How to set up and speak with Siri on iPhone and iPad

Setting up and configuring Siri for visually impaired users

You probably set up Siri when you first set up your iPhone or iPad and this will give you default settings for Siri. It's usually worth taking a look at your Siri settings and making a few adjustments. The Siri settings are in Settings / Siri. 

In Siri settings  you may want to sample some alternative voices for Siri.

 I suggest that you use the Responses button to set the Preferred Response Type to  Spoken Response. 

Next tap the Accessibility Settings button within Siri Settings.

Here you can choose a Siri Pause Time which can give you longer to think of the next word when speaking to Siri.

There is also a slider for Siri's speaking rate between 80% and 200% of its default speaking rate.

Ensure that Speak Back for Voice Input is ticked under Spoken Responses.

Hey Siri - activate Siri with your voice

Siri can be activated with two spoken commands, "Hey Siri" or "Siri". There is a setting in Settings / Siri / Requests 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 give Siri an instruction 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 after Siri finishes speaking and makes a sound or haptic buzz to let you know it is listening.

After Siri has responded to your first instruction you can give additional instructions to Siri without the "Hey Siri" prefix so long as you don't wait too long. You can even interrupt Siri with a new command. This feature may not be available on all iPhone or iPad models and can sometimes be a little unreliable.

When you no longer require Siri it can always be dismissed with the spoken command "hey Siri goodbye". Alternatively, Siri can be dismissed with a brief click of the home, side or top button, depending on your device. 

Activating Siri with a button press

As an alternative to speaking "Hey Siri" to activate Siri, Siri may be activated using a button press on all iPhones and iPads. This will be available if turned on at Settings / Requests / Press x Button for Siri where x will be one of home, side or top. 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 activate Siri, hold down the button until you hear a sound 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 and play its sound and buzz before answering.

Dismiss Siri with a brief button click.

On Devices with a home button, some users tend to hold the button too long when attempting to click the button to go to the home screen and then unintentionally summon Siri. For such users it may be best to disable Press Home Button for Siri and rely on summoning Siri with a spoken "Hey Siri"..

Keep Siri listening with a long button press

For some people, even if the Siri Pause Time is set to longest, Siri may still jump in and deal with incomplete instructions if they hesitate. It's possible to ensure that Siri continues listening until you have finished speaking. Hold down the button until you hear the sound or feel the haptic buzz, but now continue to hold the button down while you speak your instruction. Lift your finger only when you have finished speaking your instruction. For this to work it is necessary to hold the button down firmly and this could be a problem for some users.

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last updated 15 September 2025