How to enable Siri on iPhone and configure it

Function "Hey Siri!", which calls the voice assistant, is one of the relatively few features that was blatantly snatched from the guys from a competing platform (“Okay, Google”). In this material we will tell you which Apple devices it works on, why it is needed and how to turn it on with your voice and make some personalization settings. Instructions for beginners!

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Thanks to the Siri voice assistant, almost every owner of an iPhone (4s and older), iPad (third generation and older, as well as all iPad mini devices), iPod touch 5g and Apple Watch can call callers by voice, set alarms, write messages and even dictate texts. A more detailed list of useful commands can be found here.

And if previously you had to hold down the “Home” button to activate the function, now you just need to say the phrase “Hey Siri!” (the function appeared on iOS 9 and also works on later firmware versions). True, there are some nuances here too.

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What Siri can do

Siri is a voice assistant from Apple that can replace many of the user's body movements. How so? Everything happens because Siri is equipped with a number of interesting functions that will help a person at any moment of his life, even the most unexpected.

The voice assistant is controlled directly by the voice of the phone owner, and it can also:

Call or send any person the necessary information;
Automatically apply standard functions such as counting numbers, turning on a stopwatch, setting a calendar, setting a reminder or alarm, and much more;
Conduct some conversation with the user if he needs a good interlocutor;
Find the necessary information on the Internet.

And this list can go on forever! For more information about Siri's functions, watch the video.

To sum it up, we can conclude that Siri is a real command center that can make the user's life easier instantly and is controlled by voice for a more comfortable user experience.

What questions should you not ask Siri?

There are some questions you definitely shouldn't ask Siri . They are primarily related to your personal information. Everything you say to the voice assistant will definitely be used against you. Remember that Siri records all your conversations and sends them to servers.

How to hide a corpse, how to rob a bank and other questions should be kept to yourself. There are many examples on the Internet where a couple of careless phrases caused a lot of problems.
Don't ask Siri to call an ambulance or the police . Instead, you need to clearly and clearly pronounce the number you are going to call. The fact is that Siri may simply misunderstand you. Call me police and other blunders have occurred more than once.

Don't ask Siri to call an ambulance.

Don't try to talk to Siri in crowded places. The fact is that the voice assistant is able to detect ultrasound, which ordinary users cannot hear. This feature can easily be used by scammers, which can negatively affect your privacy.
Try not to pronounce any two- or three-digit numbers . Again, there is a high probability of calling emergency services. It will be very unpleasant if Siri calls an ambulance in vain. If this does happen, do not hang up. Tell the dispatcher that this happened accidentally.

Avoid using two- and three-digit numbers when calling Siri. This could end badly.

Don't try to ask Siri to perform an action in third-party apps. Despite the fact that I was able to send a message to a colleague on Telegram, there are still a lot of errors here. It is quite possible that the message will either not reach the recipient. There are also a number of applications that do not support Siri at all.

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What gadgets does Siri work on?

The voice assistant is available exclusively on iOS phones, as well as on Apple devices. That is, such gadgets as iPad, iPhone, MacBook are all equipped with such a voice assistant, which helps you find something quickly and easily.

Siri does not and cannot exist on Android devices. This is due to the fact that this voice assistant is the exclusive information of the company, which no one can change to their own account.

Of course, similar robots have also been created on Android, such as Alice from Yandex, but still such robots are unlikely to replace iPhone users with the already boring Siri, which is ready to help out its owner at any time of the day.

Which iPhones is Siri friends with?

The Assistant does not work on all iPhones. “Gets along” with device versions from iOS 4 and higher. Calling a subscriber by voice is possible on supported devices if they are connected to a power source, that is, the battery is charging. However, popular top models work without recharging, these are: iPhone SE, 6s, 7, 8, X, XR, XS.

Another interesting article for you: How to set up, enable and use Family Sharing on iPhone

The models of devices listed above are always ready to execute the voice command of their owner. You can “talk” to your phone both on the street and at home.

The latest versions of devices do not require an Internet connection. If a person is searching for a network, but the server is unavailable due to lack of connection, the data will not be displayed. This is a standard 404 error.

How to call Siri on iPhone

A fairly logical question arises: how to call a voice assistant? Everything is quite simple. Calling an assistant depends on the phone model. If a person has an iPhone version iOS 9, then he can simply say: “Hey Siri,” and the robot will automatically respond to its owner’s call.

The call can be made after proper configuration, which we will discuss later.

If the user somehow retained the old update, then he needs to first hold down the “Home” button, and only then the assistant will come out.

With the advent of the iPhone model without a button, users were faced with the problem that they could not call up Siri, since there was simply no Home button. Then the company decided to introduce full voice activation not only on phones, but also on many other gadgets of the company. Calling a bot is the simplest thing a person can do who is not able to enter this or that information or set an alarm on their own.

It’s very convenient when you can only shout: “Siri, set the alarm for 7:00”, hear approval in response and continue to sleep.

Activation

The smartphone settings are quite simple - you need to learn a few simple steps to activate the option you need once and start working.

For iPhone 7 and higher

First, let's figure out how to enable Siri on iPhone 7 (and other models):

Open settings;
Select the “Screen Time” icon;
Find the “Content and Privacy” block;
Go to the line “Allowed programs”;

Move the toggle switch opposite the name of the voice assistant to the “On” position.

You have activated the assistant's work!

For iPhone 6 and below

Let’s move on and figure out how to turn on the robot on iPhone 6 by pressing the “Home” button:

Open settings;
Go to “Basic”;
Select the “Home” line by scrolling down the screen;
In the “Press and hold to speak” block, find the line “Siri”.

The next step is to enable assistant voice control on the iPhone 5S or other models:

Enter settings;
Find the line with the name of artificial intelligence;
In the “Ask” block, activate the “Listen to “Hello”” option;
Here you can set the toggle switch to the “On” position opposite the “Call with home button” item.

We hope you have no more questions - now you can independently enable the assistant and choose the most convenient way to communicate with artificial intelligence. And if you need to disable the assistant, read how to do it here.

How to enable Siri on iPhone if it is disabled

There are even situations when a user picks up a phone for the first time. The voice bot feature is not yet enabled, but it would be worth setting it up and activating it. This is quite simple to do even for a person who does not understand the company’s devices:

You need to go to settings. They are located on the main screen, and look like a gray gear marked “Settings”;
After that, in the “Basic” section we find such a marked function as “Siri”. There is actually a whole item in the settings dedicated to setting up the bot and activating it;
Next, the user goes to this section and sees everything that he can do with the assistant;
We set all switches to the active state to enable the function.

All. The assistant is now available on your phone.

"Hey Siri" used to work differently than it does now

I often use this when my iPhone is not handy.
When Apple first added this feature to iOS 8, it was possible to activate Siri with a phrase only when the iPhone or iPad was charging. The reason is simple - monitoring the key phrase was a rather energy-intensive process. The current iPhones 4s, 5, 5s and 6 did not have a special Always-on Processor (AOP) chip.

It only appeared in the iPhone 6s , as part of the M9 coprocessor. Moreover, AOP runs on its RTKitOS operating system. It is known that this chip allows the “Hey Siri” function to work and track the iPhone’s location in Find My, even when it is turned off.

It is independent of iOS and actually has constant access to the microphone. This is where the real magic begins.

How to set up Siri on iPhone

In the same section, the user can perform various manipulations and adjust the assistant in a way convenient for him. All settings are located just below the main activation. You can see how best and most conveniently to set up a voice assistant in this video

The user can activate a function such as “switch on on locked screen”. It means that even if the iPhone is locked, the user can call Siri at any time convenient for him.

This function can only work continuously if there is an appropriate connection to the network, Internet or Wi-Fi.

An equally entertaining feature is also available, such as “Allow “Hey Siri”. This option indicates voice input of information. If the user shouts a greeting to the bot, it will respond and fulfill the request.

It is possible to change the language Siri will speak. By the way, Siri can easily recognize or speak any language. This applies to the item with skills.

All settings are located only in this section, so the user does not need to wander around his phone.

Physical button press

On devices that have a physical home button (for example, iPhone 7):

Click "Home".
When the bottom bar of the sound wave image is activated (at this point you can already use Siri services), ask a question.
For example: “Siri, who won, Justin Gaethje or Tony Ferguson?”

How to call Siri on iPhone X and other Apple devices without the Home button:

Press the side button.
Hold it pressed for a couple of seconds until a beep appears and Siri is activated.
Next, you can ask your question.

These options are also available on a locked device. There is no need to make additional settings.

How to use Siri

It is worth noting that most iPhone owners use the voice assistant as a panacea for a bad mood. This is due to the fact that he answers any questions quite interestingly if he does not know the proper and verified answer from the Internet.

You don't need advanced abilities to use Siri. All you have to do is download “Hey Siri” and ask the bot for something. This could be setting an alarm for any date and time, it could be a funny joke - whatever the person’s heart desires.

This voice assistant is perfect for those whose hands are constantly busy and need to quickly call someone, calculate or find something. Using a voice assistant is a pleasure, as it is very convenient and funny in some situations.

Via AirPods

When your Apple Wireless Headphones are paired with your phone and in your ears:

Double-tap the outside of one earbud.
Expect an accompanying sound signal to appear.
Ask your question.

At the same time, you can configure the assignment of headphone options through your iPhone 8 (or a younger model). If you are the owner of the second generation of AirPods, all you have to do is say “Hey Siri” to turn it on and you can use its help.

How to disable

Disabling the assistant follows from enabling it. It is enough in the same settings to switch off to the inactive position. Thus, Siri will not interfere with the user if he really decided to get rid of her wonderful help.

In fact, disabling Siri is a step that can play a cruel joke on the user. At a certain point, a voice assistant may be so needed that a person himself will be surprised how he could turn off this function.

Apple Watch

There are several options:

Wake up your watch by looking at it and saying, “Hey Siri.” Next, say what you want from your assistant.
If you're using a Series 3 or higher model, simply hold the watch to your mouth and tell it what you want to know.
Press the wheel and hold it for a couple of seconds. When Siri starts working, let us know what you want.
If you press and hold the wheel, you can ask a long question. When finished, simply release the clock wheel.

Possible problems

Unfortunately, various problems can arise with Siri. They are associated with many reasons that can be resolved quickly and easily. To see common problems and solutions, it is worth considering the table below.

Problems and solutions

Assistant voice call does not work.

The problem may be due to the following reasons: • Network problems or lack thereof; • Ban on using the assistant in certain regions and countries; • Microphone failure; • Battery saving mode activated. First, you should check if the saving mode is turned on, as Siri may not work because of it. If the problem is not there, then you should check the Internet and its stable operation. If this is not even the reason, then you need to go to the official website and find out the list of countries and cities in which this function is not available. If this does not help, then there is a problem with the microphone that needs to be repaired.

Siri refuses to show information from the Internet.

In this case, there is no network connection. You need to connect to the Internet, and then this function will work.

The assistant does not set the timer.

The problem lies in incorrect settings. To fix this, you need to go to your iPhone settings, open the list of all applications and find Siri there. After which you need to activate the parameters by simply clicking on the program itself. You need to check the activity of all sliders. If one of the sliders is inactive, then make it active (the icon should be green.

Doesn't recognize voice even after high-quality setup.

The problem lies in a system failure. In order to block it, just do the following: • Reboot the phone; • Install new software if available; • Restore all necessary firmware; • Reset data; • Retrieve data from a backup copy. If even after these manipulations Siri does not start working, then you need to urgently contact a repair or service department.

Siri is a wonderful assistant who can even replace hands, a friend, make life easier and create comfort.

4.6/5 — (28 votes)

Using Siri

The most interesting thing is what features the electronic assistant offers. The developers have endowed the application with wit and a friendly communication style. It’s hard to say whether they use it for convenience or, rather, for entertainment and lifting the mood.

Here are the basic commands that Siri can use to help you control your phone or tablet:

Working with contacts:
Assign family connections, for example “... is my sister.”
Phone calls:
“Show call history.”
“Do I have missed calls?”
“Call the police” - call the emergency number.
“Call home/work.”
Sending messages:
“Answer...”
"Read my new messages."
“Send a message to your mobile... (text).”
Calendar and business planning:
“Reschedule the meeting to (date).”
“Create a buy list.”
“Cancel the meeting.”
"Remind me of that."
“Add buy.”
"When I have a meeting"
Music: “Listen”, “Turn on”, “Play album”, “Pause”.
Navigation: “Show me...”, “Get directions...”, “How to get there...”.
Working with email: “Write a letter”, “Show me letters about...”, “Today there is a new letter from...?”
Time and date: “Wake me up...”, “Set the alarm...”, “What time is...”, “What date is it today”, “Set the timer”, “Pause the timer”.
Manage settings: “Turn on Wi-Fi”, “Make screen brighter”, “Turn off Bluetooth”.
Application management: “Launch”, “Open”.
Search on the Internet “Find on the Internet...”, “Find a video...”, “What’s new in Moscow.”

These are just example commands to show areas of opportunity. Pronounce commands clearly and ask for clarifications. Siri often asks for confirmation whether she understood the command correctly. And you can also ask her general and tricky questions. Just for fun, try asking the following:

Siri, are you smart?
What's wrong with Apple?
Who made the best computer?
I want to sleep.
What came first, the egg or the chicken?
How old are you?
Tell a joke.
Tell me a story.
Okay Google.

Ask tricky questions several times and she will have a variety of answers. This is an interesting feature available on Apple devices. Allows you not only to control your phone using your voice, but also to have a little fun and lift your spirits. If you know other interesting commands and unusual Siri responses, please provide your examples in the comments.

What settings are available?

To view the available commands and settings processed by the system, you need to go to the “Siri and search” item in settings mode. Teams are presented in a separate category. For convenience, it is recommended to expand it. The number of points will depend on which device model the user controls.

Apple developers have provided the ability to “donate” teams yourself. To do this, the device user must specify special attributes for actions.

Click "Show All" in the desired section to fully understand the functionality of the settings. For example, the following commands have been developed for Evernote:

generate an audio note;
activate a new photo note (requires camera launch);
copy the link to the note to the clipboard;
print the selected note;
create a file in PDF format.

If you click on “+”, a screen will appear for more detailed interaction with the mobile assistant. You need to write down the required phrase and activate the command using the Apple assistant.