Siri was supposed to help us all exist in a futuristic utopia where we carried our own permanently available assistants in our pockets. But this is real life, and at times the best tech just doesn’t work. In this article, we’ve explained the solutions you can try if the “Hey Siri” voice command has stopped working on your iPhone 13 Pro Max.
So there you are, with your Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max in hand, and you need to find out from Siri who did the voice of Yogi Bear. After all, you have $100 riding on the answer. As interested patrons at the bar watch intently, you call out for Siri. “Hey Siri.” Nothing. “Hey Siri.” Again, nothing. “Hey Siri, what the $%@! is wrong with you?” Once again, there is no response. And you watch as someone else has to whip out his phone to answer the question.
So what should you do if Siri doesn’t respond when you say “Hey Siri” on your iPhone 13 Pro Max? In this troubleshooting guide, we’ll explain why Hey Siri is not working on your iPhone 13 Pro Max and show you how to fix the problem for good!
Fixes for Hey Siri not working on iPhone 13 Pro Max
Sometimes you do not need to perform long-drawn, complex troubleshooting steps to fix a nagging issue. The solution could be something very basic. And that is exactly what we want to do here. Before we try out some of the more difficult steps, let us try a few basic ones to solve your ‘Hey Siri not working on iPhone 13 Pro Max’ issue.
1. Make sure Hey Siri is turned on
As elementary it may sound, you will be surprised to know how many people may have simply turned the Hey Siri feature off and then wonder why it isn’t working. In case you often hand over your phone to kids, they might, on some occasions, fiddle with the phone and turn off Siri (and, therefore, the ‘Hey Siri’ command). Before you even start doing the major troubleshooting steps, make sure Hey Siri is enabled in the first place.
You can check if Hey Siri is enabled on your iPhone by going to Settings > Siri & Search > Listen for “Hey Siri” and ensure that the switch is turned to the on position:
2. Ensure That Allow Siri When Locked is Enabled
If you are trying to activate Siri when your device is locked and Hey Siri is not working for you, make sure the “Allow Siri When Locked” option is enabled. If it is turned off, you can’t invoke the personal assistant when your iPhone is locked.
You can check if Allow Siri When Locked is enabled on your iPhone by navigating to Settings > Siri & Search > Allow Siri When Locked and ensure that the switch is turned to the on position
3. Make sure your iPhone is connected to internet
This may be stating the obvious, but for most uses, Siri does need Wi-Fi or mobile data to operate, so make sure your iPhone 13 Pro Max is connected before you try a search.
It’s entirely possible that you’re connected to a wireless router, but you could be experiencing network problems, so verify that your internet connection works by opening Safari and trying to load a web page. If it works, then you know your connection is good. If not, try rebooting the router or using another Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
See also: iPhone Connected to Wi-Fi But No Internet? Fix it Here
4. Make sure Low Power Mode is turned off
The iPhone 13 Pro Max feature a dedicated Low Power Mode that kills background processes to make sure you manage to eke as much juice from the battery as possible. An unintended consequence of this is that your (Hey Siri command) stops working because of this. It is a good idea to check if the Low Power Mode on your iPhone 13 Pro Max is on before you blame anything else for Hey Siri not working. Go to Settings > battery and make sure the toggle next to Low Power Mode is in Off position. Alternatively, charge your iPhone up some more.
5. Reboot your iPhone
Sometimes software glitches can occur, and a reboot can often fix problems with services that get stuck and fail to work including Hey Siri.
To reboot your iPhone 13 Pro Max, just hold down the side button and Volume Up button for a few seconds and then drag the slide to power off slider to the right. Then, hold the power button until you see the Apple logo and wait until the boot up completes before trying Hey Siri again.
6. Try recalibrating Hey Siri
Sometimes, for reasons unknown, Siri doesn’t retain the commands you have given it. If Hey Siri never seems to be able to understand you, then it might be worth going through the calibration process once again. This is done by going to the Settings app and navigating to Siri & Search > Listen for “Hey Siri” and then disabling the already-enabled feature and then turning it back on again.
Tap on the button to continue and you’ll be taken through the calibration steps where you’ll have to say something. Your device will then re-learn your voice.
This tip may come in handy for those with heavy accents, or for those that normally mumble when they use Siri, but need to talk louder to get the feature to work.
7. Is your iPhone’s microphone working?
Another thing to look into if Hey Siri is not working on your iPhone 13 Pro Max is to check that your microphone is working. As a voice-based system, Siri relies on uninterrupted access to your iPhone’s microphone. Water damage or debris inside the microphone can wreak havoc on microphone performance, or keep it from working altogether.
To check if your microphone is working, enter an app where you can pull up the keyboard and attempt to use the Siri Dictation feature. If you don’t see any movement in the voice waveform, then you probably have a bad or muffled microphone.
Try removing any cases that may be covering the microphone, such as thicker and bulkier Otterbox or Lifeproof cases. You can also try to blow at the microphone to remove dust particles that might be obstructing the sound.
8. Make Sure Siri is Not Restricted on Your iPhone
Another important thing to keep in mind is to ensure that Siri is not restricted on your iPhone 13 Pro Max. Screen Time lets you not only stop Siri from performing web searches but also block explicit language. To remove the restriction, go to Settings app > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions -> Siri. Then, make sure you have allowed Siri to perform tasks without any limitations (if that’s what you are looking for).
9. Check for IOS Update
One possible fix to your iPhone 13 Pro Max Hey Siri not working problem is to ensure that your phone is running the latest version of iOS. You can check for iOS update by going to Settings > General > Software Update. If an update is available, tap download and install.
10. Check your date and time settings
It may seem like a cliché fix, but incorrect date and time settings could be the reason why Hey Siri won’t work on your iPhone 13 Pro Max. This could be due to Apple’s servers having trouble syncing with your date and time settings. . The easiest way to solve this is to make your iPhone automatically set its date and time so that it’s always correct. Go to Settings > General > Date & time. Toggle the Set automatically toggle to get your time from the internet.
11. Disable VPN
Plenty of users have reported that ‘Hey Siri’ won’t work on their iPhone 13 Pro Max when a VPN is enabled. Have you tried deactivating these (if you are using them)? If you’re using a VPN app, you can go into the app and turn off your secure connection. If you added the VPN manually, you can go into the Settings > General > VPN & Device Management and turn it off.
12. Reset all settings
Bugs sometimes stem from low-level settings. You can’t always see or fix these settings individually, but iOS gives you a way to reset all settings. Doing this won’t erase your data, but it can solve the problem of Hey Siri not working on iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings.
13. Contact Apple Support
If everything listed above fails, you may want to contact Apple. A malfunctioning device may be covered under your limited or extended warranty, and Apple seems to be very happy to resolve problems for any covered device free of cost.
If you’re out of warranty on the other hand, you may be looking at more expensive alternatives to a free replacement.
Hey Siri not working on iPhone 13 Pro Max: fixed!
Despite how useful Hey Siri can be, it can be quite finicky at times. Hopefully after following the steps above, especially after recalibration, you’ve been able to get your Hey Siri working on your iPhone 13 Pro Max as you’ve been expecting it to.
Now that you have reached the end of this article do let us know if these steps helped you fix Hey Siri not working on iPhone 13 Pro Max issue. Additionally, do let us know if we have missed any useful fixes.