How to set up and speak with Siri

How Siri works

Siri interprets your spoken requests locally on your iPhone or iPad without any need for an internet connection so long as you have a recent iPhone or iPad that has an A12 Bionic chip or later. If you have an earlier iPhone or iPad model, then an internet connection over wi-fi or mobile data will be required for Siri to operate. 

On recent iPhone and iPad models, if your request can be performed locally, for example, "turn on the torch", or "call Jane Smith", then this will be done even if there is no internet connection available. However, if your request is for an internet service, for example checking the weather, then an internet connection will be required and Siri will let you know if there is no internet connection rendering it unable to perform your request. 

Setting up and configuring Siri

You were invited to set up Siri when you first set up your iPhone or iPad. The default settings may not be the best for blind and low vision users. I suggest you review your Siri settings and take a look at Suggested iPhone Siri settings or Suggested iPad Siri settings. 

The main Siri settings are in Settings / Siri but some additional settings can be found in Settings / Accessibility / Siri. The settings in Accessibility / Siri include one to change Siri's speaking rate between 80% and 200% of its normal speaking rate which may be helpful if you either need more time to process Siri's responses or if you like to get things done quickly with speeded-up voices. 

Another setting in the Accessibility Siri settings is Siri Pause Time. This can be helpful if you tend to pause while speaking commands to Siri and Siri jumps in with it's response before you have finished. You can increase the pause time to either "longer" or "longest". There is a more robust way to avoid Siri responding before you have finished your command which is described below in the section on summoning Siri with a button press.

Hey Siri - summon Siri with your voice

iOS and iPadOS 17 introduced the ability to summon Siri with two spoken commands, "Hey Siri" or "Siri". There is a setting in Settings / Siri which allows you to choose whether Siri listens for both "Hey Siri" and "Siri" or just for "Hey Siri". To avoid making this text too clumsy, I'll use "Hey Siri" to mean "Hey Siri" or "Siri". The choice to listen for Siri or Hey Siri may not be available on some iPhones or iPads.

To summon Siri with your voice say "Hey Siri" followed by your instruction or question. The iPhone or iPad, even if it is locked and its screen is blank, can be set always to be listening for its user to speak "Hey Siri". To give Siri a command or ask a question speak "Hey Siri" followed immediately by the command or question. An example would be to speak "Hey Siri text John Smith I'm on my way". If Siri needs more information from you, it will request that information. Speak your response.  Be sure to wait for Siri to finish its question before speaking. Prior to iOS and iPadOS 18, Siri used to make sounds to indicate that it was begun to listen for your response. So fr as I can determine, Siri no longer does this in iOS 18 and will give only a haptic buzz on devices that support haptics.

iOS and iPadOS 17 introduced a change in Siri's behaviour when your first command is completed. You can give additional commands without the "Hey Siri" prefix. You can even interrupt Siri with a new command. This feature may not function in all environments. While using my Made For iPhone hearing aids it is still necessary to prefix commands with "Hey Siri". This feature may not be available on all iPhone or iPad models.

When you no longer require Siri it can always be dismissed with the spoken command "goodbye". Alternatively, Siri can be dismissed with a brief click of the Home, Side or Top button, depending on your device. Note that Siri is automatically dismissed when it has opened an app.  

Summoning Siri with a button press

As an alternative to speaking "Hey Siri" to summon Siri, Siri may be summoned using a button press on all iPhones and iPads.  If your device has a home button, then that is the one to use. If your device has no home button then use the Side button on iPhones or the top button on iPads. For brevity, I'll just refer to this as "the button". To instruct Siri to listen for a command, hold down the button until you hear a ping or feel a haptic vibration and then release the button and speak your instruction and wait until Siri responds. If Siri requests more information be sure to wait for it to finish speaking before answering.

When you’ve finished your initial conversation with Siri, you can continue with more commands and requests to Siri. Just speak the commands; no further button presses are required.  End the sequence with "goodbye" or a brief button click.

If you pause or hesitate more than a scond or so while speaking to Siri, it will probably assume that you've finished your command and will begin to process it.  There is a way to summon Siri which lets you pause and hesitate as much as you wish.

Hold down the button until you hear the ping or feel the haptic buzz, but now continue to hold the button down while you speak your command. Lift your finger only when you have finished speaking your command.

Interacting with Siri's responses

When Siri completes your request its behaviour depends on the type of request. For example, after Siri opens an app it completes the task and you are free to use the app straight away. For many other requests to Siri, for example asking to check missed calls, Siri performs the task and then Siri's response stays on the screen. The position of Siri's response on screen varies, but should be easy for a VoiceOver user to locate. You may want to tap Siri's response to hear it  again, or you might want to return one of those missed calls by double tapping on the caller. Alternatively you can give Siri another command, including "goodbye" to end your session with Siri..

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