Tech Guide

How to get Siri working again if it stops listening to you on your iPhone

Key Points
  • Sometimes your iPhone or iPad might not recognize when you say "Hey Siri."
  • You can retrain Siri to recognize your voice pretty easily.
  • CNBC's Todd Haselton shows you how to get "Hey Siri" working on your iPhone or iPad again.
Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple Inc., speaks at an Apple event at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park on September 12, 2018 in Cupertino, California. 
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

All of Apple's modern devices let you say "Hey Siri," to bring up Apple's smart voice assistant.

It's supported by the iPhone 6s or newer and the 6th generation iPad or newer. It even works on other products like the Apple Watch, and it's a really convenient way to access Siri if an iPhone or iPad isn't nearby.

I've found that sometimes Siri doesn't always listen to me as well as it once did, however.

Apple has a way that lets you retrain Siri to recognize your voice, which means your iPhone or iPad should start to recognize when you say "Hey Siri."

I'll show you how.

How to retrain Siri

  • Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
  • Scroll down and select "Siri & Search."
  • Look for the toggle switch for "Hey Siri" and turn it off.
  • Turn it back on again.

Your iPhone or iPad will ask you to train Siri to recognize your voice. Tap continue and follow the steps by saying "Hey Siri" three times when prompted to do so. Next, you'll be prompted to say "Hey Siri how's the weather today?" once and then, finally, "Hey Siri, it's me."

Now Siri should begin to recognize your voice more often. I had found that my iPhone barely listened to me when I spoke "Hey Siri," yesterday. Now it seems to work more accurately again. Your mileage may vary.

What happens when you ask Alexa, Google and Siri if they are spying on you
VIDEO0:5300:53
What happens when you ask Alexa, Google and Siri if they are spying on you