Set Up Siri

This article teaches you how to set up Apple's personal voice assistant, Siri, on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac (running OS Sierra or newer).

Steps

On iPhone or iPad

  1. Open Settings. It's a gray app that contains gears (⚙️) and is typically located on your home screen.
    • Make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi or a mobile network and "Airplane Mode" is disabled. Siri requires Internet access to function.
  2. Scroll down and tap Siri. It's in the same section as the "General" and "Battery" menus.
  3. Slide "Siri" to the "On" position. It will turn green.
    • Turn on Access When Locked to use Siri when your phone is in locked mode.
    • Turn on Allow "Hey Siri" to access Siri by simply speaking "Hey Siri" into your device.
  4. Tap Language. It's in the last section of the menu.
  5. Select a language. Do so by tapping the language you prefer to speak.
  6. Tap Siri. It's in the upper-left corner of the screen.
  7. Tap My Info. It's in the last section of the menu.
  8. Tap your contact info. Doing so tells Siri what information belongs to you.
    • Siri uses contact information to call you by name and to execute commands like sending emails.
    • If you haven't created a contact card for yourself, open the Contacts app from the home screen, tap +, enter your information, and tap Done.
  9. Tap Siri. It's in the upper-left corner of the screen.
  10. Tap Siri Voice. It's in the last section of the menu. Use this menu to tailor Siri's voice to your preference. Here you can choose whether you want a male or female voice and what kind of accent you want Siri to have. The accent options are:
    • American
    • Australian
    • British
  11. Tap Siri. It's in the upper-left corner of the screen. This returns you to the main Siri settings page.
  12. Tap Voice Feedback. It's near the bottom of the screen. Choose when you would like Siri to "speak" in response to your commands:
    • Tap Always On if you always want Siri to deliver a spoken response.
    • Tap Control with Ring Switch if you only want Siri to speak when your phone isn't in silent or vibrate-only mode; this does not affect "Hey Siri," Bluetooth speakers, or CarPlay.
    • Tap Hands-Free Only if you want Siri to speak only when you use "Hey Siri" or when you're using Bluetooth speakers or CarPlay.
  13. Tap Siri. It's in the upper-left corner of the screen.
  14. Tap App Support. It's at the bottom of the screen.
  15. Select apps with which you'd like to use Siri. Do so by sliding the apps with which you want to use Siri to the "On" (green) position.
  16. Press and hold the Home button. Do so until you see "What can I help you with?" on your screen.
    • You can do this on your Lock screen if you turned on "Access on Lock Screen."
    • If you turned on "Hey Siri," simply say "Hey Siri" to activate Siri.
  17. Speak a command into your device's microphone. Siri is now set up and ready to use on your iPhone or iPad.

On Mac OS Sierra or Newer

  1. Click on the Apple menu. It's the  icon in the upper-left of your screen.
  2. Click on System Preferences. It's in the second section of the drop-down menu.
  3. Click on Siri. It's in the lower-left part of the menu.
  4. Check "Enable Siri". It's in the left pane of the dialog box.
  5. Click on the Language menu. It's at the top of the right pane of the dialog box.
  6. Select a language. Do so by clicking on the language you prefer to speak in the drop-down menu.
  7. Check "Show Siri in menu bar". It's at the bottom of the right pane of the dialog box.
  8. Close the dialog box. Do so by clicking on the red dot in the upper-left corner. Siri is now enabled on your Mac.
  9. Customize your Siri settings. Your options include:
    • Siri Voice - The accent with which Siri speaks.
    • Voice Feedback - Whether or not Siri speaks.
    • Mic Input - Which microphone to use when recording your voice.
    • Keyboard Shortcut - The key combination you can use for Siri (default is ⌥ Option + Space).
  10. Exit the Siri menu. Do so by clicking the red dot in the upper-left corner of the dialog box.
  11. Open the Contacts app. It's a brown icon with the silhouette of a person and colored tabs along the right side.
  12. Click on your contact info. Siri uses contact information to call you by name and to execute commands like sending emails.
    • If you haven't created a contact card for yourself, click on +, enter your information, and click on Done.
  13. Click on Card. It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
  14. Click on Make This My Card. It's near the middle of the screen. Siri will now "know" who you are.
  15. Click on the Siri icon. It's the multicolored circle on the far right side of the menu bar.
    • You can also use the keyboard shortcut (hold down ⌥ Option and tap Space to do this).
  16. Speak a command into your microphone. Siri is now set up and ready to use on your Mac.

Tips

  • You can use Siri to send a message or initiate a call for you if you're driving or otherwise occupied.[1]
  • You have the option of enabling the Mac version of Siri when installing Mac OS Sierra.

Warnings

  • Allowing Siri access on Lock Screen could create security issues.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204389
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