Siri is, as you already know, a smart voice assistant for all iOS-powered devices past iPhone 4. Some folks find it quite helpful in everyday use, others, well, not so much. All in all, it grants you an opportunity to experiment and find the best and the most useful way to handle your device.
Moreover, necessary internet connection makes it hard to utilize the Siri’s full potential in some occasions. Additionally, there are severe issues like the one we are addressing today. Namely, some users had issues with connecting to the network that rendered Siri completely unusable. As you’re probably aware, Siri can’t function without the stable internet connection (either Wi-Fi or mobile data), so: no connection – no Siri. There are a few reasons for connection issues and we’ll address them in this article.
Check your router
First, let’s remove external factors from the equation. Your wireless router can cause connectivity issues that may lead to Siri-related network problems. Try out any connection-related apps to make sure your overall connection isn’t the culprit. If you’re unable to connect, you should complete standard troubleshoot steps.
- Turn off/on your router.
- Make sure wireless is enabled.
- Verify cables are securely connected.
- Restore router to factory settings.
However, if the problem is persistent, and Siri is unresponsive, move on to device-related workarounds below.
Perform hard restart
Hard reset is a simple but great workaround that’s quite effective against temporary glitches and bugs. Some users succeeded in resolving this Siri issue in these few steps:
- Press and hold Sleep/Wake button and Home button for 20 seconds (until the device shuts down and you see the Apple logo).
- Wait until the phone start up. This may take more than usual.
- Test Siri.
Restart Siri
A most simple thing you can do when it comes to Apple’s assistant issues is to just toggle it on/off. That should address possible glitches and settle this matter. You can do that in just a few simple steps:
- Open Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap Siri.
- Toggle it off.
- Restart your phone.
- Navigate to Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap Siri.
- Toggle Siri back on.
Give her some commands to find out is the problem resolved.
Disable/Enable Dictations
Dictation feature is great for short voice notes and memos. Additionally, if you are accustomed to advanced voice commands, you can use it with great results. However, this feature occasionally can cause a few issues with Siri. So, it’s worth to try resetting it and resolve a connection issue.
- Open Settings.
- Tap General.
- Open Keyboards.
- Disable Dictation.
- Reset your phone.
- Tap Settings.
- Open General.
- Scroll down to keyboards and enable Dictation.
If the problem is persistent, try additional steps.
Reset Network Settings
Occasionally, your Siri connection issues may be related to overall connection problems. The majority of connection issues are easily addressed by resetting network settings. Have in mind that this will delete all your established connections so you’ll need to set up those later.
- Open Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap Reset.
- Choose ‘Reset Network Settings’.
- Enter your passcode when prompted.
- Tap on Reset to confirm.
- Restart your device.
- Reconnect with known Wi-Fi source and try commanding Siri again.
Update iOS
Updating your iOS to the latest version is a good way to resolve some minor issues. Moreover, some users reported this exact problem with Siri after an upgrade, so it goes both ways. You can either upgrade it or downgrade it – it depends on circumstances you’ve encountered. The ones with the post-upgrade issues with Siri can downgrade iOS to a second to last version (at the moment 10.2.1). Installation files and a whole step-by-step procedure can be found here.
On the other hand, if you’re running the device without the latest updates, it’s strongly advised to download and install the latest iOS version. Most of the time you’ll be prompted with upgrade notification. However, it won’t cost you to check manually for updates from time to time.
- Backup your device via iCloud or iTunes.
- Make sure you have a stable Wi-Fi connection and the full battery before the process starts.
- Tap Settings.
- Open General.
- Tap Software Update.
- If an update is available, tap Download and Install.
- After the installation files are downloaded, you can choose to install them right away or postpone the installation.
Additionally, you can use iTunes client to download and install latest version.
Restore factory settings
Finally, if all compiled workarounds haven’t got you going, factory restore is the only viable solution. You can either use iCloud or iTunes to restore backed up data after the cleaning process is done. But before everything, don’t forget to backup your data.
Follow these instructions to restore factory settings (via iCloud):
- Tap Settings.
- Tap General.
- Choose Reset.
- Tap Erase all content and settings.
- After the procedure is finished, make sure your battery is full and that you’re connected to stable Wi-Fi.
- From the Apps & Data screen, tap Restore from iCloud Backup and sign in to iCloud.
- Tap Choose backup and select the latest backup.
- Once the device is restored, the Siri-related issue should be resolved.
In addition, you can restore factory settings with iTunes.
- Download and install the latest version of iTunes app on your PC.
- Connect your device to a PC.
- Start iTunes and choose Summary.
- Remember to backup your device.
- Select Restore.
- Confirm selection and move on to restoring process.
- After you’ve setup your device as new, try out Siri.
That should wrap it up. If you have any alternative solutions, suggestions or questions, please share them with us in the comments.
