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Siri Shortcuts Not Working Properly For Some iPhone Users [Fixed]

AstroRob said:
Uh, wrong, lots of people use it.

And if you haven't used it since 2011 you truly have no idea of what it does or how well it works. Funny thing about software underlying bleeding edge technologies: it actually tends to get better and more powerful over time.
Click to expand...

It sucked in 2011 and guess what? It still sucks in 2018. It has NOT improved in the 7 years its been out at all. That's why I always say when people use it, they can't be taken seriously. Its still in beta after all these years.

It should be immediately disabled on any new iphone so it doesn't take away from the experience.
 
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Mine stopped working this morning. I use an expression to trigger a Shortcut every day when I get to work: "I'm Here".

Today Siri just kept saying "Welcome Home!" Like...okay. I said "Play Overcast" (which triggers another shortcut) and it just asked me to unlock my iPhone and did nothing.
 
MattMJB0188 said:
It sucked in 2011 and guess what? It still sucks in 2018. It has NOT improved in the 7 years its been out at all. That's why I always say when people use it, they can't be taken seriously. Its still in beta after all these years.

It should be immediately disabled on any new iphone so it doesn't take away from the experience.
Click to expand...

There’s that saying about opinions. How does it go again?
 
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MattMJB0188 said:
It sucked in 2011 and guess what? It still sucks in 2018. It has NOT improved in the 7 years its been out at all. That's why I always say when people use it, they can't be taken seriously. Its still in beta after all these years.
Click to expand...

I really don't get where this kind of factually incorrect griping (hate?) comes from. Siri HAS improved significantly, and I know because I've been a user since it came out. New functionalities have been documented constantly on this and other sites. You claim it was DOA the day it came out and that you stopped using it. How can you know whether or not it has improved if you don't use it?

It can be taken seriously. It is useful. It is not 100% effective and correct in its responses, but the accuracy and flexibility has improved considerably over the years I've been using it. Sure, I wish it were more accurate, and want it to do more, but that doesn't mean it IS and always WILL BE of ZERO UTILITY.

I don't use a single piece of software or technology that doesn't crash or freeze up or glitch occasionally. But Siri seriously crossed over to significant utility years ago. Things I find of great utility and that are part of my daily routines include;
  • quick math and unit conversions
  • scheduling calendar events
  • adding things to my shopping list
  • opening apps
  • controlling music and podcast playback (love to "skip ahead 90 seconds" to avoid ads)
  • responding to texts (esp. hands-free in the car over my bluetooth system)
  • Homekit control of my devices (it and Alexa are roughly equiv. in utility and I use them interchangeably)
  • getting navigation guidance on the road
  • looking up random information (something like an 70-80% hit rate of finding what I am looking for)
I suppose the fact that I have a Ph.D in physics, work at Caltech, and have followed technology my whole life can be rendered irrelevant (I "can't be taken seriously") because I've come to a different conclusion about a technology you don't like.
 
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jarred125 said:
There’s that saying about opinions. How does it go again?
Click to expand...

Well when the vast majority of people complain about (online, in real life, on here) that kind of says a lot. Its not good software, its actually very bad. I see no improvement on my iPhone 8 versus my 4s running ios 6.
[doublepost=1544066426][/doublepost]
AstroRob said:
I really don't get where this kind of factually incorrect griping (hate?) comes from. Siri HAS improved significantly, and I know because I've been a user since it came out. New functionalities have been documented constantly on this and other sites. You claim it was DOA the day it came out and that you stopped using it. How can you know whether or not it has improved if you don't use it?

It can be taken seriously. It is useful. It is not 100% effective and correct in its responses, but the accuracy and flexibility has improved considerably over the years I've been using it. Sure, I wish it were more accurate, and want it to do more, but that doesn't mean it IS and always WILL BE of ZERO UTILITY.

I don't use a single piece of software or technology that doesn't crash or freeze up or glitch occasionally. But Siri seriously crossed over to significant utility years ago. Things I find of great utility and that are part of my daily routines include;
  • quick math and unit conversions
  • scheduling calendar events
  • adding things to my shopping list
  • opening apps
  • controlling music and podcast playback (love to "skip ahead 90 seconds" to avoid ads)
  • responding to texts (esp. hands-free in the car over my bluetooth system)
  • Homekit control of my devices (it and Alexa are roughly equiv. in utility and I use them interchangeably)
  • getting navigation guidance on the road
  • looking up random information (something like an 70-80% hit rate of finding what I am looking for)
I suppose the fact that I have a Ph.D in physics, work at Caltech, and have followed technology my whole life can be rendered irrelevant (I "can't be taken seriously") because I've come to a different conclusion about a technology you don't like.
Click to expand...

First off, don't throw your credentials out there. Your Ph.D doesn't mean baloney to me. And it certainly doesn't give you any more creditability with me versus a high school drop out on here. And I have used it recently, on my iPhone 8 plus and it spits out the same type of garbage it did 7 years ago, often not understanding me or getting it wrong. That's why its best if it just be disabled. Its pointless and its truly laughable when it goes out or its shortcuts stop working and people get all mad. I am one of the very few who gets off on that. I love reading when Apple fails, like the Xs/X4 ( a horribly designed smartphone IMO) doesn't sell well.

I suggest you read some of my other posts on these forums from the last 10 years and I'm sure you'll see I'm no fan of siri...
 
I had google assitant set up and it stopped working the next day. I have no clue how to re set it up and it just won’t work
 
I also use Siri daily for what it is consistently great at: adding items to my grocery list as I use them up (hands free via my watch), setting timers, queuing time or place reminders the very moment I think of them, starting navigation to the nearest Home Depot, and setting up FaceTime Audio calls. It is now so reliable at these tasks that when it does go wrong, it is very noticeable. Unlike with Alexa, I don’t have to phrase things in very specific ways. Siri seems to get the idea no matter how I word my request. That there is impressive.

On the flip side, more often than I’d like, when I ask Siri some trivia fact on my Watch Series 2, it says it can search the web for that on my iPhone. So for now I don’t bother with that kind of query and just use Siri for what is is great at.

Siri is neither HAL-9000 nor the ambient computer on Star Trek. If you expect that, you’ll be sorely disappointed with all of the current voice assistants.

I do look forward to Siri moving to local processing on my phone, as I see that as inevitable. As well, Siri will learn voice printing, context, and start providing key human conversational cues that will make it feel less like giving your dog commands and more like a genuine human assistant.

All that said, to suggest Siri hasn’t improved since 2011 is laughable. It will continue to improve, and I think we’ll be amazed at the progress in another five years. I do understand why some folks dislike Siri, though: the talking to your dog feeling, and if this were a real human assistant you wrote a weekly paycheck to, you might think about giving it the pink slip. The rest of us will use the tool for what it’s good at!
 
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The problem for me is "Hey Siri" is unresponsive after running my shortcut.

I say drive to work, then Waze and my playlist launch, but when I say "Hey Siri" thereafter, it ceases to respond.

This has been ever since 12.1
 
AstroRob said:
Uh, wrong, lots of people use it.

And if you haven't used it since 2011 you truly have no idea of what it does or how well it works. Funny thing about software underlying bleeding edge technologies: it actually tends to get better and more powerful over time.
Click to expand...
Siri has been in a standstill since it's launch while the competition has improved tremendously. Siri is like a Fisher Price toy compared to its Google and Amazon counterparts.
 
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I just updated my Xs to new iOS and i can no longer see my Apple TV in the list! Even though i am on same wifi network, it doesnt show up!
 
There's barely an app I use that doesn't spend a minute consulting the internet EVERY time I switch to it!!
Even reading an ebook that only exists on my phone, didn't come from Apple, isn't being read on any other device - I have to wait an eternity while Books checks the internet, then lets me pick up where I was reading only minutes before.

The cloud is not the answer. Nobody wants it. It's cheaper for providers to implement, but it's not service in any recognisable sense.
I buy devices to run my stuff. I pay extra for the privilege. If everything comes from the internet… I'll pay $100 for a browser device for you to serve your crap to me in a crap service. A thousand dollar phone is not necessary for crap web services.
 
I have this problem. I'm glad there's an article confirming this. I too thought I was going crazy.
 
AstroRob said:
And my re-recording the Siri phrase only worked when I changed the phrase. Not sure if that's the magic bullet or not.
Click to expand...
I was able to use the same phrase but had to delete the Siri Shortcut and re-create it.

For those not clear on the matter, the Siri Shortcut is not the same thing as a Shortcut -- i.e. what you create in the Shortcuts app. You can edit Siri Shortcuts via Settings->Siri & Search->My Shortcuts or in the Shortcuts app by going to the settings for a shortcut and then to Siri Phrase. Either way takes you to the same screen where there is a Delete Shortcut link in red.
 
Last edited:
indiekiduk said:
Happened to me but I put it down to moving to a new XR by restoring backup. Re-recording the phrase made it work again.
Click to expand...

Re-recording seemed to work for me as well. FWIW, done with iOS 12.1.1 and Shorcuts 2.1.2

Edit: to be clear, I did change the phrase as well, which may have been the difference based on others’ replies here
 
MattMJB0188 said:
It sucked in 2011 and guess what? It still sucks in 2018. It has NOT improved in the 7 years its been out at all. That's why I always say when people use it, they can't be taken seriously. Its still in beta after all these years.

It should be immediately disabled on any new iphone so it doesn't take away from the experience.
Click to expand...

Siri has improved significantly for me over the years.

Maybe a trip to the Genius Bar can help you get squared away learning how to use it.
 
Shortcuts has more problems than just with Siri, well for me anyway.

Shortcuts fails to launch correctly from the widget screen.
When launching Shortcuts, and pressing a shortcut, eg Log Weight, it goes into the shortcut edit screen, not the input screen. Some other shortcuts in doesn't.

In the end I don't use Shortcuts, as it takes more time with these faults.
 
Sounds like Siri is working as properly as she ever did: Not hearing right, getting confused,
screwing the simplest sh*t up. She reminds me of my senile old relatives.
 
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