How to Work Siri: Setup, Commands, and Fixes

To work Siri on an iPhone, open Settings, tap Siri, tap Turn On Siri, and follow the prompts. After that, say "Siri" or "Hey Siri" and ask for something, or press and hold the side button (the Home button on an iPhone that has one) and ask. Apple's Siri setup page is the source, and it adds one condition people miss. Siri needs an internet connection, so a phone with no signal and no Wi-Fi gets "I'm having trouble with the connection" and nothing else.

That's the whole first step. Everything below is about making Siri useful once it's on, and about the one split that confuses new owners in 2026. On iOS 27 there's Siri, and there's Siri AI (Beta), which needs a recent iPhone. Most of this page applies to both, and I've marked the parts that don't.

Turn Siri On

If Siri wasn't set up when the phone was, Apple's steps are the three above. If the setup screens ask you to say a few phrases, that's the phone learning your voice for "Hey Siri", and Apple's retrain steps later work the same way. Do it somewhere quiet.

On some iOS versions the Settings entry reads Apple Intelligence & Siri rather than Siri. Apple's troubleshooting page notes the difference, and it's why an older screenshot in a video can look wrong while still being right.

Turning it off later is the same place. Settings, Siri, and Turn Off Siri at the bottom.

Five Ways to Activate Siri

Every request starts with getting Siri's attention. Apple documents these, and which ones you have depends on the iPhone.

That last column is the one I'd read twice. Apple's setup page says that when you activate Siri with a button in Silent mode, it responds silently, but voice activation always responds aloud. So a phone that seems to ignore a button press in a quiet room may have answered on screen. Look at the phone before you assume it failed.

Siri AI adds four more. Swipe down from the Dynamic Island, touch and hold something on screen and choose Ask Siri, tap Siri inside the Camera app, or take a screenshot and tap the action that appears. Those need iOS 27 and an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, which Apple's Siri AI page lists as the iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, or an iPhone 16 model or later.

Requests to Try in the First Week

Apple publishes a long list of example requests on its Siri examples page. I've grouped a selection by what they change on the phone, because a beginner's real worry is saying something that sends a message to the wrong person. Start at the top of this list and work down.

Changes nothing. These are questions. Apple's examples include "What time is it in London?", "What's the weather for today?", "What's 18 percent of 225?", and "How many centimeters are in an inch?". Also "How do you spell [word]?" and "What causes a rainbow?". "When is my uncle's birthday?" is on the list too, and it needs the relationship set up first, which is a settings section below. "How do I take a screenshot?" appears with a note beside it saying that kind of Apple product help needs Apple Intelligence.

Changes a setting, reversibly. "Turn on the flashlight." "Turn up the volume." "Open Camera." "Turn on the Work Focus." All from Apple's list, all undoable with the same sentence and "off" or "down".

Creates something you can delete. "Set the timer for 3 minutes." "Set an alarm for 7 a.m." "Add artichokes to my groceries list." "Remind me to pack an umbrella when I get home." "What's on my calendar for Friday?" is the read-only version for calendar.

Sends something to another person. "Call Ashley Rico." "FaceTime Mom." "Message Mom that I'll be late." Siri reads a message back and asks before sending unless you've turned on Automatically Send Messages, which is one of the settings I'd leave off for the first week.

Two of Apple's categories have prerequisites worth knowing before you're puzzled. Playing anything from the Apple Music catalogue needs an Apple Music subscription, per Apple's page; "What's playing?" and "Pause music" sit on the same list without that note. And "Find coffee near me" or "Give me walking directions home" need Location Services turned on.

On Siri AI, Apple's examples get broader. "Find photos from my trip to Lisbon", "Plan a menu for my watch party on Saturday", or "What is this and how do I make it?" with a recipe on screen. If those return a plain web result or a shrug on your phone, you're on regular Siri, and that's expected on any iPhone that isn't on Apple's list.

Siri or Siri AI, and Whether It's Free

Siri is built into every iPhone that runs iOS 7 or later, per Apple's troubleshooting page, and there's nothing to pay for it. That's the honest answer to "Can I use Siri for free?"

Siri AI (Beta) is the newer version on iOS 27. Apple's own footnote is the only source I'd trust on cost, so here it is in Apple's words. Siri AI requires an Apple Intelligence-enabled device set to a supported language, is "available in English to start", and "will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS." Features that rely on server-side models "are subject to daily usage limits", and "expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future." As of the fetch date that's a statement of intent, and I couldn't find a price anywhere on Apple's pages.

If you have a supported phone and want to try it, Apple's path is Settings > Siri > Try Siri AI (Beta). If you don't like it, the setup page says to tap Turn On Siri and then Use Siri Classic to go back. If your phone doesn't show the option, it isn't supported, and nothing in Settings will conjure it.

Settings That Stop Siri Surprising You

All of these live under Settings > Siri, per Apple's Siri settings guide, unless the path says otherwise. I've ordered them by how much bother each one saves.

Responses. Choose whether Siri speaks or stays silent. Apple's options are Prefer Spoken Responses or Speak Back for Voice Input on one side, Prefer Silent Responses or Always Silent on the other; with Siri AI they collapse to Spoken Response and Silent Response. Turn on Always Show Siri Captions and Always Show Request here too. The second one shows what Siri thought you said, which turns a baffling answer into an obvious mishearing.

Automatically Send Messages. Same Responses screen. Off means Siri reads the message back and waits for a yes. I'd keep it off until you've heard Siri misread a name at least once.

Your Information. Tap it and pick your own contact card. Apple says Siri pulls your name, home and work addresses from My Card in Contacts, which is what makes "directions home" work. Relationships are set by speaking, not in a menu. Apple's example is "Sarah Milos is my sister", after which "Message my sister" resolves. You can also add a pronunciation field to a contact in Contacts if Siri says a name wrong.

Requests. This is where "Siri" or "Hey Siri" is turned on, off, or retrained, and where Press Side Button for Siri lives. Apple's tip on this page is the one I'd remember. If the phone keeps waking up to conversations that weren't for it, place it face down. By default the phone only listens for "Hey Siri" when it's facing up.

Siri Pause Time. This one is under Settings > Accessibility > Siri, per Apple's accessibility page. Default, Longer, or Longest sets how long Siri waits for you to finish. If Siri keeps cutting in halfway through a sentence, this is the fix, and it's the setting I'd change first for anyone who speaks slowly or pauses to think.

Always Listen for "Siri". Same Accessibility screen. It makes voice activation work when the phone is face down or covered. Useful in a bag; the opposite of the face-down tip above, so pick one.

Language and Voice. Settings > Siri > Language changes the language Siri listens for, and Apple notes it also changes Maps directions and Listen to Page in Safari. Voice picks the variation and voice.

Siri on iPad, Watch, and Mac

Apple's all-devices page gives one line per device. iPad uses the top button, or the Home button on models that have one. Apple Watch is press and hold the Digital Crown. On a Mac, hold the Dictation key or click the Siri button in the menu bar; with Siri AI, Command-Spacebar opens Spotlight and you type the request. Apple TV is the Siri button on the side of the Siri Remote. HomePod is touch and hold the top.

For AirPods, Apple's setup page points to the AirPods guide instead of spelling it out, and the Bluetooth pairing guide is the place to start if the earphones aren't connecting at all, because Siri can't hear through headphones the phone doesn't see.

When Siri Doesn't Answer

Apple's troubleshooting page has an order, and I've kept it, adding the two accessibility catches at the end. Stop as soon as Siri responds to a test request like "What time is it?".

1. Internet. Siri says "I'm having trouble with the connection" when the phone is offline. Check Wi-Fi or cellular. The WiFi disconnecting guide covers a connection that drops.
2. Siri is off. Settings > Siri > Turn On Siri.
3. "Hey Siri" is off. Settings > Siri > Requests, or Apple Intelligence & Siri > Talk & Type to Siri on some versions. If the switch is already on, Apple says to turn it off and back on.
4. Retrain your voice. Turn "Siri" or "Hey Siri" off, turn it on, tap Continue, say each phrase on the screen, tap Done. I'd redo it after a cold or a change of room, since the phone learned your voice under one set of conditions.
5. Press a button instead. If voice still fails, Apple says to hold the button or type. If the button works and the voice doesn't, the problem is listening, not Siri.
6. You can't hear it. Settings > Siri > Responses > Prefer Spoken Responses. Also check the phone isn't in Silent mode if you used the button.
7. The phone is face down. By default that stops voice activation. Turn it over, or turn on Always Listen for "Siri" under Accessibility.
8. Software. Apple asks for the latest iOS to turn on Siri and Siri AI. The iPhone app update guide covers the software update route alongside app updates.
9. Siri is missing from Settings after a restart. Apple points at VPN settings; some VPN profiles don't allow Siri. Turn the VPN off and look again.

If Siri responds to a button but never to your voice after a retrain, my honest advice is to try a different room and a different distance before assuming the microphone is broken. Apple also notes that availability, features, and commands vary by language and region, so a missing feature on a phone set to a less common language may be a regional limit, not a fault.

Questions Google Attaches to This Search

How do I say hello to Siri? You don't need to. "Siri" or "Hey Siri" is the greeting, and the request follows in the same breath. Apple's examples all take that shape, and a greeting on its own isn't on any of them; the request is what Siri acts on.

How do I use Siri correctly? One request at a time, stated as a sentence, with the person or app named. Apple's examples are the model, "Message Mom that I'll be late" rather than "Mom, message, late". If Siri interrupts, lengthen Siri Pause Time. If it mishears names, add a pronunciation to the contact.

What shouldn't I say to Siri? Nothing will break the phone. My two cautions are practical. Don't read out passwords or card numbers to a phone that shows the request on screen, and don't turn on Automatically Send Messages until you trust Siri with names. That's judgment, not an Apple rule.

Can Siri find my lost iPhone? Not from another phone. That's a Find My job, and the borrowed phone guide covers it.

The Short Version

Settings, Siri, Turn On Siri. Say "Hey Siri" or hold the side button. Try questions first, settings second, messages last. Set Responses, Your Information, and Siri Pause Time before anything else. When Siri goes quiet, it's the internet, the "Hey Siri" switch, a retrain, or the phone lying face down, in that order. And if a feature isn't in your Settings, it's a phone or region limit, not something you missed.