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M4 mini: no "Hey Siri", and always uses Type To Siri?

bkendig

bkendig

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 8, 2019
82
131
https://support.apple.com/en-by/guide/mac-mini/apdf7bb2fad4/mac says that "Hey Siri" should work "if your Mac mini is connected to a Studio Display or an external microphone". My new M4 Pro mini is connected to a webcam with a microphone.

But on my mini, in Settings, "Apple Intelligence & Siri" doesn't have a "Listen for" setting. I can only get Siri to listen to me if I click the Siri icon in the menu bar.

And, if I have Apple Intelligence enabled, even that doesn't work - clicking the Siri icon in the menu bar only opens a "Type to Siri" text field. I have to then click the microphone icon on that field for Siri to listen to me.

Is this working for anyone? Does anyone's M4 mini work with Hey Siri, and listen to you with Apple Intelligence turned on?
 
Same issue here. The option for "Hey Siri" was there on macOS 15 that the Mini came with, but is not there after I upgraded to 15.1.
 
Works fine on my mini connected to a studio display.

Screenshot 2024-11-10 at 21.22.03.png
 
So maybe Apple's article is wrong, and Hey Siri only works on this computer if you spend $1600 (or more) on a Studio Display?

There's no reason why it shouldn't work with any other external microphone. That's just annoying.
 
Broken Hope said:
Says studio display or supported headphones which I’m guessing means AirPods.
Click to expand...

Apple’s article says: “Hey Siri or Siri. If your Mac mini is connected to a Studio Display or an external microphone, you can say “Hey Siri” or “Siri” to get responses to your requests.”
 
About to order a USB mic to use Siri and found this thread. Is this the same for all previous M chip Mac mini's? Or is it a bug and has it been fixed on 15.1 or 15.2?

Anyone find a workaround?
 
From what I see, it looks like this applies to all previous minis - Intel as well as Apple Silicon. The microphone works, and Siri works, but there's no option to tell the mini to listen for "Hey Siri" (or "Siri") unless you have a Studio Display.

I sent feedback to Apple about this, and I recommend that other people do too if they'd like to see this work with a USB microphone.
 
bkendig said:
From what I see, it looks like this applies to all previous minis - Intel as well as Apple Silicon. The microphone works, and Siri works, but there's no option to tell the mini to listen for "Hey Siri" (or "Siri") unless you have a Studio Display.

I sent feedback to Apple about this, and I recommend that other people do too if they'd like to see this work with a USB microphone.
Click to expand...
So if you click on Siri you can speak instead of having to type? If so better than not being able to speak at all.

Read somewhere that the mic needs to be "secured" for "Hey Siri" to work. Not sure I understand how that insures anything.
 
You can speak to Siri by clicking the Siri icon in the menu bar, or if Apple Intelligence is on, by clicking the Siri icon then clicking the microphone icon at the right of the "Type to Siri" text field. It won't listen for "Hey Siri" or "Siri" unless you have a Studio Display (which costs as much as the Mac mini).

I haven't heard anything about "secured."
 
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I'm considering a Mac Mini M4.

Does Hey Siri work when using the iPhone headset with built-in microphone?
I have an iMac 2010 and I can speak to Siri using a connected Apple iPhone headset with built-in microphone. I do have to first click on the Siri symbol.
 
Last edited:
MacBirdy said:
I'm considering a Mac Mini M4.

Does Hey Siri work when using the iPhone headset with built-in microphone?
I have an iMac 2010 and I can speak to Siri using a connected Apple iPhone headset with built-in microphone. I do have to first click on the Siri symbol.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by "the iPhone headset"?
 
Ah, thank you.

Presumably, Siri would work with any microphone the Mac uses, but Hey Siri won't work unless you have a Studio Display.
 
bkendig said:
Ah, thank you.

Presumably, Siri would work with any microphone the Mac uses, but Hey Siri won't work unless you have a Studio Display.
Click to expand...
Apparently Siri will work without a Studio Display, but not in the way we wish. You need to turn off Apple Intelligence for that.

Edit: when I turn off Apple Intelligence, Siri works exactly like it used to: I click the Siri icon in the menu bar, and then it listens to me. It's only when I turn on Apple Intelligence that clicking on the Siri icon in the menu bar brings up a text field instead of listening to me.
Click to expand...

https://www.reddit.com/r/macmini/comments/1gn1z9l/mac_mini_m4_how_do_i_make_siri_not_default_to
 
Are there any privacy settings you might have to change to allow the external mic to always be on?
 
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Apple has released an update in regards to "Hey Siri".

They’ve now just modified the text in the Apple Intelligence settings to “When supported headphones are connected…”

Initially, Apple had stated that it would work with an Apple Studio display, but it appears they’ve removed that option.

Are there any Apple Studio display owners here who can confirm this?

What exactly are supported headphones?

Has anyone tried the M4 headphone jack with wired Apple headphones?

I've tried to activate "Hey Siri" on a M1 Mac mini with

- older wired Apple headphones with 3.5mm jack
- newer wired Apple headphones with USB-C
- several USB microphones
- a webcam microphone

and none of them is working with "Hey Siri".

That means I have to activate Siri manually with a shortcut - and then click on the microphone. Now the microphone is working and I get a response from Siri, but it's really annoying that I can't just say "Hey Siri".

I've also tried it with Apple Airpods - and it's working flawlessly but I don't want to use Bluetooth headphones the whole day.

I just noticed that when using the "Globe S" shortcut and pressing it longer, the microphone is getting activated at least. So you don't have to manually activate it. Still not very satisfying...
 
Last edited:
Apple has updated "Listen for "Hey Siri"" by adding

"When Studio Display or supported headphones are connected".

So, the question is still which devices are supported exactly?

A list with names and model numbers would be helpful, and I still don't get why I can't use a regular USB microphone.
 
This seems like a very annoying way to sell more of the studio displays, however as Siri has not evolved in all those years it is still a third party display for me
 
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