Siri unable to answer calls using Siri despite "Announce Calls" set to Always

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Level 1

4 points

Siri unable to answer calls using Siri despite "Announce Calls" set to Always

According to Announce calls, messages, and more with Siri on iPhone - Apple Support (MN), "When a call comes in, Siri identifies the caller, and asks if you want to answer the call. Say “yes” to accept the call or “no” to decline it."

Siri does identify the caller, but it doesn't ask if you want to answer the call. We tried using "hey siri, answer call" but siri never responded while the call was incoming/ringing.

I'm writing this on behalf of my Dad who is blind, and needs this functionality to work. Hey Siri works fine everywhere else on the phone, but it is not working for answering calls.

Any advice please?

This is an iPhone SE, Model MHGQ3X/A running 17.4.1.

Posted on Apr 25, 2024 8:54 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 26, 2024 12:09 AM in response to dsits

"Announce calls" works on an Airpod or CarPlay very effectively. Which one are you using?

Please open the link provided by you again, you will see the first sentence which says
"Siri can announce calls and notifications from apps like Messages on supported headphones and when using CarPlay. You can answer or reply using your voice without needing to say “Hey Siri.”"

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Answer 2

Apr 26, 2024 12:10 AM in response to dsits

Unfortunately, iPhones don't currently allow announcing calls through the speakerphone by default without headphones or CarPlay. The "Announce Calls" feature with Siri is designed for privacy and works only with headphones or CarPlay for spoken information on incoming calls.

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Answer 3

dsits Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 26, 2024 6:31 PM in response to SravanKrA

The "Announce Calls" feature does in fact work through the speakerphone fine (so I don't see how this is a privacy issue), but it doesn't allow answering by voice which is very frustrating for my Dad. Once after a call, Siri said something like "you missed a call from xxx, would you like to call them back?" which was handy, but it only happened once.

I really don't undertand why Apple just don't support answering a call using voice in this situation. It would make it a much better experience for blind users. Any ideas why they don't support it?

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