Siri is Not Working on the iPhone 6S – What To Do

Kale Havervold July 13, 2018

Ever since it first released way back in late 2011, Siri has been a much-used feature in all iPhone devices, and that is no different in the iPhone 6S. Whether you want to have it tell you the weather, ask it questions or even have it order you an Uber, Siri has a lot of different uses and most people can find some value out of the feature. So that is why it is extra annoying when Siri won’t work for one reason or another. Sometimes it might not respond at some points, and others, it won’t even be able to get started up.

Siri is Not Working on the iPhone 6S - What To Do

For those of you out there who are experiencing problems with getting Siri to work on the iPhone 6S, you have come to the perfect place. This article will be all about helping you get Siri working again by providing you with a few tips and tricks. Some of these tips may seem very obvious, but we wanted to be as exhaustive as possible to make sure you have all the resources at your disposal to fix the issue. While this article is focusing primarily on the iPhone 6S, Siri won’t actually work on any iPhone older than the 4S, so if you have an old iPhone, that is why Siri isn’t working for you. Without any further ado, let’s get to the tips for what to do and try if Siri is not working on your iPhone 6S.

Make Sure Siri is Turned On

This seems like an incredibly simple and obvious fix, but one that is still worth mentioning. If your Siri is not working at all, it is a good idea to make sure it is actually turned on. It is totally possible that it accidentally got turned off at some point. To turn Siri on and off, all you have to do is go Settings, then Siri and then make sure it is turned on. If it wasn’t, you likely found the issue.

Make Sure “Hey Siri” is Enabled

While it is possible to use Siri by pressing the home button, many people opt for the option of saying “Hey Siri” to bring it up. However, this sometimes won’t work for you. The first thing to do if “Hey Siri” won’t work is to go and make sure it is turned on. It is found by going to Settings, then Siri and then go down the screen a little bit until you see “Hey Siri”, and make sure it is turned on. Now, you should be able to speak to bring up Siri.

Make Sure Low Power Mode is Turned Off

Low Power Mode was a fairly recent addition to the iPhone and it helps you to conserve power when your battery is low. If you find yourself using Low Power Mode quite a bit, that could be the reason why Siri is not working well. When Low Power Mode is turned on, it can reduce or turn off a number of different features on the iPhone, including Siri. So if it is turned on, there is a good chance that is likely to blame for why Siri isn’t working on your iPhone 6S.

Siri Might Not Be Great at Understanding Your Accent

It is unfortunate, but there is always a chance that Siri will not understand your accent. It seems to worth with most American and Canadian accents, but accents from others around the world have sometimes caused problems. One tip is to try to speak as slowly and clearly as you can to give Siri a better chance to understand, although we do realize that could potentially get quite annoying. However, as you use Siri more (and as it gets better over the years with new updates) it will get better at voice recognition and get better being able to work and understand you better.

Check and Change Your Internet Connection

Like with almost any app or feature on the iPhone, a bad internet connection can lead to Siri not working or to allow it to drop off from time to time. If Siri mysteriously stops working for you or won’t work at all, it’s a good idea to check your internet. Try switching back and forth from Wifi to data and see what gives you the best connection. Of course, if you have limited or no data, you will want to stick with Wifi most of the time. Thankfully, a bad connection will often pass after a certain time, and your connection should return to normal at some point. If you just have a bad connection in general, you will want to get that checked out and fixed before trying to use Siri any more.

Make Sure Your Microphone is Unobstructed and Clean (and not damaged)

If Siri is turned on and so is the “Hey Siri” feature, and it still doesn’t work when you speak, there is a good chance something is wrong with your microphone. The first thing you should do is to make sure nothing is blocking the microphone and make sure to clean it as well. If you cleaned it and have made sure nothing is blocking the microphone at all, it might actually be damaged. If you think that may be the case, record a video of yourself speaking and see if the mic is picking up everything okay. If the video sound is distorted, quiet or “off” in some way, your microphone is likely damaged in some way. The best thing to do in this case is to contact Apple and see what to do if your microphone has gotten damaged.

Make Sure You’re in a Quiet Location

If you are trying to use Siri in a place with the TV blaring or a ton of people talking, it is likely to pick up that noise and have troubles figuring out what you are asking it to say. When using Siri, you shold always try make sure that your voice is the only thing it can hear. If not, you run the risk of it not performing as well as it could, or simply not working at all.

Update Your iOS to Latest Version

If your iOs has an update, you should look to update to the newer version before using Siri. Updates to Siri are fairly common and it is possible that this new version will have updates to Siri that could help it begin to work again. This update can also fix a lot of bugs or software issues, which could also be the reason why Siri is not working for you. To do this, just go to Settings, then General and then see if there is a Software Update to be made.

Restart Your Phone

If all else fails, it can sometimes help to just turn your phone off and then back on again. You can do this by simply holding the power button and the home button of the phone down for a good 10-15 seconds until the Apple logo comes back up. This can sometimes fix some small bugs or issues and while it may seem like a waste of time, it can sometimes solve issues easier than any other fix.

This has been a very in-depth look at things you can do, but if none of them work and allow Siri to start working for you again, you will have to get drastic. You can try contacting Apple and seeing if they have any ideas and if not, you may have to restore your iPhone 6S back to factory settings. But hopefully, at least one of the previous tips helped you out and solved your issue of Siri not working!