Using your iPhone 13 with your voice is as easy as saying “Hey Siri” and speaking a request out loud. You’ll have instant access to Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant. But what should you do if Siri doesn’t respond when you say “Hey Siri”? In this troubleshooting guide, I’ll explain why Hey Siri is not working on your iPhone 13 and show you how to fix the problem for good!
Fixes for Hey Siri not working on iPhone 13
So you’ve been repeating the words “Hey Siri” over and over, but Siri isn’t responding. What gives?
If Siri doesn’t respond when you say “Hey Siri”, here are a few fixes to try. Note: information in this article applies to iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Make sure Hey Siri is turned on
If Hey Siri is not working on your iPhone 13, the first thing you should do is check to make sure you have Hey Siri enabled on your device. It is possible to have Siri turned on, but to have Hey Siri turned off.
You can check if Hey Siri is enabled on your iPhone by going to Settings > Siri & Search > Listen for “Hey Siri” and ensure that the switch is turned to the on position:
Ensure That Allow Siri When Locked is Enabled
If you are trying to activate Siri when your device is locked and Hey Siri is not working for you, make sure the “Allow Siri When Locked” option is enabled. If it is turned off, you can’t invoke the personal assistant when your iPhone is locked.
You can check if Allow Siri When Locked is enabled on your iPhone by navigating to Settings > Siri & Search > Allow Siri When Locked and ensure that the switch is turned to the on position
Make sure your iPhone is connected to internet
Siri requires an active internet connection to work, and so does Hey Siri. It can utilize either Wi-Fi or cellular internet connections, so long as it can establish a connection to Apple’s Siri request servers. If it can’t, you’ll get an error message like the one below:
hey siri not working – not available connect to the internet
It’s possible that you’re connected to a wireless router, but you could be experiencing network problems, so verify that your internet connection works by opening Safari and trying to load a web page. If it works, then you know your connection is good. If not, try rebooting the router or using another Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
See also: Cellular Data Not Working On iPhone 13? Here’s The Real Fix!
Make sure Low Power Mode is turned off
If you have Low Power Mode turned on, then Hey Siri will not work because it’s a power hog and would be unproductive to the cause of saving power.
As a result, Apple disables Hey Siri when Low Power Mode is enabled on your iPhone. Go to Settings > battery and make sure the toggle next to Low Power Mode is in Off position. Alternatively, charge your iPhone up some more.
Reboot your iPhone
Sometimes software glitches can occur, and a reboot can often fix problems with services that get stuck and fail to work.
To reboot, just hold down the side button and Volume Up button for a few seconds and then drag the slide to power off slider to the right. Then, hold the power button until you see the Apple logo and wait until the boot up completes before trying Hey Siri again.
Try recalibrating Hey Siri
When you set up Hey Siri for the first time, you’re asked to say “Hey Siri” a few times before the service can initialize. This is because the feature requires some form of calibration before it can be used.
If Hey Siri never seems to be able to understand you, then it might be worth going through this calibration process once again. This is done by going to the Settings app and navigating to Siri & Search > Listen for “Hey Siri” and then disabling the already-enabled feature and then turning it back on again.
Tap on the button to continue and you’ll be taken through the calibration steps where you’ll have to say something. Your device will then re-learn your voice.
This tip may come in handy for those with heavy accents, or for those that normally mumble when they use Siri, but need to talk louder to get the feature to work.
Is your iPhone’s microphone working?
Another thing to look into if Hey Siri is not working on your iPhone 13 is to check that your microphone is working. Water damage or debris inside the microphone can wreak havoc on microphone performance, or keep it from working altogether.
I recently had my microphone go out on me on my iPhone, and it is hindering my ability to use any Siri and Siri Dictation features at all on my device.
To check if your microphone is working, enter an app where you can pull up the keyboard and attempt to use the Siri Dictation feature. If you don’t see any movement in the voice waveform, then you probably have a bad or muffled microphone.
Try removing any cases that may be covering the microphone, such as thicker and bulkier Otterbox or Lifeproof cases. You can also try to blow at the microphone to remove dust particles that might be obstructing the sound.
Make Sure Siri is Not Restricted on Your iPhone
Another important thing to keep in mind is to ensure that Siri is not restricted on your device. Screen Time lets you not only stop Siri from performing web searches but also block explicit language. To remove the restriction, go to Settings app > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions -> Siri. Then, make sure you have allowed Siri to perform tasks without any limitations (if that’s what you are looking for).
Check for IOS Update
An iOS update is quite reliable in terms of fixing bugs and miscellaneous issues that are often hard to explain. So, if none of the above methods has worked in fixing Hey Siri not working on iPhone 13 issue, I suspect the problem might be due to a bug. Thus, there is a high possibility that an iOS update can help you troubleshoot Siri problems. You can check for iOS update by going to Settings > General > Software Update. If an update is available, tap download and install.
Reset all Settings
If “Hey Siri” is not working on your iPhone 13 after trying the above steps, you could be experiencing a software problem, such a file corruption. Try resetting all settings and see if this fixes the problem. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset all Settings.
Contact Apple Support
If everything listed above fails, you may want to contact Apple support. A malfunctioning device may be covered under your limited or extended warranty, and Apple seems to be very happy to resolve problems for any covered device free of cost.
If you’re out of warranty on the other hand, you may be looking at more expensive alternatives to a free replacement.
Hey Siri not working on iPhone 13: fixed!
Despite how useful Hey Siri can be, it can be quite finicky at times. Hopefully after following the steps above, especially after recalibration, you’ve been able to get your Hey Siri working on your iPhone 13 as you’ve been expecting it to.
Have you fixed Hey Siri not working on iPhone 13 issue? If so, which of the above fixs worked for you? Share in the comments below!
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