Siri not responding ("Hey Siri" doesn't work)

Siri won't work properly if the Dictation feature is disabled.

To enable the Dictation feature:

1. Go to Settings and select General.
   
   

     
   
   

2. Tap on Keyboard, scroll down to Enable Dictation and move the slider next to it to the right.
   
   

     

There are a few ways to summon Siri - manual, by pressing the home or side button, and automatic, by saying "Hey Siri." If "Hey Siri" is not working, maybe this way of summoning Siri has been disabled in Settings, as there is an option to deactivate "Hey Siri". In this case, you need to enable this option via Settings.

To activate it, follow the steps below:

1. Go to Settings and tap on General.
   
   

    
   
   

2. Tap on Siri and move the slider next to Allow "Hey Siri" to the right.
   
   

    
   
   

Note: If this option was already enabled, check the other solutions.

Siri is more than a (wo)man in a box. It's a group of complex processes working with one another. Maybe Siri does work, but it is frozen, or one of its processes. The simplest way to unfreeze it is to restart Siri via Settings. To restart it, follow the below-mentioned steps:

1. Go to Settings and tap on General.
   
   

    
   
   

2. Tap on Siri and move the slider next to Siri to the left.
   
   

    
   
   

3. Move the slider next to Siri to the right.
   
   

   

On some old models, the "Hey Siri" option doesn't work when your device is disconnected from a charger, allowing you to use this option only when you charge the device. If you use an iPhone 6S or a newer version or iPad, you can use Siri even when your device is not charging. In this case there is nothing you can do.

However, if you use a new model, and Siri isn't working, maybe it's temporarily blocked to help you prolong your battery life as much as possible, before you can find a charger. Ensure that your device is charged enough, and try using Siri again.

If the microphone grid (hole) is clogged, the microphone won't be able to recognize your commands, therefore, Siri won't work. "Hey Siri" will not be working too.  Put a small amount of isopropyl alcohol on a piece of cotton and wipe the microphone grid. You can also use a needle to clean the grid (hole), but you need to be very gentle and you should not press the needle too hard into the device.

Note: On iPhones and iPods the microphone is located in the lower part of the device (on the left side of the charging connector). On iPads, the microphone is located on the upper part of device.

Siri supports many languages. Maybe this is the exact reason why "Hey Siri" is not working - you are not using the correct language. If you speak English and Siri's language is set to German, Siri won't be able to recognize your commands. To resolve this, you need to change the language in Siri's language settings, into the language you speak.

You can change Siri's language by following the steps below:

1. Go to Settings and tap on General.
   
   

    
   
   

2. Tap on Siri and tap on Language.
   
   

    
   
   

3. Tap on the Language you want to set and tap the back button.
   
   

   

Sometimes the solutions to the gravest problems are the simplest one. In this case, maybe Siri won't work because it is disabled in Settings. In this case, all you need to do is to enable it. In order to enable it, follow the steps below:

1. Go to Settings and tap on General.
   
   

     
   
   

2. Tap on Siri and move the slider next to Siri to the right.
   
     
   
   

Note: If Siri was already enabled, check out the other solutions.

Maybe your device doesn't fully recognise the headphones, because the port is dirty. Sip some isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud and clean the headphones port gently.

Even though headphones should be compatible across devices, maybe the headphones you use are incompatible with your device. In this case, connect another headphones set to your device, which are compatible (e.g. have an iOS compatibility logo) and try again.

If Siri doesn't recognise commands it's possible that the microphone is damaged. To test this, try calling someone else. If the other person can't hear you at all, the microphone should be replaced.

If you have a disassembly kit, you can disassemble the device and replace the microphone with a new one, by yourself. If you are not sure how, type [device model] microphone replacement.
For example, if you use iPhone 6, type iPhone 6 microphone replacement and the video shown below is one of the tutorial videos you will get:

Maybe something went wrong when you installed the app and it didn't install properly. Try reinstalling the app through App store.

Updates are designed to fix many software-related irregularities. If an update is available, make sure to install it as soon as possible.

See the don't know how to update my device's operating systems guide to learn how to check for updates.

On devices older than iPhone 6s and iPad Pro, the "Hey Siri" command works only if your device is connected to a charger. If the charger or the USB cable don't work properly (don't charge the device), the "Hey Siri" won't work.