Siri, Apple’s intelligent assistant, is quite helpful in performing simple tasks, answering questions, giving recommendations, and finding information. This personal virtual assistant was first introduced in 2011 and is now a vital part of every Apple device.
Some of the tasks Siri can help you with include:
Admit it, you wish Siri was on your Mac, and so do I. She stole my heart on iOS, and now every time I open up my MacBook, I feel something missing. Wouldn't it be great if we could, I dunno, hack Siri onto our Macs? This is not an Apple-verified version of Siri. It more closely resembles something we'd find via Cydia on a jailbroken iOS device, but she talks like Siri and acts. While Apple’s Siri battles Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for the voice assistant throne, macOS users should look no further. Starting in 2016, Apple has baked Siri into every macOS version since Mojave, and you can also activate it on older Macs, too.While most of its features duplicate those on iOS, there are a few Mac-specific commands that could surprise you. Now when you say “Hey Siri” to you Mac, a Siri window will open. And if you have your iPhone nearby, Siri will show up on your iPhone, too. You can remedy this by changing the dictation. Siri is the voice-input, voice-response artificial intelligence personal assistant software originally developed by SRI International for iOS devices in the mid-2000s and later for macOS computers. Siri was acquired by Apple Inc. In April 2010 under the direction of Steve Jobs, former CEO and co-founder of Apple. IOS 5-6 The microphone glows purple depending on the volume a person is speaking. If you missed this step when setting up your Mac, follow these steps to set up Siri on your Mac: Open System Preferences. Click in the box beside Enable Ask Siri so that a tick appears.
- Making calls
- Changing device settings
- Searching the internet for information
- Sending messages
- Making restaurant or movie reservations
- Making simple mathematical computations
- Creating reminders
- Downloading apps
- Playing music and looking up songs
- Setting up calendar events
- Calculating travel time
- Getting traffic data
There is so much that Siri can do, and this has given huge convenience to Apple users. To use Siri, users just need to say “Hey Siri” to activate the virtual assistant. You can also create a shortcut on your Mac to quickly bring up Siri.
There have been recent reports, though, saying that “Hey Siri” stopped working on MacBook Air. For some users, only the “Hey Siri” command is not working, but other aspects of Siri are working and the AI can still recognize commands. For other users, though, Siri doesn’t work completely on MacBook Air.
This problem has been reported to occur mostly on macOS devices, and some affected users noted that Siri had stopped working on MacBook Air after upgrading to macOS Mojave.
Siri For Mac Air Keyboard
Why Is Siri Not Working on MacBook Air?
This error has been reported just recently, and although there have been several reports of the issue, Apple has yet to comment on it or release an update to fix it.
If the error happened after upgrading to Mojave, it is possible that Siri has some compatibility issues with the new macOS. If this is the case, all you have to do is wait for the update from Apple that includes the fix for this problem. As to when this will be released, only Apple knows.
It is also possible for other factors, such as corrupted preferences, malware infection, or incorrect Siri settings, to be in play. If Siri went wonky due to these reasons, you can follow our recommended solutions below.
But before you do, make sure you eliminate other elements that could be contributing to the problem. Scan your Mac for malware infection and get rid of the infected files and apps. You should also delete all junk files that clutter your system using an app such as Tweakbit MacRepair. Once these preparations have been completed, you can then start troubleshooting Siri.
How to Get Siri to Work on MacBook Air
Before we proceed with the solutions, you have to make sure first that you have Siri enabled on your Mac. It won’t work if it hasn’t been turned on in the first place.
To enable Siri on macOS, follow the steps below:
- Click the Apple menu at the upper-left corner of the screen, then choose System Preferences from the dropdown options.
- Click on Siri, then tick off Enable Talk to Siri. If the box has already been ticked off, you can check the other settings to make sure they’re working fine.
- Choose the language you want to use, then select your preferred Siri Voice.
- Turn off Voice Feedback if you don’t want Siri to talk.
- Choose your Mic input. You can try different mics to ensure your voice is registered.
- Close the window and try saying “Hey Siri!” to check if Siri is responding. You can also type in your commands if you prefer not to speak.
Take note that Siri does not respond to “Hey Siri” commands when the lid is closed. It also doesn’t work when the screen is locked and the option Allow Siri when locked is turned off.
After confirming that Siri is enabled on your Mac and the “Hey Siri” command is still not working, you can try any of the troubleshooting methods below.
Fix #1: Delete Your Siri Preferences.
One of the reasons why Siri doesn’t work on MacBook Air is a corrupted .plist file. The .plist file contains all the settings and preferences associated with the Siri app. To reset Siri’s preferences, follow the steps below:
- Quit the Siri app.
- Disable Siri from System Preferences by unchecking Enable Talk to Siri.
- Open Finder, then navigate to the Preferences folder by holding Option, then clicking Go > Library.
- In the Preferences folder, delete all .plist files with Siri in their filename.
- Re-enable Siri under System Preferences to generate a new .plist file.
Once the preferences have been reset, try saying a voice command to see if Siri is now back to normal.
Fix #2: Check Siri’s Parental Controls.
Another reason why Siri is not working on MacBook Air is because dictation has been turned off for the virtual assistant app. To check Siri’s Parental Controls, follow these instructions:
- Click the Apple menu, then head over to System Preferences > Parental Controls.
- Click on Other.
- Check whether Turn off Siri & Dictation is ticked off.
If it is, then that explains why Siri is not working on your Mac. If the option is not selected, then Siri going wonky can be attributed to something else.
Fix #3: Try a Different Microphone.
When setting up Siri for the first time, you’ll be asked to choose which microphone to use. You have the option to use your Mac’s internal microphone, which is the default. But if your Mac’s internal mic doesn’t seem to work with Siri, you can use an external microphone instead. Just go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Siri and choose a different Mic Input option.
You should also check your Mac’s sound levels by clicking Sound under System Preferences and ensuring all input levels are maxed.
Summary
Siri makes our lives so much easier. Aside from providing users with much-needed information, Siri can also complete a multitude of tasks, such as calling contacts and sending out emails. The Hey Siri voice command also allows hands-free access, which is a huge help when you’re away from your Mac, when you’re having your nails done, and during other scenarios when you can’t type in a command. Just say “Hey Siri” and you can get your personal virtual assistant to do your bidding.
If for some reason, Siri is not registering your Hey Siri command or is not working on your MacBook, simply follow the troubleshooting steps above to fix the problem.
See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy Policy.
How to use, configure or remove Siri on Mac
What is Siri anyway?
In short, it’s an artificial intelligence that uses voice recognition, language processing, and machine learning to help you make dinner plans. It used to be reserved for iOS users, but now it's a normal part of the macOS. Siri on Mac uses the same technologies and the same logic, but can do a little more. For instance, you can export the files she found and ask her to dig into your Mail or documents.
What Siri can do on Mac
You can actually ask Siri about that. She’ll give you a list of example commands you can use for various occasions. Mainly, she can find you files by any criteria, google info and organize it in a visually appealing way (like sport scores), send letters, call or message people, create or cancel meetings, and other everyday stuff.
Does Siri know everything?
Not exactly, but she knows most of what’s happening on your Mac and everything that can be googled. Can Siri read emails? Yep. Can Siri read private messages? Yep. She knows the content of your Mail and messages, but only if you ask her to dig into it. She knows the content of your documents as well, but she doesn’t send this info to Apple servers. What you asked, your location, and tech details about your Mac are sent, but not the contents of what Siri retrieves in response.
Siri knows your names and nicknames, your contacts, the names of songs you’ve got in your collection, photo album titles, and which apps you own. She does know a lot, it’s true. And she has access to the insides of some of your apps, like Notes.
How to get rid of Siri on your Mac?
We’re not going to show you how to delete Siri because frankly, it’s impossible. For better or for worse, Siri is undeletable. However, there are ways to disable it.
How to disable Siri and ensure your privacy
There’s a way to disable Siri manually, but the privacy of the rest of your Mac activity remains in question. To make sure all your data is safe and protected from prying eyes and from being sent to somebody’s servers, get an app like CleanMyMac.
Technically, CleanMyMac is a cleaner, but together with cleaning system junk (which is always a good idea) it disables Siri, cleans caches and cookies, and uninstall harmful apps (so-called bloatware) and extensions.
To disable Siri with CleanMyMac 3:
- Download CleanMyMac for free.
- Launch it and open Extension tab.
- Choose Siri.
- Click Disable.
- Done.
To make sure your Mac is protected and your data is safe:
- Open CleanMyMac 3.
- Open Privacy tab.
- Choose apps and browsers you use.
- Clean cookies and other extra info.
- Open Extensions tab.
- Remove any extension you don’t know.
- Open Uninstaller.
- Remove all the apps you don’t need or don’t recognize.
How to disable Siri on macOS manually
- Open the main Apple menu from top right corner.
- Choose System preferences.
- There’s a new Siri icon, click on it.
- From the right pane uncheck Enable Siri option.
- Uncheck Show Siri in menu bar.
- Now Siri should be disabled and hidden.
Siri For Mac Air Apps
Keep in mind that in its Privacy Policy, Apple states that only recent voice input data will be deleted. The older requests will remain on Apple servers, but will be disassociated from you. After you disable Siri, removed adware or bloatware from your Mac, and cleaned up your caches and cookies with, you can be sure your privacy is protected.
Siri For Mac Air Pro
That’s about it on how to disable Siri on your Mac. She’s a helpful tool, so you can easily turn her back on should you change your mind. Cheers.
Siri For Macbook
These might also interest you: