Siri can be very helpful by assisting you on daily tasks, reminding you of certain things, giving you directions or just interacting with your Apple devices in a more intuitive and natural way. That’s why it’s especially painful when you experience issues with Siri or it just doesn’t work the intended way. If you have any issues or problems with the Siri voice assistant follow this guide to the end to make sure to fix your specific issue.
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Check your internet connection
Most of Siri’s processing magic actually happens on the Apple servers, so it is vital to have a functioning internet connection at all times, otherwise Siri might give you a message like ‘Sorry I’m having trouble with the connection. Please try again in a moment.’. If you get this or a similar message try turning off your wifi or mobile data and turn it on again. You should also check if other apps like Safari are able to connect to the internet.
Enable the ‘Hey Siri’ feature
If Siri is working fine but it doesn’t react to you saying the ‘Hey Siri’ phrase make sure your iPhone’s frontside is facing up and make sure your smart cover is not closed. If Siri still doesn’t react you may want to verify that the ‘Hey Siri’ feature is enabled. To do this go to Settings > Siri & Search and enable ‘Listen for “Hey Siri”‘. Now Siri should listen and react accordingly when summoned.
Enable Siri for lock screen
Occasionally, after installing iOS updates Siri may not work on your iPhone when locked. To give Siri access to your iPhone when locked go to Settings > Siri & Search and now turn on ‘Allow Siri When Locked’. Additionally go to Settings > FaceID & Passcode (or TouchID & Passcode) and turn Siri on.
Cleaning your microphone
If it seems Siri is working fine but barely or not at all hears you this may be due to a clogged or dirty microphone on your Apple device. To clean your microphone use cotton wads, an interdental brush, super soft toothbrush, hearing aid cleaning kits, or a specialised port cleaning tool. When cleaning the microphone be extra careful to not damage your device, alternatively you can let your phone get cleaned professionally at your nearest Apple Store or a third party repair shop.
Turn off Siri, restart your device
Your Siri still doesn’t seem to work properly? Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Allowed and toggle on Siri to allow access to the device. Now go to Settings > Siri & Search and turn Siri off, then restart your device and turn Siri on again. This should in addition to the steps above resolve most issues with Siri.
It’s serious!
You tried all the steps above but your Siri still doesn’t work properly? It’s now time to make an appointment at the Genius Bar in your nearest Apple Store because the issue with your Siri assistant seems to be very unique or your microphone may be broken and needs to be replaced.
If any of these steps helped you make sure to comment down below what issue caused your Siri assistant to stop working properly and how you were able to resolve it! Make also sure to tell us if you encountered another fix we missed to mention! Thanks for reading!
