How to Call Someone and Put Them on Speaker Without Picking up Your iPhone

[MacRumors]

Next time you find yourself with your hands full and you want to make a call on your iPhone - or even if you're in bed and your phone's just out of reach - don't forget that you can get Siri to start a speakerphone call for you, handsfree.

All you need to do beforehand is make sure that your iPhone is set up to listen for the "Hey Siri" voice command. You can check this by following the steps below:

Enable the "Hey Siri" Command on Your iPhone

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Siri & Search in the list.
   
   
   At the top of the screen, check that the Listen for "Hey Siri" slider is toggled to the green ON position.

With that done, you don't even have to pick up your iPhone to speak to someone on speakerphone. Simply say "Hey Siri, call [name] on speaker," and you'll be chatting in no time.

What if the person you want to call isn't in your contacts list? No problem - just dictate the number to Siri instead: "Hey Siri, call [number] on speaker."

Remember this quick tip the next time you want to make a call and you might just save yourself some bother.

Article Link: How to Call Someone and Put Them on Speaker Without Picking up Your iPhone

 

[44267547]

I use my speakerphone for almost all my calls (The stereo speakers are outstanding on the newer iPhones) and I didn’t even think to ask Siri to invoke the speaker hands free. Good article.

 

[PowerMacBook]

The idea is great, wasn’t it for Siri too often not understanding what I say

And really, do you want me to tell Siri the number, like 555-3462168???
I don’t even “remember “ or know my own wife’s number by heart anymore, let alone other people’s numbers.

 

[Michael Scrip]

The idea is great, wasn’t it for Siri too often not understanding what I say

And really, do you want me to tell Siri the number, like 555-3462168??? I don’t even “remember “ or know my own wife’s number by heart anymore, let alone other people’s numbers.

The article explains two ways to call.

You could dictate each digit like you described. You're right... you might not remember their number.

Or you can call someone from your contact list by simply saying:

"Hey Siri, call [WIFE] on speaker"

 

[jlc1978]

The idea is great, wasn’t it for Siri too often not understanding what I say

And really, do you want me to tell Siri the number, like 555-3462168???
I don’t even “remember “ or know my own wife’s number by heart anymore, let alone other people’s numbers.

"Hey Siri, Call wife on speaker"
"I can't find Wifon Speakerr. Did you mean John Speaks? I've found 6 of them near you..."

My general Siri experience. God help me if I try to use it when watching TV or a movie...

It's even worse if you are trying to call someone whose name is prounounced differently than it is spelt; for example an X in Portuguese so Xuxa is prononunces Shoo Sha. So unless you remember the Siri way with hard X's you can't call them and need to give them some other keyword in the contact.

 

[clarkeck]

Ive tried that phrase for years while driving in an older vehicle without Bluetooth. It has never worked. Is this a new capacity enabled in Siri? Elated that it exists.

Next time you find yourself with your hands full and you want to make a call on your iPhone - or even if you're in bed and your phone's just out of reach - don't forget that you can get Siri to start a speakerphone call for you, handsfree.

All you need to do beforehand is make sure that your iPhone is set up to listen for the "Hey Siri" voice command. You can check this by following the steps below:

Enable the "Hey Siri" Command on Your iPhone

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Siri & Search in the list.
   
   
   At the top of the screen, check that the Listen for "Hey Siri" slider is toggled to the green ON position.

With that done, you don't even have to pick up your iPhone to speak to someone on speakerphone. Simply say "Hey Siri, call [name] on speaker," and you'll be chatting in no time.

What if the person you want to call isn't in your contacts list? No problem - just dictate the number to Siri instead: "Hey Siri, call [number] on speaker."

Remember this quick tip the next time you want to make a call and you might just save yourself some bother.

Article Link: How to Call Someone and Put Them on Speaker Without Picking up Your iPhone

 

[mattopotamus]

I thought this was actually going to show you how to answer on speaker. I usually use my Apple Watch and then handoff when my hands are free.

 

[twistedpixel8]

I thought this was actually going to show you how to answer on speaker. I usually use my Apple Watch and then handoff when my hands are free.

Same, specially since I have an X with the dreaded non-responsive screen that always happens when I get a call. I have no choice, I *can’t* answer on my X sometimes! The slider/button just doesn’t work!

It would definitely be handy if you could shout, “hey Siri, answer the call on speaker”.

 

[Bigskygangsta]

"Hey Siri, Call wife on speaker"
"I can't find Wifon Speakerr. Did you mean John Speaks? I've found 6 of them near you..."

My general Siri experience. God help me if I try to use it when watching TV or a movie...

It's even worse if you are trying to call someone whose name is prounounced differently than it is spelt; for example an X in Portuguese so Xuxa is prononunces Shoo Sha. So unless you remember the Siri way with hard X's you can't call them and need to give them some other keyword in the contact.

[doublepost=1543068471][/doublepost]Simple solution to odd name pronunciations. Tell Siri to learn how to pronounce “xyz” contact and she’ll ask you how it’s pronounced and fix it. This has been available for years.

 

[SBlue1]

It's even worse if you are trying to call someone whose name is prounounced differently than it is spelt; for example an X in Portuguese so Xuxa is prononunces Shoo Sha. So unless you remember the Siri way with hard X's you can't call them and need to give them some other keyword in the contact.

Well you can tell Siri how your contacts with difficult names are pronounced so this may help. But Siri is useless when it comes to recognise english names that are not contacts when I talk in german. Like how did the Green Bay Packers play or play me some Foo Fighters. Siri should be bilingual by selecting a second language in the settings. Or at least you should be able to teach siri what you mean when you say Foo Fighters as a german.

 

[jayducharme]

Is it possible to have Siri answer a call on speaker? That's a more useful tip for me. I know you can have all incoming calls go to speakerphone

http://osxdaily.com/2015/01/19/speaker-phone-default-iphone-calls/

but is there a way to direct Siri to answer individual calls on speakerphone?

 

[ShawnNaples]

Bummer they didnt think of this option before the kid that died in his van earlier this year. He was able to call 911 twice, but since it wasnt on speaker he couldn't hear the 911 operator. I wonder if this is a fix to prevent to reduce the risk of someone dying in the future simply because they couldnt reach their phone.

 

[840quadra]

I use this quite often, especially from iPad or HomePod.

Siri does far more, far better than many give it credit for.

 

[Sasparilla]

Nice article. I love these helpful tips articles, set up the entire over 40 guest list over Thanksgiving with the magnifying glass shortcut...they all loved it.

 

[coolkid93]

A feature I never freaking use lol

 

[decypher44]

That’s pretty slick! Does having Siri always listen greatly impact battery life inbtween charges?

 

[szw-mapple fan]

"Hey Siri, Call wife on speaker"
"I can't find Wifon Speakerr. Did you mean John Speaks? I've found 6 of them near you..."

My general Siri experience. God help me if I try to use it when watching TV or a movie...

It's even worse if you are trying to call someone whose name is prounounced differently than it is spelt; for example an X in Portuguese so Xuxa is prononunces Shoo Sha. So unless you remember the Siri way with hard X's you can't call them and need to give them some other keyword in the contact.

You can tell Siri to pronounce a name differently. Siri will let you record a pronouciation and return choices on which you’d like to use.

 

[Mr. Skeleton]

You can tell Siri to pronounce a name differently. Siri will let you record a pronouciation and return choices on which you’d like to use.

Stop.

Don’t you know macrumors is reserved for Apple hate?

On topic, I’ve been using this for years without issue

 

[GoodWheaties]

That’s pretty slick! Does having Siri always listen greatly impact battery life inbtween charges?

Not really in my experience. It uses the coprocessor so uses very little power.

 

[shyam09]

"Hey Siri, Call wife on speaker"
"I can't find Wifon Speakerr. Did you mean John Speaks? I've found 6 of them near you..."

My general Siri experience. God help me if I try to use it when watching TV or a movie...

It's even worse if you are trying to call someone whose name is prounounced differently than it is spelt; for example an X in Portuguese so Xuxa is prononunces Shoo Sha. So unless you remember the Siri way with hard X's you can't call them and need to give them some other keyword in the contact.

I came across a word that I didn't know. Instead of getting distracted with the phone, I asked siri to define it. Since I didn't know how to pronounce the word, I opted to spell it out.

Siri couldn't even do that. I spoke slowly, quickly, normally, loudly, clearly, and a bunch of random things. In the end, I just looked it up. Luckily, Siri was able to define it once I knew how to pronounce the word. If I have to look up a word, I'm probably not going to know how to pronounce it.

 

[rick3000]

You don't need Hey Siri for this to work, just trigger siri and say, "Call x on speaker." This has worked since at least iOS11, because I have been doing this for at least a year.

 

[Westside guy]

i hardly ever make “phone calls” anymore - maybe once a month. Even my mom texts more than she calls, anymore.

I still occasionally run into people who’ve got their phone permanently glued to the side of their heads, though - it can make the train to work rather annoying if one of them happens to be in the same car with you. Recently, this one guy was yammering on speaker with someone else the whole way, which doubled the fun for the rest of us.

 

[campyguy]

Nice tip, I've been using Siri for calling like this for a while. Two ways to hone this includes adding a "Related Name" that's in my "me" Contact, my mother and my girlfriend (under the "partner" tag) and keeping in mind a bit of forethought with segregating telephone numbers as "home" or "mobile" or "iPhone" (the latter won't work with Exchange-based accounts but I duplicate these in an iCloud account for this purpose...

Now, all I have to do is use Siri to "call mom on her mobile on speaker" - works perfectly for me...

 

[jlc1978]

You can tell Siri to pronounce a name differently. Siri will let you record a pronouciation and return choices on which you’d like to use.

Yes, but it is a PIA to teach siri contacts vs. it having the ability to parse alternate pronunciations; especially if you are trying to call/find someone not in your contacts.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Yes, but it is a PIA to teach siri contacts vs. it having the ability to parse alternate pronunciations; especially if you are trying to call/find someone not in your contacts.

For me personally, Siri has been pretty good for parsing multilingual pronunciations. I just tried the three ways of pronouncing a rare name in my contacts (this is a name that can be in English, Japanese, or Italian) and Siri got all three. I've noticed some improvements in this area in the past year or so, so perhaps it's gotten better since you last tried it. Another tip would be to say the full name. In the past (when it was much worse at this) I've noticed a better hit rate when the entire name was said.
[doublepost=1543227567][/doublepost]

I came across a word that I didn't know. Instead of getting distracted with the phone, I asked siri to define it. Since I didn't know how to pronounce the word, I opted to spell it out.

Siri couldn't even do that. I spoke slowly, quickly, normally, loudly, clearly, and a bunch of random things. In the end, I just looked it up. Luckily, Siri was able to define it once I knew how to pronounce the word. If I have to look up a word, I'm probably not going to know how to pronounce it.

Just tried defining a word by spelling it out. It works perfectly fine for me.

[doublepost=1543227894][/doublepost]

Stop.

Don’t you know macrumors is reserved for Apple hate?

On topic, I’ve been using this for years without issue

To be fair, Siri has seen some decent improvements in the past couple of years, and some people here are probably still basing their comments on pre iOS 9 Siri.