“Call Hillary” gets a list of other names.
A user reports asking Siri to call Hillary. Their screenshot shows Siri asking whether they meant several other names, then repeating the same clarification question.
AN INDEPENDENT RECORD · 2011 TO TODAY
Hey Siri,
do better.
Extraordinary devices.
An extraordinarily frustrating assistant.
The missed requests. The broken basics. The next big promise.
We’re keeping a record. Because “try again” isn’t good enough.
THE PROMISE / THE EXPERIENCEScroll to see the disconnect
THE PUBLIC RECORD
Promises. Reality. Repeat.
A growing archive, one source at a time.
Reports are experiences, not prevalence estimates.
2026
Image: u/fudgie-tacomen / Reddit · Original source A watch that says it cannot set a timer.
A user’s Apple Watch refuses to set a timer because it says the necessary app is not installed. The author says timers had worked until that morning; other users report different results.
Image: u/aniseedvan / Reddit · Original source Siri says it has no app to open.
A Reddit user reports that asking Siri to launch its own app failed to open the full-screen interface. Their screenshot shows Siri denying that it has an app to open; replies report success with similar requests.
The song title matches. The artists do not.
A user reports requesting a song by Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha. The attached HomePod playback screenshot instead shows “Meant To Be” by different artists.
Image: u/ImpossibleZombie5676 / Reddit · Original source Tomorrow’s forecast is the current time.
An Apple Watch owner reports repeatedly asking for a forecast and receiving either an empty answer or the current time. They say the same request works on their phone.
Image: u/Don_csicso / Reddit · Original source No football game—until the next question.
A user’s screenshots show Siri first saying no NFL games are in progress, then describing a Monday Night Football game as currently playing after a follow-up question.
Image: u/NeatResponse / Reddit · Original source “Recently Added” becomes the wrong music.
A user reports that requests for a Recently Added playlist select unrelated music or produce contradictory playlist claims. Another commenter describes trouble with that particular playlist while other playlists work.
Missing definitions, followed by a reported fix.
A user’s screenshot shows Siri unable to find definitions for common words. The author later reports that re-downloading dictionaries fixed the problem on their iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Image: u/CloakedCardinal / Reddit · Original source “Next song” moves the music to another room.
A user reports that asking for the next song on an iPad stopped its music and started a different playlist on HomePods several rooms away. Follow-up requests to stop the bedroom music also caused confusion.
A shopping-list request reaches a dead end.
A photo shows Siri transcribing a request to add parchment paper to a shopping list, then saying it cannot add the item. The author says the task worked before the upgrade.
Image: u/steVENOM / Reddit · Original source A subtraction question becomes a telephone lookup.
A screenshot shows Siri interpreting “713-461” as a telephone prefix instead of subtraction, then returning an error after clarification. The author describes intermittent results; many replies get the correct answer.
Image: u/micahdotjohnson / Reddit · Original source Siri AI comes to the TV, with conditions.
Apple's new Apple TV 4K release described Siri AI on tvOS with voice discovery, mid-show questions, far-field Hey Siri and home control, in beta and with several requirements.
Image: Apple · Original source A new beta. The same dead end.
A user reports errors from both spoken and typed Siri AI requests on Mac and iPhone, despite trying several troubleshooting steps.
Siri AI arrives, still labeled beta.
Apple said Siri AI was being released in English beta with iOS 27, with five more languages due in October, along with daily usage limits on server features and regional exclusions.
Image: Apple · Original source A new iPhone. A glowing edge. No answer.
A user reports that a week after setting up their iPhone 17 Pro Max, Siri lit up its edge glow after the wake phrase and then never responded.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated Every text comes with a “did you mean” quiz.
A user on an iOS 27 beta reports that in CarPlay, Siri asked them to choose between two interpretations of nearly every dictated message and sometimes cut off the end.
“My Rock playlist” became a decade of rock.
A user reports that after iOS 27, asking Siri to shuffle their Apple Music playlist named “Rock” started a rock station from a random decade instead.
Another new Siri. Another ambitious promise.
At WWDC26, Apple previews Siri AI, describing a redesigned assistant that uses personal context and works across apps.
Image: Apple · Original source 2025
“Everywhere” shouldn’t mean one speaker.
An owner with ten HomePods describes inconsistent responses when asking Siri to play music throughout the house.
The weather appears on screen. Siri says nothing.
A user reports that in CarPlay, asking Siri by voice for the temperature showed a weather banner without a spoken answer, while the steering wheel button produced one.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated Press the crown, get a keyboard.
A user reports that Siri on their week-old Apple Watch Series 10 suddenly offered only a typing prompt, even though the microphone worked in other apps.
A year later, Siri gets small steps.
Apple's WWDC 2025 Apple Intelligence release described Siri features like typing, product knowledge, carried context and ChatGPT access, but said nothing about timing for the delayed personal Siri features.
Image: Apple · Original source Directions, shortcuts, and personal requests that once worked.
A user of Siri in Dutch lists several requests that they say had stopped working, including directions to contacts, shortcuts with common names, and HomePod personal requests.
A new iPhone. A question. No response.
An iPhone 16 Pro owner reports that Siri gives no response or indication that it is hearing their questions on iOS 18.2.
2024
A question about ChatGPT went straight to ChatGPT.
A user reports that after updating to iOS 18.2, Siri passed their typed question to ChatGPT without first asking for permission.
Two minutes became ten. A water pump became Bluetooth.
A user recounts a day of Siri mishearing them: a HomePod set the wrong timer, and their watch turned off Bluetooth when they asked for a water pump.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated The new look arrives. More is still to come.
Apple releases its first Apple Intelligence features, including a redesigned Siri, while describing additional capabilities as future updates.
Image: Apple · Original source A sound, and then nothing, on the Mac.
A user reports that Siri on their MacBook Air stopped responding to voice, the app, and the keyboard shortcut, while Siri on their iPhone kept working.
Apple promises a more personal Siri.
At WWDC 2024, Apple introduces a vision of Siri that understands personal context and takes actions across apps.
Image: Apple · Original source Nobody said anything. Siri asked how it could help.
A user reports that their kitchen HomePod mini began asking how it could help at random moments, with no one speaking and no obvious noise nearby.
A new headset. Siri answers, but only in text.
A user reports that on a new Apple Vision Pro, Siri replies appeared only as on-screen text with no audio, and media apps were silent too.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated 2023
The AirPods stopped telling them anything.
A user reports that Siri, which had long announced notifications through their AirPods while music played, abruptly stopped announcing any of them.
Apple drops the Hey.
Apple's iOS 17 announcement said Siri could be activated by saying just Siri, and that users could issue several commands in a row without waking it again.
Image: Apple · Original source Talk to the remote in YouTube. Get a Siri search instead.
A longtime Apple TV owner reports that voice search from the remote began running a general Siri search instead of searching inside apps like YouTube.
2022
Four bulbs get a reply. One gets silence.
A user reports that their HomePod mini switched on all five LIFX bulbs in a room but gave no spoken confirmation for just one of them.
Every room’s lights are the dining room’s lights.
A user reports that for about a month Siri on their HomePod applied every lights command to the dining room, no matter which room the speaker was assigned to.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated “On it,” and then the catalog disappears.
A user reports that Siri on their HomePods could no longer find Apple Music songs, artists, or radio, even though personal playlists still played and the iPhone worked fine.
2021
“One moment,” then “something went wrong,” on two devices.
A user reports that Siri on both an Apple Watch Series 7 and an iPhone 13 Pro Max stalled on simple requests and ended with an error for most of a day.
Apple moves Siri's listening onto the iPhone.
Apple's iOS 15 preview said Siri audio requests would be processed on iPhone by default on A12 Bionic or later devices, and said Siri would come to some third-party HomeKit accessories.
Image: Apple · Original source Ask the phone to play in the office. Hear about a problem.
A user reports that asking Siri on their iPhone to play music on a pair of HomePod minis in another room returned an error, though the same kind of request to a Sonos speaker worked.
The button works. The wake phrase doesn’t.
A user reports that Siri on their iPad (5th generation) responded when they held the Home button but never reacted to the spoken wake phrase.
2020
“Call Mom” gets “I’m on it,” then nothing.
A user reports that after moving to an iPhone 12 Pro, asking Siri to call a contact produced an acknowledgment followed by a “something went wrong” error, while opening apps by voice still worked.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated A smaller speaker with a more personal Siri.
Apple introduced HomePod mini with Siri voice recognition for household members, daily updates, smart home control, Shortcuts support and Intercom.
Image: Apple · Original source 2019
Ask for one name. Siri dials the other.
A user reports that Siri on their iPhone 8 called the wrong contact, reaching one person when asked for another and vice versa, even though the on-screen transcription looked correct.
In the car, Siri stops reading your words back.
A user reports that after updating an iPhone XS to iOS 13.1.2, Siri in CarPlay no longer read back dictated messages and errored instead of offering to reply. iOS 13.1.3 fixed both problems for them.
The watch hears you. Then makes you wait.
An Apple Watch Series 4 owner reports delays, failed requests, and cut-off replies after updating to watchOS 6.
Months of working lights. Then “no accessories.”
A user reports that Siri on their Apple Watch suddenly said no HomeKit accessories were set up, though the lights still worked from their phone. Restarting the iPhone resolved it.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated The watch went quiet. The culprit was dust.
A user reports that Siri on an Apple Watch Series 2 running watchOS 5 stopped responding and spoken message replies failed. A day later they found dust blocking the microphone.
AirPods learn to hear Hey Siri.
Apple's second-generation AirPods release said the new H1 chip enables hands-free Hey Siri for the first time on AirPods, for songs, calls, volume and directions.
Image: Apple · Original source 2018
Siri answers on the home screen. In the app, nothing.
A user reports that on their Apple TV 4K, dictation into search stopped working in apps like Netflix, YouTube, and Plex on certain screens, even though Siri still responded from the home screen.
The right name on screen. The wrong person gets the text.
A user reports that Siri on an iPhone XS Max with iOS 12.0.1 showed the intended contact but sent the message to a different relative with the same last name, while their other Apple devices handled the request correctly.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated Siri Shortcuts promise a voice for every app.
Apple's iOS 12 preview introduced Siri Shortcuts, suggested actions, custom voice phrases and a Shortcuts app for chaining steps, plus more translation pairs and knowledge areas.
Image: Apple · Original source The lights are fine. The HomePod says they aren't.
A user reports that every few days Siri on their HomePod claimed some Hue lights were not responding, even though the Home app and Siri on their iPhone controlled them normally. Power cycling helped only temporarily.
Siri says it's playing. The room stays quiet.
A user reports that their HomePod, paired with an iPhone X on iOS 11.2.5, acknowledged music requests through Siri but played no audio for any artist. Signing out of iCloud and back in via the Home app fixed it.
HomePod gets a ship date, and Siri gets a job.
Apple set HomePod's arrival for February 9, 2018 in the US, UK and Australia, describing Siri tasks from Apple Music searches to HomeKit and some SiriKit apps.
Image: Apple · Original source 2017
Right on screen. Wrong after you tap Done.
A user reports that dictated text on their iPhone appeared correctly while they spoke, then changed substantially once they tapped Done, a pattern they say persisted across several iOS updates.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated Siri gets a speaker of its own.
Apple introduced HomePod with a six-microphone array for far-field Hey Siri, Apple Music requests, messages, news and smart home control, with a December 2017 launch planned.
Image: Apple · Original source 2016
New AirPods. Double tap. Mostly nothing.
A user reports that double tapping their new AirPods almost never activated Siri on an iPhone 7 running iOS 10.2, working only a couple of times, and suggested setting checks did not help.
Siri arrives on the Mac. Then does nothing.
A user reports that a day after installing macOS Sierra on a mid 2012 13-inch MacBook Pro, Siri did nothing when clicked or triggered by shortcut. A suggestion to re-enable Notification Center via Terminal later got it working.
Apple opens Siri to other apps.
With iOS 10 Apple announced SiriKit, letting developers connect apps to Siri for messaging, calls, photo search, ride booking, payments and workouts, plus some CarPlay controls.
Image: Apple · Original source Siri finally reaches the Mac.
Apple's macOS Sierra preview brought Siri to the Mac via the Dock, menu bar and keyboard, with file search, messaging, settings changes and results that could be dragged into documents or pinned.
Image: Apple · Original source Set up three times. Still no answer.
A user reports that Hey Siri on their iPad Air 2 got no response even though the feature was enabled and setup completed, and repeating setup did not help.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated A vibration, a Siri screen, and no ears.
A user reports that Siri on an iPhone 6 Plus with iOS 9.3 seemed unable to pick up their voice when started from the Home button, and no longer chimed, while calls and a car's Bluetooth microphone worked.
2015
Fine in the car. Lost everywhere else.
A user reports that Siri on their iPhone 6 worked over car Bluetooth but otherwise replied that it did not understand, and dictation ignored speech, across iOS 8 and a factory restore to iOS 9.
Siri comes to the living room remote.
Apple's new Apple TV launched with a Siri Remote that Apple said would search across iTunes and several streaming apps by title, genre, cast and more, and would control playback.
Hey Siri cuts the charging cable.
Apple's iPhone 6s release said the M9 motion coprocessor would let Hey Siri run all the time at low power, without the phone needing to be plugged in.
Apple promises a Siri that acts before you ask.
The iOS 9 preview described a redesigned Siri with contextual reminders and photo and video search, plus proactive features meant to suggest apps, contacts and departure times.
2014
The microphone works. Siri still can't hear it.
A user reports that after updating an iPhone 5 to iOS 8, Siri stopped hearing them, even though Voice Memos, FaceTime, and speakerphone worked. Siri responded only with a wired Apple headset plugged in.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated Siri moves to the wrist, in a single line.
Apple's original Apple Watch release mentions Siri only briefly, saying the Digital Crown would offer a quick way to reach the assistant on the new device.
Siri takes the wheel with CarPlay.
Apple's CarPlay launch release made Siri the main way to use the iPhone in the car. Drivers would hold a steering wheel button to place calls, hear and dictate messages, get directions and play audio.
2013
Siri listens only when the phone meets your ear.
A user reports that after upgrading an iPhone 5 to iOS 7, Siri recognized speech only through Raise to Speak. Holding the Home button opened Siri, but it timed out without hearing anything.
Two days of silence, then “not available right now.”
A user reports that Siri and dictation stopped working entirely on an iPhone 5 running iOS 6.1.4 for about two days, hanging and eventually saying it was not available. A full backup and restore later brought it back.
Siri gets a new voice and a wider web.
Apple's iOS 7 announcement promised new male and female Siri voices, Twitter search, Wikipedia and Bing results inside Siri, and voice control of some settings and voicemail.
2012
A fresh iOS 6 update. Siri misses the first try.
A user reports that right after updating an iPhone 4S to iOS 6, Siri ignored the first thing said after pressing the Home button, then reported a problem on the second attempt, while a second iPhone 4S on iOS 6 worked normally.
Editorial illustration · AI-generated Siri learns sports, dinner plans and the iPad.
Apple's iOS 6 preview said Siri was coming to the new iPad and would gain sports scores, restaurant reservations, app launching, social posting, an Eyes Free mode for cars and more languages.
2011
Meet Siri. The promise begins.
Apple introduces Siri with iPhone 4S: a voice assistant for everyday requests, messages, reminders, and information.
This is where the record starts.
It shouldn’t be where the conversation ends.
DEAR APPLE
We want to love Siri.
Give us a reason.
The goal isn’t a better apology.
It’s an assistant that gets the basics right.