Microsoft’s digital assistant, Cortana, is now integrated on Xbox One, but only on the United States and UK. As part of the Anniversary Update for Xbox One, the software giant is adding a slew of new features and changes.
Perhaps one of the most noticeable changes is Cortana on Xbox One, but unfortunately it’s a feature only available for those who have set US-English or UK-English as their default system language.
However, the Anniversary Update for Xbox One also adds a new Language Region Independence feature, which lets you change the default language of the console, no matter where you’re located in the world.
This means that if you live in the US and then you travel to France, you don’t have to change any of your settings, which means that you can also keep using Cortana. Therefore, you can simply change the default system language on Xbox One to one of the supported language to use Cortana in your location — even when the assistant is not available in your region.
In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to enable Cortana on your Xbox One outside of the US, or even outside the UK.
How to enable Cortana on Xbox One on unsupported regions
Enabling Cortana outside the United State or UK is a very straightforward process, just change your default system language and then enable the assistant.
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Open the flyout menu from the left.
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Click on Settings.
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Click on All Settings.
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Click on System.
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Click on Language & Location.
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Change your system language to either English (United States) or English (United Kingdom).
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Restart the console.
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Open Settings.
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Click on System.
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Click on Cortana.
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Click I agree to enable Cortana and dictation on your console.
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Click I agree to enable Cortana on your profile.
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Restart the console to start using the digital assistant.
While Xbox One has included support for voice commands, Cortana will not only allow you to control your console with the same commands you used before, but because the assistant is the same across devices, you will be able to do a lot more.
In addition to quickly start games, launch app quickly, start party, and other common tasks, you can also manage your calendar, add reminders, and a lot more.
Have you tried Cortana on Xbox One outside supported regions? Tell us what you think about the feature in the comments below.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].