Siri Training

Question 1

How do you activate Siri to issue a command?

Answer 1

Press and hold the Home button.

Try it! Press & hold, and/or (if you have an iPhone 6S or later) just say “Hey Siri”. She should pop up a black screen and will be listening for the next thing you say.

Question 2

How do you get Siri to remember that a certain contact is your [mom, husband, brother, etc.]?

Answer 2

“[Contact Name] is my [relationship]”.

e.g. “Jane Smith is my mom”

Question 3

How do you start a phone call with Siri?

Answer 3

“Call [Contact Name/Alias]”

e.g. “Call Mom at work.” “Call Jane Smith on mobile.” “Call Jane Smith.” “Call Joe Schmoe on speaker.”

Question 4

How do you send someone a text message with Siri?

Answer 4

“Text [Contact Name]”

e.g. “Text Mom”. Then Siri will ask you what you want to say.

Question 5

How do you get Siri to add periods, commas, or question marks to your text while speaking?

Answer 5

Just say the names of the punctuation marks!

e.g. “I’m going to the store [comma] so I can’t pick you up [period] Try calling your dad”

Question 6

How do you send an email using Siri?

Answer 6

“Email [Contact Name]”

e.g. “Email Joe Schmoe.” Then Siri will ask you for the Subject line and the main email content.

Question 7

How do you start a FaceTime call with Siri?

Answer 7

“FaceTime [Contact Name]”

e.g. “FaceTime Mom”. (Note: Only works if they have an iPhone or Mac.)

Question 8

How do you ask Siri a math question?

Answer 8

Just ask!

e.g. “What’s 17 times 247?” or “What’s the square root of Pi?”

Question 9

How do you get Siri to convert units?

(e.g. convert quarts to ounces)

Answer 9

Just ask!

e.g. “How many ounces are in 2.7 quarts?” or “How many kilometers is 7 miles?” or “How many dollars are in a Euro?”

Question 10

How do you set an alarm with Siri?

Answer 10

“Set my alarm for [time]”

e.g. “Set an alarm for 7:30am.”

Question 11

How do you set a timer with Siri?

(e.g. for a short nap, or for the oven)

Answer 11

“Set the timer for 15 minutes.”

Or even just “Wake me up in 15 minutes.”

Question 12

How do you get Siri to set a basic reminder for a specific time?

Answer 12

“Remind me [XYZ] at [time]”

e.g. “Remind me to preheat the oven at 11:30pm.”

Question 13

How do you get Siri to set a reminder when you leave or arrive somewhere?

Answer 13

Many options:

e.g. “When I get home, remind me to ….”

“When I leave here, remind me to ….”

“When I get to work, remind me to ….”

[You may need to first tell Siri where your Home and Work are.]

Question 14

How do you get Siri to open an app for you?

Answer 14

“Open [App Name]”

e.g. “Open Brainscape”. This option is especially useful if you can’t find a certain app in your folders.

Question 15

How do you ask the score of a sports game?

Answer 15

“What’s the score of the [team] game?”

e.g. “What’s the score of the Bears game?” or “What’s the score of the Georgia Men’s Basketball game?”

Question 16

What are some other examples of things you can ask about sports?

Answer 16

“What time do the Knicks play?”

“What are the rankings in the NFC East?”

“Who leads the major league in homeruns?”

“What’s Brandon Belt’s batting average?”

“What’s the Patriots’ schedule?”

Question 17

What are some things you can ask Siri about movies or TV history?

Answer 17

“What actors were in Cheers?”

“What movie had Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan?”

“In what year did The Empire Strikes Back come out?”

etc.

Question 18

How can you ask Siri for the weather?

Answer 18

Many options:

e.g. “What is the weather today?”

“Is it going to rain today?”

“What is the temperature outside?”

“What’s the weather in Atlanta on Wednesday?” etc.

Question 19

How do you ask Siri questions about holiday dates?

Answer 19

“What day is [Holiday] this year?”

e.g. “What day is Thanksgiving this year?” “When does Daylight Savings Time begin?” etc.

Question 20

How do you ask Siri basic questions about countries?

Answer 20

Many possible facts (coming from the Wolphram Alpha database):

e.g. “What’s the population of Zimbabwe?”

“What’s the capital of Vietnam?”

“Who is the President of France?”

“Show me the Canadian flag”

etc.

Question 21

How do you ask Siri basic questions about celebrities or politicians?

Answer 21

Many possible facts (coming from the Wikipedia quick entries):

e.g. “Where was Mark Zuckerberg born?”

“How old is Justin Beiber?”

“How tall is Michelle Obama?”

etc.

Question 22

How do you ask Siri to translate something into another language?

Answer 22

“How do you say [X] in [language Y]?”

e.g. “How do you say ‘headphones’ in Spanish?”

Question 23

How do you ask Siri about a time zone?

Answer 23

“What time is it in [location]?”

e.g. “What time is it in Shanghai?”

Question 24

How can you get Siri to define a word?

Answer 24

“What does [X] mean?”
or “Define [X]”

e.g. “What does ‘cantankerous’ mean?”

Question 25

How can you get Siri to look up a word in the Thesaurus?

Answer 25

“What is a synonym of [X]?”

e.g. “What is a synonym for ‘great’?”

Question 26

How get you get Siri to tell you what song is currently playing in the room?

Answer 26

“What song is this?”

[Siri may take a few seconds before answering]

Question 27

How do you get Siri to do a regular web search?

Answer 27

Just ask any question, and she’ll Google it.

However, for many non-standard questions, she will not be able to read the content to you aloud. She can only show it on a screen.

Question 28

How do you get Siri to check a stock price?

Answer 28

“What’s the stock price of [X]?”

or “What is [X]’s stock price?”

Question 29

How do you have Siri correct the pronunciation of a contact’s name?

Answer 29

1. Say a contact’s name so it shows up on the screen.
2. Then tap again and say “You’re pronouncing their name wrong”
3. Follow Siri’s directions.

Question 30

How can you get Siri to read you your calendar events for the day?

Answer 30

“What’s on my calendar for today?”

or “What do I have going on today?”

Question 31

How do you get Siri to make a Note (in your Notes app)?

Answer 31

“Make a note”

Then Siri will ask for details.

Question 32

How do you get Siri to find a restaurant?

Answer 32

Just ask!

e.g. “Are there any good Italian restaurants nearby?” “Where is a good deli?” She’ll ask follow up questions and can even help you set a reservation.

Question 33

How do you get Siri to play music?

Answer 33

Many options:

e.g. “Play music.”

“Play Pink Floyd.”

“Play Dark Side of the Moon.”

“Play my Best of Floyd playlist.”

etc.

This will use Apple Music as the default. Getting good at Siri music control is very useful, but may take a lot of experimenting to get it right.

Question 34

How can you ask Siri about movie times?

Answer 34

“What times is [movie] showing?”

e.g. “What time is Blade Runner showing?” It will search theaters near you. If you tap on times, you can purchase tickets via various apps you may have installed on your device.

Question 35

How do you get Siri to flip a coin?

Answer 35

“Flip a coin”

or “Pick a number from 1 to 5”

(Useful for settling debates if you don’t have a coin around!)

Question 36

How do you get Siri to calculate a tip?

Answer 36

“What’s a [X%] tip on [$Y]?

e.g. “What’s an 18% tip on $291.45?”

Question 37

How do you tell Siri where you live and work?

Answer 37

It’s best to do this in the Contacts app, on your own contact entry.

Give yourself a Home address and a Work address. Once you’ve done that, then Siri will recognize statements like “When I get home”, etc.