands in the stable version of Windows.

The Cortana app update comes from the Microsoft Store though, which means that it does not require a specific Windows update installation.

Windows Copilot, Microsoft's AI powered helper tool, looks to become the main replacement of Cortana in Windows 11. The tool's current version is relatively weak when it comes to Windows-specific features, but this can change until the official release of the tool.

Now You: have you used Cortana? (via and Deskmodder)

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Brink · Aug 4, 2023

Microsoft To-Do and Cortana integration in Windows 10

Microsoft To-Do helps you manage, prioritize, and complete the most important things you need to achieve every day, powered by Office 365 integration.

Now, with Cortana integration, you can save time and stay organized — Cortana helps by adding your reminders and tasks to your lists in Microsoft To-Do, so you can stay on top of what matters most. Use your voice, your PC, your phone — your choice.

Streamline your tasks — your lists and reminders from across Microsoft To-Do, Cortana, and tasks in Outlook can now become one — centrally located in your Microsoft To-Do app. Use Microsoft To-Do anywhere: on your Android or iPhone, with Cortana, or on your Windows 10 PC. You can also access Microsoft To-Do from the web. It’s automatically synced so you never miss a beat.

With this integration, we are furthering efforts to seamlessly sync your to-do lists across Microsoft To-Do, Cortana, and your Outlook tasks. Follow the quick steps below and give it a try. To share feedback, join the cohort or use the Feedback Hub.

Getting started

Your Windows 10 PC must be running Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18267+ and tied to either an Australia, India, US, or UK region. To sync your reminders and lists across Cortana, Microsoft To-Do, and Outlook, set up Outlook or Office 365 as a connected service in Cortana on your PC:

Cortana > Notebook > Manage Skills > Connected services

Select your account type:

Personal Microsoft account: select Outlook

Enterprise account: select Office 365

Click Connect.

Your reminders and lists across Cortana, Microsoft To-Do and Outlook will start syncing.

If you already have Outlook or Office 365 set up as a connected service in Cortana, initiate the sync by trying one of these actions:

Reminders: Cortana > Notebook > Organizer > Reminders or

Lists: Cortana > Notebook > Organizer > Lists

Then, sign into the Microsoft To-Do app or Outlook with the same personal or enterprise account you used earlier when setting up connected services in Cortana. All your reminders and lists will now be synced across Cortana, Microsoft To-Do and Outlook.

Learn more about connected services in Cortana.

Things to try

Add items to a list

Open the Microsoft To-Do app on your PC and create a new list titled “Travel”.

Ask Cortana to add “Paris” to your “Travel” list.

Verify if “Paris” was automatically added to your “Travel” list on Microsoft To-Do.

Your accounts should sync automatically. If you need to force a sync, go to Microsoft To-Do app > click on your account name > Settings > Sync

Set reminders

Ask Cortana: “Remind me to call Dave in 2 minutes.”

Wait for the reminder. You should receive a Microsoft To-Do reminder, and a Cortana reminder.

The reminder should appear both in your Microsoft To-Do planned tasks and your Cortana To-Do lists.

In the Microsoft To-Do app and Cortana, you can also add a time reminder on any item in the lists.

Recall items on a list

Ask Cortana: “What is on my To-Do list?”

Try this with any other named lists. “What is on my Grocery list?”

Recall your reminders

Go to the Microsoft To-Do app and click on Tasks.

Create a new task and add to the Task list.

Click on the new task to edit.

Click on “Remind me” and set a reminder for later in the day.

Ask Cortana: “What are my reminders for today?”

Try with other query patterns such as “What are my reminders in the evening?” etc.

Known Issues

(last updated 12.18.18)
There are a few known issues we’re tracking to and working to resolve:

Works best when you disconnect Wunderlist from Cortana.

Location-based reminders can only be created in Cortana, while you can view them in your Microsoft To-Do app.

Attachments added with Cortana are only accessible in Cortana (won’t sync to Microsoft To-Do)

A list shared between multiple people in the Microsoft To-Do app will only appear in Cortana for the person who shared it. All members of the list can still access the list in Microsoft To-Do.

You may see duplicate notifications for a single reminder — from Cortana, Microsoft To-Do, and Outlook apps on your Windows 10 PC or iOS phone. Learn how to change notification settings in Windows 10

You may get “Too many reminders” error while setting up reminders using Cortana on a Windows phone. Delete some of the completed reminders as a workaround. Go to Cortana > Notebook > Reminders > History > Completed either on PC or Windows phone.

Click to expand...

Read more: Microsoft To-Do and Cortana integration - Windows Insider

Brink · Aug 4, 2023

Microsoft To-Do and Cortana integration in Windows 10

Microsoft To-Do helps you manage, prioritize, and complete the most important things you need to achieve every day, powered by Office 365 integration.

Now, with Cortana integration, you can save time and stay organized — Cortana helps by adding your reminders and tasks to your lists in Microsoft To-Do, so you can stay on top of what matters most. Use your voice, your PC, your phone — your choice.

Streamline your tasks — your lists and reminders from across Microsoft To-Do, Cortana, and tasks in Outlook can now become one — centrally located in your Microsoft To-Do app. Use Microsoft To-Do anywhere: on your Android or iPhone, with Cortana, or on your Windows 10 PC. You can also access Microsoft To-Do from the web. It’s automatically synced so you never miss a beat.

With this integration, we are furthering efforts to seamlessly sync your to-do lists across Microsoft To-Do, Cortana, and your Outlook tasks. Follow the quick steps below and give it a try. To share feedback, join the cohort or use the Feedback Hub.

Getting started

Your Windows 10 PC must be running Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18267+ and tied to either an Australia, India, US, or UK region. To sync your reminders and lists across Cortana, Microsoft To-Do, and Outlook, set up Outlook or Office 365 as a connected service in Cortana on your PC:

Cortana > Notebook > Manage Skills > Connected services

Select your account type:

Personal Microsoft account: select Outlook

Enterprise account: select Office 365

Click Connect.

Your reminders and lists across Cortana, Microsoft To-Do and Outlook will start syncing.

If you already have Outlook or Office 365 set up as a connected service in Cortana, initiate the sync by trying one of these actions:

Reminders: Cortana > Notebook > Organizer > Reminders or

Lists: Cortana > Notebook > Organizer > Lists

Then, sign into the Microsoft To-Do app or Outlook with the same personal or enterprise account you used earlier when setting up connected services in Cortana. All your reminders and lists will now be synced across Cortana, Microsoft To-Do and Outlook.

Learn more about connected services in Cortana.

Things to try

Add items to a list

Open the Microsoft To-Do app on your PC and create a new list titled “Travel”.

Ask Cortana to add “Paris” to your “Travel” list.

Verify if “Paris” was automatically added to your “Travel” list on Microsoft To-Do.

Your accounts should sync automatically. If you need to force a sync, go to Microsoft To-Do app > click on your account name > Settings > Sync

Set reminders

Ask Cortana: “Remind me to call Dave in 2 minutes.”

Wait for the reminder. You should receive a Microsoft To-Do reminder, and a Cortana reminder.

The reminder should appear both in your Microsoft To-Do planned tasks and your Cortana To-Do lists.

In the Microsoft To-Do app and Cortana, you can also add a time reminder on any item in the lists.

Recall items on a list

Ask Cortana: “What is on my To-Do list?”

Try this with any other named lists. “What is on my Grocery list?”

Recall your reminders

Go to the Microsoft To-Do app and click on Tasks.

Create a new task and add to the Task list.

Click on the new task to edit.

Click on “Remind me” and set a reminder for later in the day.

Ask Cortana: “What are my reminders for today?”

Try with other query patterns such as “What are my reminders in the evening?” etc.

Known Issues

(last updated 12.18.18)
There are a few known issues we’re tracking to and working to resolve:

Works best when you disconnect Wunderlist from Cortana.

Location-based reminders can only be created in Cortana, while you can view them in your Microsoft To-Do app.

Attachments added with Cortana are only accessible in Cortana (won’t sync to Microsoft To-Do)

A list shared between multiple people in the Microsoft To-Do app will only appear in Cortana for the person who shared it. All members of the list can still access the list in Microsoft To-Do.

You may see duplicate notifications for a single reminder — from Cortana, Microsoft To-Do, and Outlook apps on your Windows 10 PC or iOS phone. Learn how to change notification settings in Windows 10

You may get “Too many reminders” error while setting up reminders using Cortana on a Windows phone. Delete some of the completed reminders as a workaround. Go to Cortana > Notebook > Reminders > History > Completed either on PC or Windows phone.

Click to expand...

Read more: Microsoft To-Do and Cortana integration - Windows Insider

Srimadhwa_B · Aug 4, 2023

Cortana

Hi,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Community.

Appreciate your efforts to work on this issue.

This issue can occur if some of the system files are not working as expected.

Suggest you to follow the steps from this article to
troubleshoot Cortana on the PC.

Note: Do not go with the ‘Reset PC’ option for now.

Method 1: Follow these steps to disable Cortana:

Sign-in to the PC with your Microsoft account.

In the search box at the bottom, type Disable Cortana.

Once the suggestions appear in the list, click Cortana & Search settings.

From the right section of the Settings pane, move the top button to ‘Off’ to disable Cortana from Windows 10.

Method 2: Follow these steps to check if that helps.

Launch Cortana from the search bar on the taskbar.

Then, from the left pane click the settings button.

Under "Cortana" (the first option) and slide the pill switch to the ‘Off’ position.

Method 3: Launch the Settings app and click on Privacy. Navigate to Speech, inking, & typing, and click Stop getting to know me. These steps will disable Cortana.

Hope this helps.

Let us know if you got the help you needed.

Regards,

Srimadhwa B

Microsoft Community-Moderator

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