Dan's Guide to Siri: The Basics

UPDATE: This guide is missing a critical detail for step 2 below which I write about in a separate post.

(If you don't want to read the intro, go straight to my Guide.)

I use Siri a lot. When I mention that to people, the common response (outside of my very techy company) is, “Really? Huh. I don't really use Siri much.”

When I ask why, I usually hear one or more of these reasons for why they don't use Siri:

The first point is very understandable. I believe it's because Siri suffers from a marketing problem. To best understand Siri, I tell people to think of it like an iOS actions assistant. That is, whatever iOS-related actions need done, there's a strong chance Siri can do it for you. It is not a random internet search and trivia assistant, although it can do a bit of that. Google Assistant will always run circles around Siri on internet queries.

On the second point, I don't use Siri much in public, surrounded by randos. Heck, I still feel weird using Siri in front of friends. I do, however, use it very comfortably at home. But if it's weird to talk to your gadget at all, well, the guide is a good way to get over it.

My post is for you if you fall mostly in the 3rd and 4th reasons bucket. Well, also the 1st because you're using it wrong. 😏

Lastly, I won't go into more advanced Siri usage on this post, especially with Siri Shortcuts. While it's awesome, it'll make this post too long. I might do it in a part two.

Okay let's get to it.

Dan's Guide to Siri: The Basics.

  1. Turn on and set up “Hey Siri” on your iPhone 6s or newer by going to Settings > Siri & Search > Listen for "Hey Siri".

    PRO TIP 1: When (re-)training the device, hold your iPhone at arms length and turn your face slightly away. This trains the iPhone to understand your voice from a distance. My experience seems to suggest that using “Hey Siri” worked better with every subsequent iPhone. For example, it's near flawless on my iPhone XS and I can invoke it from across the room without having to yell obnoxiously. When I used it with my iPhone 7, it wasn't as reliable. YMMV.

    PRO TIP 2: Destroy the stereotype that assistants are women. Change your Siri voice to male in Settings > Siri & Search.

  2. Create a contact for yourself and fill it out as much as you can, including addresses, your birthday, and especially related names. Then, for those friends and family close to you, fill out as much of their contact info as possible too.

  3. Even if you don't use them, set up your accounts on Apple's first-party Mail and Calendar apps. Then turn off all notifications for those apps in Settings > Notifications. If you want, set up Apple Reminders too.

    PRO TIP 3: Using Siri for Find My Friends is nice, and best used for family.

  4. With all that set up, let's use Siri.

    PRO TIP 4: When you say “Hey Siri,” you don't have to wait for the chime prompt to state your command. Just say the whole command straight through. You'll hear the chime afterwards, indicating receipt (this isn't the case on Apple Watch and AirPods).

    Here's a handful of commands I actually use on a frequent basis:

    • Hey Siri, call [brother's name] at work on speaker.
    • Hey Siri, what’s the weather today?
    • Hey Siri, what my schedule today?
    • Hey Siri, where's [family member on Find Friends]?
    • Hey Siri, set a timer for [length of time].
    • Hey Siri, open [app].
    • Hey Siri, play [artist, album, song, playlist, radio].
    • Hey Siri, tell [friend] “I'll pick you up at 7. Sound good?” (you have to say “question mark”)
    • Hey Siri, take me to [restaurant].
    • Hey Siri, take me home.
    • Hey Siri, go to [website].
    • Hey Siri, remind me to brine the chicken breast when I get home.
    • Hey Siri, how many cups are in 3 liters?

    If you want a comprehensive list of Siri commands, Computerworld has a good one.

  5. Hey Siri works great on the Apple Watch. In fact, since I'm usually wearing the Apple Watch, half of my “Hey Siri”-ing throughout the day is invoked on it. Just raise your wrist to wake the watch, and “Hey Siri...”. Some commands won't be fulfilled to completion on the watch, however. In those cases, Siri will direct you to the iPhone to complete the command.

    PRO TIP 5: Starting with Series 4, you don't need to say “Hey Siri” before your command. Simply state your command by raising your watch so the watch face is perpendicular to the ground. In my experience, however, non-“Hey Siri” invocation isn't very reliable, so I stick with “Hey Siri”-ing first. I suspect it'll get better with every subsequent Apple Watch.

  6. With the new 2nd generation AirPods, you don't need to tap one of your AirPods to invoke Siri. It has always-on “Hey Siri”, ready to execute your command. Nice.

  7. Okay last one. Unlike the HomePod, with its far-field microphone array surrounding the speakers, using “Hey Siri” on your iPhone does not play nice when you're also playing audio from the iPhone speakers. No space for a far-field mic array.

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