Siri was introduced on the iPhone 4S back in 2011, just four years after the release of the first iPhone. Over the past ten years, Apple’s digital assistant has made it easier for us all to perform actions with just our voice.
Whether you’re texting while driving, doing metric conversions while cooking, or trying to launch your white noise app while rocking a crying baby, the hands-free power of Siri can be a huge asset.
Apple’s own documentation on the things Siri can do for you is short and doesn’t cover nearly every possible iPhone action you can achieve with voice commands. For example, did you know that now you can restart iPhone with voice only?
If you want to learn more about what you can do on your iPhone with just your voice, check out these nine hidden Siri voice commands.
For more on Siri and iPhone, check out the best new features in iOS 17 and how you can replace Siri with Amazon Alexa on your iPhone’s home screen.
No more ‘Hey Siri’ needed
As long as you have iOS 17, you no longer need to say “Hey Siri” to activate Siri on your iPhone. All you have to do is say “Siri” and your iPhone will start listening to whatever voice commands you tell it. For example, you can just say “Siri, set an alarm for 8am next Thursday” — no “Hey” required.
All you have to do now is say “Siri.”
Have Siri read you an article in Safari
Another addition is the ability to have Siri read you any article, short story, or other web page — as long as it’s compatible with the Reader View feature. If you’re not sure if Reader View is working on a webpage, tap the AA icon in the upper left corner and make sure the Show Reader setting isn’t grayed out.
To have Siri read a Safari webpage to you, say something like “Siri, read this to me” or “Siri, I want to listen to this page.” If you tap the new Listen to Page icon in the top left corner, you can change the speed of Siri’s speech so that the voice assistant speaks faster or slower.
Quickly find saved passwords for websites and apps
Apple allows you to save usernames and passwords on all your Apple devices, including your iPhone, through iCloud Keychain. In iOS, you can go to Settings > Passwords to see your saved passwords for your Apple ID, websites, and apps — but you can access them more quickly with Siri.
All you have to do is ask Siri “Show me the password for (app/website)” and you will be automatically redirected to that particular password page in your settings. Before you can see the password, you’ll need to use Face ID or Touch ID to access it. From there you can copy the username or password to the clipboard.
Restart your iPhone
If you’re experiencing software issues, such as an app that keeps force-closing or a lagging operating system, you can often fix the problem by quickly restarting your iPhone. All you have to do is press the home button, plus either volume button for about one second, then slide to turn off the device — but there’s an easier way to reboot.
Don’t miss it: Your iPhone has a new Siri voice command you’ll want to know about
You can tell Siri “Restart my phone” and then say “That” when prompted to restart the device, hands-free.
You can also tap Restart confirm.
Turn off the annoying alarm
Your alarm goes off, but you’re either nowhere near your iPhone, or you just can’t find it because it’s under your sheets or lost among the couch cushions. The iPhone alarm will go on for 15 minutes if you don’t cancel or snooze it, but there is a way to stop it with just your voice.
Even if your alarm is blaring loudly, you can tell Siri “Turn off my alarm” to silence him. In fact, you can even just say “Hey Siri” and this will also stop your alarm from ringing. Unlike the snooze feature, using any Siri command will turn off the alarm permanently.
Find family or friends using the Find My tool
The Find My feature allows you to track not only your Apple devices but also the devices of your friends, family and loved ones. If you’re tracking someone’s location through Find My, such as your partner or your sibling, you can use Siri to quickly check where that person is.
Ask Siri “Where is (contact name)?” and a small Find My window will appear at the top of the screen to show you exactly where the person is. Siri will also announce how far away they are and the approximate address of their location. If you tap the Find My window, you’ll be redirected to the Find My app, where you can contact the person, get directions to their location, and more.
Translate foreign words or sentences
In addition to the standalone app, Apple’s Translate feature is built into your iPhone, allowing you to quickly translate languages from almost anywhere on your device, including within your text messages, in your web browser, and with Siri.
You can ask Siri to translate a single word or entire sentences with just your voice. For example, you can say “Translate ‘My head hurts. I think I’m going to sleep’ into Spanish” and Siri will read your sentence in the original language and then in the translation language. If you want to hear the translation again, you can press the play button in the Translator window.
Translator currently supports 17 languages, including Spanish and Chinese, but not all of them can be used with Siri.
This popup will appear on top of your phone, reviewing what you said and the translation.
Set reminders based on your location
The Reminders app on your iPhone is a powerful productivity tool that helps you remember what you need to do throughout the day, like making phone calls, sending emails, or shopping online. But you don’t need to be reminded of everything on your to-do list at all times, which is why you can use Siri to create reminder notifications based on your location.
For example, if you want to be reminded to pay your internet bill when you get home, tell Siri “Remind me to pay my internet bill when I get home” and a reminder will be created. The next time you get home (which you can set in Contacts or Maps), a reminder should appear on your phone. Besides work and home, you can set your location to a place like Target or a local park, but Siri will need you to confirm the correct address.
Get directions back to your parked car
Parked at the airport and lost track of your car? It can be difficult to find your way back to your car, especially if you haven’t made a mental note and are in a large parking lot or garage with hundreds of other vehicles. Luckily, your iPhone usually knows where you parked your car — all you have to do is ask Siri.
Say “Get me directions to my car” and Siri will open the Maps app and give you walking directions to where it thinks your car is parked. Your iPhone tracks what other devices it’s connected to, like your car stereo, as well as your travel speed, to estimate where your car is parked.
Maps usually drop a parked car tag when you detach your iPhone from the car.
While you’re here, sign out how to blur your home on google maps and how to find all those hidden Wi-Fi passwords on your Mac or Windows.