Siri – your Voice Assistant for Work and Home
If you use an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, chances are you’re already familiar with Siri.
Siri is Apple’s voice‑activated assistant, designed to help you complete quick or hands‑free tasks such as making calls, sending messages, adjusting settings, controlling apps, or even something as simple as lowering the volume. It can be especially useful for staying organised, communicating efficiently, or accessing information and media—whether you’re at work, at home, or on the go.
Once set up, Siri can be activated by saying “Siri” or “Hey Siri”, or by pressing the side or Home button on your device. Keep in mind that some Siri features require an active internet connection to carry out some tasks.
Example useful commands:
“Hey Siri, Set a timer for 10 minutes”
“Hey Siri, Remind me at 1pm to call Mr Smith about his account issues”
“Hey Siri, Send a message to Ralph Jones”
“Hey Siri, Create a meeting for 2pm on Wednesday 25th July”
“Hey Siri, What’s the weather like in Southampton today?”
“Hey Siri, Turn up the volume”
Setting up Siri”
On your iPhone or iPad:
- Open the Settings App
- Choose ‘Siri’ or ‘Apple Intelligence and Siri”
- Choose “Siri “or “Hey Siri” : iPhone listens for “Siri” or “Hey Siri” at the beginning of requests
You will be prompted to say a series of commands, this allows your voice to be recognised by Siri and prevents the Voice Assistant being activated by other people’s voices. This will set up the handsfree Siri, if you would like to access Siri by pressing your side or home button then also select ‘turn on press side button for Siri”
More on setting up Siri on your iPhone here: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph83aad8922/ios
On your Mac:
- Open ‘System Settings’
- Click ‘Siri’ or ‘Apple Intelligence and Siri’
- Tap ‘enable’ or toggle to turn on Siri
Select Listen for “Siri” or “Hey Siri” – You will be prompted to say a series of commands, this allows your voice to be recognised by Siri and prevents it being activated by other people’s voices
4. Choose other preferences
More on setting up Siri on your mac here: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchlb66b4ad6/mac
Siri Commands List
There are so many more but this is a good place to start…
General:
“Siri, Turn on Bluetooth / Turn off Bluetooth”
“Siri, Turn on low power mode
“Siri, Turn on Do Not Disturb / Turn off Do Not Disturb”
“Siri, Hold my calls”
“Siri, Take a picture / Take a selfie”
“Siri, Call Charlie”
“Siri, Call Charlie on Speaker”
“Siri, Facetime Sally”
” Siri, What is 20% of 116″
“Siri, Where is the nearest airport”
Messages:
“Siri, Send message to Sandra”
“Siri, Read my new messages”
Or via Whatsapp:
“Siri, Send a message on WhatsApp to Sandra”
Phone:
“Siri, Phone [insert name here]” e.g. “Siri, Phone Sandra Smart”
“Siri, Do I have missed calls?”
“Siri, Check Voicemail”
“Siri, Play Voicemails”
Contacts:
This will adapt the contact information stored, you will be asked for confirmation
“Siri, Charlie is my Son”
“Siri, Nancy is my Manager”
“Siri, Lance is my Husband”
Notifications:
“Siri, Read all Notifications”
Calendar:
“Siri, Show all July events”
“Siri, Read all July events”
“Siri, Add a new event”
“Siri, Add training course event at 8am next Tuesday”
“Siri, What appointments do I have tomorrow?”
Clock:
“Siri, Time” or “Siri, Current Time”
“Siri, Time in Paris” or “Siri, Time in London”
Timer:
“Siri, Show Timer”
“Siri, Set timer for 90 minutes”
“Siri, Stop/Pause/Resume/Reset Timer”
Stopwatch:
“Siri, Show stopwatch”
Alarm:
“Siri, Create new alarm for 9am”
“Siri, Create Chicken alarm for 6pm”
“Siri, Turn off chicken alarm:
“Siri, Turn on chicken alarm”
“Siri, Turn on all alarms”
“Siri, Turn off all alarms”
“Siri, Delete all alarms”
Reminders:
“Siri, Show all reminders”
“Siri, Delete all reminders”
“Siri, Remind me to brush my teeth every day at 10pm”
“Siri, Remind me to avoid the busy route when I leave home”
“Siri, Remind me daily / hourly / every 2 hours…”
Notes:
“Siri, Make a new note”
“Siri, Create a new note that Sharon has completed her training”
“Siri”, Show my notes” or “Siri, show notes”
“Siri, Read my notes”
Translation:
“Siri, How do you say I am looking for the bathroom in German?”
“Siri, How do you say thank you in French”
Maps:
“Siri, Get directions home”
“Siri, Location” or “Siri, Current location”
Find my:
“Siri, Find my iPad” or “Siri, Find my Macbook Pro”
Flashlight:
“Siri, Turn on flashlight”
“Siri, Turn off flashlight”
Volume / Audio:
“Siri, What is the current volume?”
“Siri, Change volume to 50%” – or any percentage
“Siri, Full volume please”
“Siri, Turn volume up / Turn volume down”
Screen Brightness”
“Siri, Set screen brightness to 50%” – or any percentage
Web Search:
“Siri, Web Search [insert your search terms here] e.g. “Siri, Web Search Electricians in Salisbury”
YouTube:
“Siri, YouTube Search [insert your search terms here] e.g. “Siri, YouTube Search The Macarena”
Wallet:
“Siri, Show my Wallet”
…