Hey Siri HomePod Priority Issues In iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16?
Hey Siri Homepod priority issue
Are you encountering Hey Siri HomePod priority issues after updating all your devices to 16.1 software version? HomePod fails to pick up ‘Hey Siri’ commands when your iPad or iPhone are in the same room? You’re not alone!
Hey Siri HomePod Priority Issue
This problem has been reported by Diego:
“HomePod fails to react to Hey Siri when iPad is in the same room. This used to work properly! Any tips?”
We’ve found similar complaints on Reddit:
“After 16.1, “Hey Siri”on iPad Pro takes precedent over HomePods!”
We couldn’t replicate the glitch, but it seems widespread. If you’re experiencing it too please confirm it in the comments and provide any helpful additional details. We plan to report this problem to Apple and will use this page as support.
How To Fix Hey Siri HomePod Priority Problem
Until this issues gets sorted in an upcoming software update you can apply the following workarounds:
1. Restart HomePod
First, reboot your smart speaker. A fresh start might clear any minor glitches preventing it to gain Hey Siri priority when compared to other devices:
- 1. Open Home app on iPhone or iPad.
- 2. Touch & hold the HomePod icon.
- 3. Select Accessory Details from the quick actions menu.
- 4. Scroll all the way down to Reset HomePod.
- 5. Go for Restart HomePod and be patient.
2. Turn Devices Screen Down
If the restart doesn’t fix the Hey Siri HomePod priority problem, turn the other devices in the room with the screen facing towards the desk.
This will prevent iPad or iPhone from listening for Hey Siri and thus make your HomePod your only available devices in the room.
3. Disable Hey Siri On iPad
You can go also go to the extreme and turn Off Hey Siri on iPad altogether. This is done in:
Settings -> Siri & Search -> Listen for “Hey Siri”
Have you managed to fix Hey Siri HomePod priority issue in 16.1? Do you have a better solution or more problems to report? Share your feedback in the comments.
Related: For more HomePod 16.1 issues and the available workarounds check our extended review.
With 16.1 on my new iPad Pro 12.9 inch, Siri will not speak the screen when prompted with a spoken command, “Hey Siri, speak screen.”
This is not an issue with iPad Pro 11 inch with 15.7 or with iPhone 14 Pro Max with 16.0.3.
I am low vision and so I need for this to work.
Thanks for reporting John. Have you tried to change Siri language in Settings from English US to English UK, for example.
Also you can change Siri voice and force your iPad to download Siri data from Apple’s servers.
More details here:
https://www.iphonetricks.org/siri-not-working-ios-16-problem-fix/
You can also try to change the voice in Settings -> Accessibility -> Spoken Content -> Voices. Let us know if it helps.
Hello,
Thank you for the suggestions about how to get Siri to work.
With 16.1, Siri will respond to spoken commands and play music, etc., but she will not speak the screen.
The problem is not with the language. I tried the usual steps, including restart, force restart, reset, etc. and your suggestions.
The problem with 16.1 is that the spoken command, “Hey Siri, speak screen” causes Siri to see nothing and so she responds, “Sorry, there’s nothing to read here.”
There is another option, to press the small speak screen button, and that works, but I am low vision and so that is a poor option. I need Apple to bring back Siri’s ability to speak the screen when prompted with a spoken command.
Thanks for the follow up John. I get your point. We will report this to Apple.
I found and enabled an accessibility option called “Speak screen” that works fairly well: Settings>Accessibility>Enable Voice Control>Customize Commands>Accessibility>Enable Speak Screen. I had to disable Speak Screen, restart, force restart, and then enable Speak Screen again for this to work, but it does work now. It will stop short of reading an entire story sometimes because of advertising, but I can save a story in Pocket to avoid that problem.
That’s great! Thanks for sharing.
Priority isn’t a problem for me but the volume of her voice is too loud especially when I wake up in the morning. Even the lowest volume setting is too strong. Is there a trick to make it whisper?
Thanks for pointing this out. Here are a few tips about how to lower Siri’s voice volume:
https://www.iphonetricks.org/siri-voice-too-loud-whisper-mode-how-to/
Unfortunately, there is no Siri whisper mode available yet.