Cortana is a Windows 10 virtual assistant.
However, it keeps on popping up again n again.
Therefore, in this article, you will find the solutions to stop Windows 10 Cortana from popping up.
Solution 1 – Turn off the Trackpad gestures that trigger up the Cortana
Keep Readin’…
You can stop Cortana from popping up on Windows 10 by turning off the trackpad gestures.
Let’s see how it’s done.
- Open the Start Menu and open settings.
- Look for Devices and click it. This will open a new window.
- In the appearing window, click on Mouse and touchpad. This will open the input devices option.
- Next, click on the ‘Additional mouse options’.
- Carefully look for the options that read ‘three finger tap’ or ‘four finger tap’.
- Once located, make sure to disable them as it is a trigger for Cortana to constantly pop up.
Solution 2 – Install the Older Touchpad Driver
Try to install an older driver as in the case we did for the Spacebar not working issue.
It is simple and you can do it from Device Manager.
Keep Reading.
- Open Device Manger.
- Locate your touchpad driver. Right click it and choose update driver from the menu.
- Now choose to browse my computer for driver software.
- Click on Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer. This list will show you the available drives compatible with the device and all drivers in the list in the same category as the device.
- A list of drives will appear. You have to select previous version of the driver and click Next.
- Make sure to disable the ‘three finger tap’ and ‘four finger tap’ gestures/features.
Solution 3 – Turn off Hey Cortana hot/wake word detection
- Open Start Menu and type in Cortana. Click on the Result.
- This opens a new page. Look for the setting that reads ‘Let Cortana respond to Hey Cortana’ and then turn the option off.
Solution 4 – Turn off Taskbar Tidbits in search settings
- Follow all the steps mentioned in solution 2. In the Cortana and Search Settings, look for the option that reads Taskbar tidbits.
- Search for the option to turn it off.
This should disable Cortana in Windows 10.
Solution 5 – Disable Cortana on the lock screen
Still, if the search box keeps popping up in windows 7 or windows 8 or 10, then there might be a problem in its settings.
We need to manipulate the settings in your lock screen:
- Press Windows key + I to open the settings app.
- Navigate to the Cortana section.
- Locate ‘Use Cortana even when my device is locked’ option in the right pane and disable it.
This should fix the problem completely.
Even if this does not work, do the following:
Solution 6 – Check your Keyboard – Incase
Usually, sometimes a certain key on your keyboard is stuck.
Chances are that it may be due to a stuck F5 key.
If it’s the case, then this may activate certain shortcuts and hence Cortana popping.
Make sure there are no stuck keys.
Else, you can try a different keyboard and check if the issue persists.
This may not be the only reason, however, it is an unlikely cause that can activate hey Cortana.
Solution 7 – Try to use a USB Mouse
If Cortana keeps popping up in the task manager then there might be a sensitivity issue with your touchpad.
We advise you to try using a USB mouse with your laptop.
If this helps you with the problem, then for sure you’re performing gestures on your touchpad.
Solution 8 – Disable your Touchpad
If you don’t often use your touchpad, then you can disable it.
Use the keyboard shortcut to disable it.
The best to do it is to look for a key that has a touchpad icon on it and press Fn and that key together to disable the touchpad.
You can disable your touchpad using the other way also.
Follow the steps below:
- Press Windows key + X. Choose Device Manager from the list.
- Locate your touchpad on the list, right-click it and choose Disable device from the menu.
- Click ‘Yes’ on the confirmation dialog box.
This should completely disable Cortana from popping up on Windows.
Unluckily, if still, search box keeps popping up, then perform the step below:
Solution 9 – Modify your registry
Make a few changes to your registry. This is a simple step and you can do it by following the steps below:
- Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box and enter ‘regedit’. Press Enter or click OK.
- When the window opens, navigate to the following directory in the left pane:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Synaptics\SynTP\Win10
- Right-click Windows 10 key and choose Export from the menu.
- Now, this step is important. Below select the ‘selected branch’, enter the desired file name and click on save.
- Incase any thing goes unexpected, you can always run the exported file and restore the registry to the original state.
- In the right pane, do the following:
- Delete the following DWORDs:
- 3FingerTapAction
- 3FingerTapPlugInActionID
- 3FingerTapPlugInID
- 3FingerPressButtonAction
This will help you.
If you do not find any of these words or the path from step 2 the solution does not apply to you and you can skip it.
After doing that, check if the problem still persists. If you can’t find any of these DWORDs or the path from Step 2, this solution doesn’t apply to you so you can just skip it.
Solution 10 – Enable Battery Saver
This is also one of the fixes for the ‘Cortana keeps popping up’ issue.
Do the following:
- Tap the battery icon on your computer’s taskbar and click the Battery saver icon in the battery pane.
- This is not the best way to stop Cortana from popping up on Windows because it will also disable some crucial features on your PC and the problem can still be there. Anyways, you can try this.
These are the steps you can perform to stop Cortana from popping up on your laptop.
