How to turn on ‘Hey Siri’

Knowing how to use “Hey Siri” can be extremely helpful. It’s a great way to use your phone or another Apple device hands-free. Here are simple steps on how to use it and what else you need to know.

Setting up Hey Siri

To start using it go to “Settings” and navigate to “Siri & Search.”

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Make sure the tabs are selected (on green) for Listen for “Hey Siri” and so on down the list. If your Siri is already on but not working, turn it on and off again using the green tab. Then a screen should come up to prompt you to set up the feature.

You’ll be asked to say a series of commands so the phone starts to recognize your voice.

Siri works on other devices too like the Apple Watch and iPad.

Using hey siri

Once it’s on you can start to use it by saying to your phone or device, “Hey Siri.” After you say the command, you may hear a beep (depending on your audio preferences) to prompt you that the device is ready. Either way, give it a second before you start to speak to it. You can try things like: “Hey Siri, What’s the weather?”

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You can ask it a series of things, including calling and texting people for you. This has come in handy for me multiple times if I’m holding a ton of items or not close to my phone but need to send a message. You can also ask it to call someone using speakerphone: “Hey Siri, call Michael on speaker.”

There are other ways to access Siri without a voice command, depending on the device. If you’re using a phone, you can hold down the side button to activate it. If you’re using an Apple watch, you can also hold down the small circular side button.

other tips

A few warnings with the “Hey Siri” system. The first is that if you have two phones together it could be annoying if the wrong phone recognizes your voice. This happens with my personal and work phone quite often.

You should also be careful Siri is calling the right person when you ask it to make a call. And check if the text messages make sense before you send them.

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Have any more Siri questions? Send a note or leave a comment below!