How to Turn Off Siri on iPhone and iPad

This guide walks you through every way to disable Siri on your iPhone or iPad, from turning off the voice assistant entirely to just silencing the “Hey Siri” trigger or the side button shortcut. You’ll also learn how to stop Siri from appearing in search and suggestions, and how to reverse everything if you change your mind.

What You’ll Need

• Your iPhone or iPad (any model running iOS 12 or later; the exact menu names may differ slightly on older versions).
• Your device passcode or Face ID/Touch ID, since some Siri settings are locked behind authentication.
• A few minutes of patience — the settings are spread across two or three menus.

Step-by-Step

Turn Off Siri Completely

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Scroll down and tap Siri & Search.
3. Turn off the first toggle: “Listen for ‘Hey Siri’”. This stops the voice trigger from activating Siri.
4. Turn off “Press Side Button for Siri” (on iPhones with Face ID) or “Press Home for Siri” (on iPhones with a Home button and most iPads). This disables the physical button shortcut.
5. If you see a “Turn Off Siri?” pop-up, tap Turn Off Siri to confirm. This also disables dictation.
6. Optionally, scroll to the “Suggestions” section and toggle off “Allow Suggestions” and “Allow Notifications” to stop Siri from appearing in search and lock screen suggestions.

Turn Off Only the Voice Trigger (Keep Button Siri)

1. Go to Settings > Siri & Search.
2. Toggle off “Listen for ‘Hey Siri’”.
3. Leave “Press Side Button for Siri” (or Home) on. Now Siri only responds when you press the button.

Turn Off Siri Suggestions in Search

1. Go to Settings > Siri & Search.
2. Scroll down to “Siri Suggestions” and toggle off “Suggestions in Search”, “Suggestions on Lock Screen”, and “Suggestions on Home Screen”.
3. For specific apps, tap the app name in the list and disable “Search & Suggestions” and “Suggestions on Home Screen”.

Turn Off Siri for a Single App (Keyboard Dictation)

1. Go to Settings > Siri & Search.
2. Scroll to the app list and tap the app you want to restrict.
3. Toggle off “Search & Suggestions” and “Suggestions on Home Screen”. This doesn’t disable the keyboard’s dictation microphone, but it stops Siri from learning from that app.

Common Mistakes

• Only turning off “Hey Siri” and thinking it’s fully off. The side button or Home button still triggers Siri, and Siri may still appear in search suggestions.
• Forgetting to confirm the pop-up. When you toggle off “Press Side Button for Siri,” iOS asks for confirmation. If you tap outside the pop-up, the toggle reverts.
• Turning off Siri but leaving dictation on. The keyboard microphone still uses Siri’s speech recognition. If you want no Siri at all, you must disable dictation in Settings > General > Keyboard.
• Confusing “Siri & Search” with “Screen Time.” Some users look for Siri settings in Screen Time, but the correct location is always Settings > Siri & Search.

Tips

• If you only want to stop Siri from speaking aloud, go to Settings > Siri & Search > Siri Responses and choose “Prefer Silent Responses.” Siri will still work but won’t talk out loud.
• To quickly disable Siri temporarily (e.g., before a meeting), turn on Do Not Disturb or Focus mode. Siri won’t respond to “Hey Siri” while a Focus is active.
• If you have an Apple Watch, turning off Siri on your iPhone does not automatically disable Siri on the watch. You’ll need to do that separately on the watch itself.
• After turning off Siri, you can still use the keyboard’s dictation if you left it on. To fully remove dictation, go to Settings > General &strong> Keyboard and toggle off “Enable Dictation.”

Troubleshooting

Siri still activates after you turned everything off. This usually means you missed a toggle. Go back to Settings > Siri & Search and check that both “Listen for ‘Hey Siri’” and “Press Side Button for Siri” (or Home) are off. Also check Settings > General > Keyboard — if dictation is on, the microphone icon still appears and uses Siri’s speech engine.

The “Press Side Button for Siri” toggle won’t stay off. This happens on some devices if you have an accessibility shortcut set to the side button. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Side Button (or Home Button) and make sure “Siri” is not selected as the shortcut. If you have “Triple-click Side Button” set to something else, that’s fine, but if it’s set to Siri, it will re-enable the button trigger.

“Hey Siri” still works after turning it off. Restart your iPhone or iPad. Sometimes the voice trigger remains active until the device reboots. If it still responds, check that you haven’t enabled “Hey Siri” under Settings > Siri & Search again — some iOS updates reset this toggle.

Siri suggestions still appear in Spotlight search. Go to Settings > Siri & Search and scroll to the bottom. Toggle off “Suggestions in Search” and “Suggestions on Lock Screen.” If they persist, try restarting the device.

You can’t find the Siri settings at all. On very old iOS versions (iOS 11 and earlier), the menu was called “Siri” directly in Settings, not “Siri & Search.” If you’re on a newer iOS and still can’t find it, use the search bar at the top of the Settings app and type “Siri.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning off Siri also disable dictation?

No. Dictation is a separate setting under Settings > General > Keyboard. You must turn it off there if you want to disable the microphone key on the keyboard.

Will turning off Siri affect my Apple Watch or HomePod?

No. Siri is managed per device. Your Apple Watch, HomePod, and Mac will still have their own Siri settings.

Can I turn Siri back on later?

Yes. Go back to Settings > Siri & Search and toggle the switches back on. You’ll need to re-enable “Hey Siri” and may need to set it up again with your voice.

Does turning off Siri save battery life?

It can slightly improve battery life, since the device no longer listens for the “Hey Siri” trigger phrase. However, the impact is usually small on modern iPhones and iPads.

Why does Siri still appear in the search screen?

Siri suggestions in Spotlight are separate from the assistant itself. Turn off “Suggestions in Search” and “Suggestions on Lock Screen” under Settings > Siri & Search to remove them.

Is there a way to disable Siri without a passcode?

No. Apple requires authentication before changing Siri settings, to prevent someone else from disabling it on a lost device. You’ll need your passcode or Face ID/Touch ID.

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