Quick Guide: Siri Tips and Tricks for Beginners

If you’ve recently picked up a new iPhone 4S and haven’t start playing with Siri, there’s no time like the present to start. Though both novel and powerful, Siri isn’t always quite as good as you might expect if you’ve seen Apple’s ads. But with a little tender loving care, you can get Siri working for you more efficiently.

Correct Siri’s Mistakes

Every now and then, Siri will make a mistake. Depending on your accent or clarity of speech, this might be more often than you’d like. Thankfully there are two ways to keep Siri working with the right information.

The first is a hands-on approach. If Siri makes a mistake, take a look at your device. Scroll to the top of the screen and you should see your query transcribed, and any sections Siri doesn’t understand will be underlined in blue. Tap on your query to edit it.

But if you’re using voice commands already, you probably don’t want to switch to typing. Correcting Siri verbally might be a challenge if the software doesn’t understand your accent, but if you’ve just found yourself mumbling, speak clearly and repeat yourself. Or, if you’re trying to dictate a message or email, try using the following commands:

• “Change it to”: Siri will change your message to whatever you follow this with.
• “Add”: Siri will add whatever follows to your message.
• “Read it back to me”: Siri will read your message out loud, so you know if it’s now correct.

You can also correct message recipients on the fly, by saying “No, send it to (name) instead.”

Get Around Location Restrictions

With Siri still in beta, the software in available in many areas that aren’t quite ready for it. Unfortunately, that means all the location-based features are missing in those places. Rather than try to answer questions like “Where is the nearest Starbucks?” or “Is it raining?” with possibly incorrect information, the information is completely unavailable.

While you wait for Siri’s location services to be enabled in your area, you can get around some of these limitations. To get Siri to tell you the weather in your area, include your location in the query. “What is the weather in Vancouver, Canada?” will get you an answer even while asking Siri what the weather is while in Vancouver won’t. Use the nearest major city when you ask — smaller towns aren’t often recognized.

If you want Siri to find you directions home, you’re going to have to be able to look at your phone. Instead of asking Siri to find you the route home, ask Siri to search Google for your address, then click the Places tab in the results. This should show you the location you’re looking for, with a button for getting directions through Google Maps. You can do the same by searching for a business name or type.

Use Different Search Engines

If Google isn’t working out for you, you can make Siri search Yahoo! or Bing instead. Saying “Search Bing for X” or “Search Yahoo! for Y” works, or you can change your default search engine in Settings > Safari > Search Engine.

Find the Best Queries

Siri can understand a huge selection of queries, and seems to be learning more each day. Sometimes, though, the software gets hung up on a particular way of wording things and there’s nothing you can do but use the correct one.

TUAW has an exhaustive list of Siri-friendly queries, but if you’re just looking for a few foolproof ways to talk to your new digital assistant, here are the simplest ways to get the following jobs done:

• Add calendar events: start a command with “Schedule” to add what follows to your calendar. If you forget to include a date and time, Siri will ask.
• Set an alarm: “Set an alarm” or “Wake me up” both work well. Follow with a time, or let Siri ask you.
• Prepare an email: Make sure to say “Email” or “Send an email” here. Message is reserved for SMS/iMessage.
• Send a text message: “Message” or “Text” is the correct syntax here, as in “Text John ‘Want to meet for lunch?’” Try to resist the urge to include a “with” in the midst of it.
• Make a phone call: Start with “Call” or “Phone” and follow with the name of a contact.

Of course, those are just a few examples of some of the most important tasks Siri can handle for you. Experiment — not only are there lots of useful functions to be found, but Siri can roll with the punches for a surprising variety of joke requests.

Correct Names and Relationships

Siri can be awful at pronouncing some names, and her ability to understand relationships depends on whether you’re syncing your contacts through iCloud or Google. Learn more in our guide.

Learn More

If you’re on the go and you’re trying to remember what Siri can do, just bring the Siri prompt up by holding your home button and tap the “i” icon beside “What can I help you with.” This will bring up a list of suggestions. If all else fails, though, just ask. If Siri doesn’t understand, you’ll know, and you can always say “Cancel.”