To find out more about using Siri, see How to use Siri, the voice assistant in iOS 18. If you find it easier to type than speak, you can also type queries to Siri. See How to use Siri by typing your requests for more information.
Short guide
- Tap the Settings icon on your Home screen to launch the Settings app. Tap Apple Intelligence & Siri (on older iPhones and iPads, tap Siri).
- If you want to change the language Siri uses, tap Language and choose from the options.
- To change Siri’s voice, tap Voice. Choose an accent, and then choose one of the voices for that accent.
- To change the level of feedback you receive when asking a query, tap Siri Responses. Under Spoken Responses, tap Always, When Silent Mode is Off, or Only with "Hey Siri" to set when Siri gives a spoken response.
- Tap Always Show Siri Captions to show everything that Siri says as text on-screen.
- Tap Always Show Speech to get a transcription of your spoken questions and commands on-screen.
- To access further settings, go back to the Settings app and tap Accessibility. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Siri.
- Select one of the options for Siri Pause Time, to set how long Siri should wait before responding to a request.
- Adjust the slider for Speaking Rate to slow down or speed up how fast Siri speaks.
- Tap Always Listen for "Hey Siri" to ask your device to listen for the prompt even if it's face down or covered.
- Turn off the toggle switch for Show Apps Behind Siri to show Siri's responses against a plain background.
Before and after
This section takes you step by step through customising Siri’s settings on your iPhone or iPad, complete with pictures of the screen to help.
Open Siri's settings
1. To open Siri settings, tap the Settings icon 
on your Home screen to launch the Settings app. Scroll down and tap Apple Intelligence & Siri (on older iPhones and iPads, tap Siri).
Change Siri's voice
2. To change Siri's voice, tap Voice.
Select accent and voice
3. Now select an accent and a voice for Siri from the available options. E.g. British, Voice 3. Note: Your chosen voice may need to be downloaded before you can use it.
Change how Siri responds to requests
4. You can change how Siri responds to a request or command so that Siri responds silently or gives spoken answers and feedback. Tap Siri Responses.
Choose when Siri talks back
5. Siri has three options for giving you spoken feedback when you ask a query. In Automatic mode, Siri uses on-device intelligence to determine when to give spoken feedback. If you would prefer to always hear spoken feedback, select Prefer Spoken Feedback. If you would prefer not to receive any spoken feedback, tap Prefer Silent Responses.
Receive written responses
6. Tap Always Show Siri Captions to show everything that Siri says as text on-screen.
Receive written confirmation of your requests
7. You can also see what Siri thinks you said. Tap Always Show Request to get a transcription of your spoken questions and commands on-screen.
Open Siri's accessibility settings
8. To access further useful settings, tap the Back button to go back to the main Settings screen and tap Accessibility.
9. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Siri. Note: Some of the options in the Siri accessibility section are duplicates of what we covered earlier, so aren't covered again here.
Change how long Siri waits before responding
10. If you find Siri starts to answer before you have finished asking your query, you can set Siri to wait before responding. Under the Siri Pause Time section, choose Longer or Longest.
Adjust how fast Siri speaks
11. Adjust the slider for Speaking Rate to slow down or speed up how fast Siri speaks.
Always listen for the "Siri" command
12. If you want your device to listen for the "Siri" / "Hey Siri" command, even when your device is face down or covered, tap the toggle switch for Always Listen for "Siri" to turn it on.
Remove distracting backgrounds
13. Finally, if you find the apps in the background distracting while you're using Siri, tap Show Apps Behind Siri to turn this off. Your requests and Siri's written responses will now be shown against a plain background.
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