While it’s not the main selling point of the HomePod, Siri capabilities allow you to control the speaker using your voice without having to pull out your phone every time. Here’s how to customize Siri on the HomePod (or just disable it entirely).
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Before we get started, take note that every single one of the settings we talk about below is accessible through the Home app. Once the app is open, you’ll first start out by long-pressing or 3D Touching the HomePod icon below “Favorite Accessories”.
From there, tap on “Details”
Scroll down a bit and you’ll see the different settings for Siri on the HomePod.
Let’s talk about what they do.
Turn Off the Siri Light
While the glowing light on top of the HomePod is a nice touch, it’s not really needed all that much. It certainly doesn’t hurt anything, but if you’d rather just have it turned off, you can do so in the settings.
Just find the toggle switch next to “Light When Using Siri” and tap on it to turn it off.
Play a Sound When Siri Is Activated
By default, the HomePod doesn’t emit a sound when Hey Siri is activated, although Siri herself will chime in with a “Mhm?” if she doesn’t hear a command within the first couple of seconds.
However, if you’d rather hear a chime whenever Hey Siri is activated, just tap on the toggle switch next to “Sound When Using Siri” and it will emit a short bass tone to know that it’s listening.
Change Siri’s Voice
If you didn’t know, Siri has several different voices, and you’re not stuck with just using the default. You can change the voice in the settings by tapping on “Siri Voice”, although there aren’t many options.
From there, you’ll be able to choose between three different accents for English: American, Australian, and British. You can also change the gender of the voice between Male and Female.
How to Completely Disable Siri
All that’s fine, but if you just want to use the HomePod as regular speaker and AirPlay content from your iPhone, you can turn Siri off altogether.
To disable Siri, you’ll want to tick the toggle switches next to “Listen for “Hey Siri”” and “Touch and Hold for Siri”.
This will completely get rid of the ability to activate Siri using your voice or a press of the touchpad on the top of the HomePod.
