Why is Cortana shrieking at me?
Q
When I use Cortana with the keyboard it works perfectly, but not so the audio version. I have set up the microphone and the correct language and when talking to Cortana my question appears in the taskbar box correctly, but in return I receive an intermittent shriek, which could be a badly distorted female voice. Am I doing something wrong or not doing something that I should? Any help you can give would be much appreciated. Dennis Cash
A
It sounds like you’re doing everything correctly and that Cortana is behaving as expected, apart from that shrieking — she shouldn’t be doing that, unless she’s experiencing some form of existential crisis.
Have you tested other PC sounds since setting up your microphone? You didn’t say whether you have a desktop or laptop, but we suspect it’s a desktop because a laptop’s mic is built in, and would therefore already be set up and ready to go. So, you might be experiencing a feedback loop. This means that Cortana’s replies are picked up by the mic, which gets interpreted as a new search request, and then fed back out of the speakers, and back into the mic and so on. Feedback loops build up quickly. The problem is fixed by moving the microphone and speakers further apart.
If this isn’t practical, perhaps because the mic and speakers share the same desk space, then try lowering the mic levels. First right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar’s notification area, then choose ‘Recording devices’. Now click your microphone from the list, then the Properties button (see screenshot 1). Finally, choose the Levels tab and move the Microphone slider left to reduce its sensitivity (see screenshot 2). Click OK twice to apply the change.