What if Cortana can’t send dictated emails or take notes?

February 26, 2019 |

greater than 4 minutes

Microsoft Corporation developed Cortana, an intelligent virtual assistant, to help Windows users get more organized and save time. Cortana can be used across devices, including PCs, Android smartphones and iPhones.
Cortana was well received across the globe due to its versatility and useful features ranging from controlling your music to helping you with directions. One major feature is the ability to take notes and send emails. Today’s post addresses the “Why can’t Cortana take notes?” issue and provides solutions on how to fix “Cortana can’t send dictated emails”.

First, let’s take a look at how to use Cortana to send an email.

How to Send an Email with Cortana on Windows 10
Microsoft has given Cortana, your personal assistant on Windows 10, the ability to read emails aloud and send dictated emails. To write and send an email, you have to activate the feature called “Hey Cortana” on your device to wake up Cortana.

To enable “Hey Cortana”:

  1. Click the “Start” menu, and type Cortana.
  2.  Click on “Cortana & Search settings” to launch the “Talk to Cortana” section in the “Settings” app.
  3. Toggle the “Let Cortana respond to “Hey Cortana”” button to “On”. Cortana will then take you through a quick process of reading out statements to teach her how to respond to your voice.

When you’re done setting up Cortana, use the steps below to compose and send an email.

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  1. Simply say, “Hey Cortana write an email”. Cortana will ask you who you want to send an email to. Here, you can say the person’s name or nickname (you must have the contact saved in the address book) or click the + icon to pull up a list of your contacts for you to select from. If you’re sending an email to multiple people, you can say their names separated by “and”.
  2. Next, Cortana will ask you what the subject of the email is and what you want to say in the body of the email.
  3. To make changes before sending the email, simply say, “Make changes”.
  4. When you’re finished composing the email, click the “Send” button.

As you can see, composing and sending an email using Cortana is quick and simple. Cortana also provides an option to continue in your default email app, which is useful if you want to add an attachment.

What If Cortana Won’t Send Emails

Currently, Cortana is available in selected countries, including the USA, UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and China. Plans are underway to expand Cortana’s use to other countries worldwide.

Sending emails is enabled for U.S. and UK Windows users only. Other countries will have to wait a little longer to get access to this feature.

How to Fix Cortana Can’t Send Dictated Emails

Solution 1: Restart Cortana

The first fix is to disable Cortana and then re-enable it again. To do this:

  1. Click the Cortana search box, and then select the “Settings” icon. In an older Windows version, select “Notebook” and then click “Settings”.
  2. Select the first option under “Cortana” and toggle the button to “Off”.
  3. Next, go to Settings > Privacy > Inking and typing personalization.
  4. Click to toggle the button to “Off” under “Getting to know you”.
  5. Likewise, be sure to turn off the “Hey Cortana” feature in Settings > Cortana > Talk to Cortana.
  6. Next, restart your computer, and then repeat the steps outlined above to turn on all the features.

Now try to send an email and see if Cortana will start taking notes.

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Solution 2: Change Your Regional Settings

Adjusting your PC’s regional settings can unlock some of the features that limit Cortana from sending dictated emails.

These are the steps to follow:

  1. Launch Settings > Time & Language.
  2. Next, choose “Region”, and select “United States” or “United Kingdom” from the drop-down list under “Country or region”.
  3. Move to “Regional format”, and select “Recommended [(English United States)]”.
  4. Select “Language” on the left pane, and choose “English (United States)” under “Windows display language”.
    Cortana should now be able to take notes and send dictated emails.

Solution 3: Check Windows Speech Recognition

Problems with Windows Speech Recognition can lead to the ‘Cortana can’t send dictated emails’ issue on Windows 10. To fix this:

  1. Address Cortana by saying “Stop listening.”
  2. Launch Cortana, and then choose “I agree” to enable all the features.
  3. To re-enable Windows Speech Recognition, say “Start listening.”

This should resolve the ‘what if Cortana can’t send dictated emails or take notes’ issue on Windows 10.

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