How to get Cortana working on Windows 10 for phones outside US

The Cortana personal assistant in the first Windows 10 technical preview for phones (9941.12498) which Microsoft rolled out to Windows Insiders, will be limited to US-only and English-only.

Some features which were present in Windows Phone 8.1 are not enabled yet. Microsoft, however, promises to make Cortana more powerful and capable in Windows 10 than ever before. With more functions and language support, Cortana will be available for Windows Insiders in the future builds.

Check out a few visible changes noticed in Windows 10 for phones preview.

Cortana changelog

• Cortana appears in the middle
• The settings icon has moved to the left of the screen
• Translucent "ask me anything" bar present
• Settings is now accessible without leaving Cortana Home
• Cortana looks animated but navigation is less fluid compared to Windows Phone 8.1 version
• New big square tile

If you have already updated your Lumia device with the first technical preview for phones and are unable to get Cortana working as you are outside the US, check out the following guide to get started with Cortana.

How to get Cortana on Windows 10 for phones outside US

Step-1:

Go to Settings>> Time & Language>> Region

Change Region to United States and regional format as "match phone language" under Settings>> Region

Reboot the device

Step-2:

Navigate to Settings>> Time & Language>> Language then add English (United States) in Settings>> Language. You need to reboot your Windows phone after installation of the language pack.

After the device boots up successfully, you should be able to use Cortana from the list of available apps.

Note: Cortana will already be present but you cannot get it to work unless you perform the above steps.

[Source: NokiaPowerUser]