2

If I tell Siri, "Call 919 555 1234", it announces "Calling 919 555 1234" before making the call. If I tell it, "Call Chris mobile", it announces "Calling Chris - mobile." I'm happy to have the text telling me what it's doing appear on screen, but I want to disable the announcement. How can I prevent Siri from announcing the number or contact I'm calling?

I'm running iOS 11 on an iPhone 6.

1 Answer 1

2

You can't disable all Siri feedback but you should be able to cut-off most of the chatting.

Source:

  1. Go to ‘Settings -> Siri & Search’.
  2. Tap on ‘Voice Feedback’

You'll see 3 options to choose from:

  • Always On: This is the default option. Siri will vocally respond to you after each query, no matter if you use the home button shortcut, "Hey Siri," or have your ring switch set to silent. If you're here to silent Siri, do not choose this option.

  • Control with Ring Switch: When you set your ring switch to silent, Siri will not vocally respond to you, but there are caveats. Siri will still beep and respond vocally if you initiate a discussion using "Hey Siri" or if you're connected to a Bluetooth device, headphones, or CarPlay. So, the only time Siri will remain quiet is if you use the home button shortcut to activate her/him. If you unmute your device, Siri will again vocally respond in every situation.

  • Hands-Free Only: Just like the previous option, Siri will only beep and respond vocally if you initiate a discussion using "Hey Siri" or you're connected to a Bluetooth device, headphones, or CarPlay. The only difference here is that you don't have to remember to set your ring switch to silent.

The author of that piece sums it up nicely:

As you've probably noticed, there aren't really any great options for keeping Siri silent on your iPhone. The two not-always-on options listed above are virtually identical, only one requires you to set it manually each time using the ring switch while the other is automatic.

So what's the answer to total silence, like when you're using "Hey Siri" but don't want voice feedback? Turn your volume down.

3
  • 1
    Upvoted, because the information is useful, but it looks like the fundamental answer to my question is that there's no way to turn off only Siri's repeating who I've asked it to call. In general, when I say "Call Chris," I want no audible feedback, I just want the call to be made. But when I say "What time is it in Sydney, Australia?," I want Siri to audibly answer the question. This is how I'd expect a human assistant to behave. Siri is supposed to be an assistant. Oh well. Jul 16, 2018 at 0:48
  • I would recommend providing product feedback to Apple about this. I agree with you 100% that I should have the ability to turn off all Siri responses.
    – fsb
    Jul 16, 2018 at 0:54
  • @KnowItAllWannabe The reason it doesn’t do this is to eliminate ambiguity and ensure privacy. What if you said “Hey, Sarah, why did you call Grandma a loony?” from across the room, and Siri called Grandma? Or what if a TV commercial said “Hey Siri call Joe”, and it just did it without alerting you? Apple is betting most people wouldn’t like this, or it would be seen as a privacy nightmare. I recognize that you would like a choice to stop this behavior, but evidently Apple doesn’t think there are enough people who want this to justify adding more controls. Sep 20, 2018 at 12:08

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .