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Voice Control Keeps on Activating

Hi, I just got the iphone4 and went performing the normal sync. Upon completion, suddenly the voice control gets activated without being called upon. It does that all the time and it's getting annoying.

How can I get rid of this?

Iphone 4, iOS 4, nil

Posted on Aug 31, 2010 1:59 AM

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Posted on Apr 23, 2017 9:35 AM

People keep suggesting that turning off Siri fixes the problem but for many people this isn't working. I turned off Siri a month ago and now I have the exact same problem with voice control

Activating randomly... like whenever I move my phone with headphones in. My podcasts also speed up and slow down or stop playing randomly.... this only happens when I listen to podcasts which ***** because I listen to them every day on my walks.... I've tried 3 different pairs of headphones so the only thing I can think of now is maybe the wires are loose in all 3? This is getting ridiculous... i also can't believe that someone from Apple hasn't chimed in yet with a solution as I believe this thread started in 2013.

111 replies

May 1, 2014 6:14 AM in response to Misselvee

I have the same problem. I have an iPhone 5 and since I did the upgrade my phone is doing it's own thing. I am on the phone and suddenly my ipod begans to play or I loss the call. This is frustrating. Does anyone know how to fix this. Is it related to the iPhone headphone because I like using my iPhone headphones I can hear better when i use them. I think Apple should fix the concern instead of the users doing work arounds.

May 1, 2014 7:30 AM in response to bonitaanderson

Its definitely related to headphones. I switched headphones (still use very cheap ones but not Apple's) and it stopped doing it. If it were still happening to me I'd take it in to the genius bar (with a link to this discussion) because i think some people have had luck having the headphone jack replaced. Or insist on a replacement phone. this is a hardware issue. good luck.

May 3, 2014 5:17 PM in response to Lance Chong

Very frustrated by this problem with my iPhone 5: Siri/Voice Control Activating, calling/facetiming random contacts (very embarrassing), music playing, applications closing. Originally, I was able to prevent it from actually executing voice control dialing, but later lost the ability to disable that functionality upon upgrading to the latest OS (why Apple would prevent the user from disabling with the latest OS is beyond me.)


After my first call to Apple, the representative suggested upgrading my software. Oddly enough she said that the engineers did not have any cases on record as to the issue being more widespread. Needless to say, I didn't believe what I was told. Despite my disbelief, I went ahead an did the software upgrade, but that did not resolve the problem.


The problem continued for a few days, intermittently I should add, which makes it even more frustrating as you think you may be out of the woods, only to be returned to the sobering reality. One evening my entire interface froze, requiring me to perform a hard shut down. During my second call to Apple, the rep explained how I could visit an Apple store and have them run a diagnostic. He also explained the possibility of needing to replace the entire phone.


I finally found time to visit the Apple store. I explained to the Genius (as they are called) the nature of the problem. He quickly agreed that the problem was likely a faulty home button. The tech did a really quick home button replacement for a relatively decent price (wouldn't you know that I am 4 months past my warranty so I had to pay out of pocket). I left thinking the problem was finally fixed.


The problem was not fixed...


Just 5 days later, the problem resumed. I plan to return to the Apple store tomorrow. Unfortunately, I'm not confident that there will be a simple fix. I resent possibly having to buy a replacement phone for what I can only think of as a non-isolated product defect.


To top it off, Apple has announced its iPhone 5 Sleep/Wake Button Replacement Program. https://ssl.apple.com/support/iphone5-sleepwakebutton/


How about a program to resolve our issue?

May 18, 2014 10:03 PM in response to Lance Chong

iPhone 4 has just gone psycho on me!

Home button has always had issues. I actually use the assistive touch screen button and have just dealt with it. Thought I had gotten a little water in it the other day but nothing major.The last 2 days have been ****. Whether the phone is locked or not, being used or not, voice control randomly comes on and calls (and facetimes) random contacts at all hours of the day. Most of them people that I don't want to call especially at 2am. Last straw today was leaving a 5 minute message on my friends voicemail in LA (I live in Canada) whom I never called. It was a recording of me ******** about my phone to a guy at work?

Reading through all these threads it seems to me that there is no rhyme nor reason to any of it. Some people say it's hardware. Some say it's headphones.I rarely have ever used headphones and certainly not in the last 2 months.Some say to clean the charge connector. Some say to disable siri (don't have it on the iphone 4) There is no "settings" fix around!! Take it from someone who has read threads on this for HOURS! Everyone from iPhone 4 up to 5s are having these issues. I purchased a new home button and am going to dissect my phone tomorrow. I'm so frustrated that I don't really care if I screw it up now but will let you know the outcome. Frankly I believe we are looking at a software glitch if it is affecting so many different models. Wish me luck

May 19, 2014 2:40 PM in response to Lance Chong

So...I replaced my home button this morning. Took about 90 minutes. Not for the faint at heart. Quite extensive and nitpicky but doable. I replaced the battery as well. Turned it on and home button clicking nicely just like new with proper app switching and closing.......however, Voice Control problem still there. Within 4 minutes it had already dialed someone. VERY frustrated. Phone is powered off and useless now. Guess I will have to upgrade to a new phone but my fear is that apple will actually acknowledge there is a serious glitch (possibly from one of the recent ios updates) and create a fix. This will come out 2 days after my purchase 😝

Jun 16, 2014 4:22 PM in response to Kaybays

I'm having the identical problem, and similar frustrations as Kaybays.


My first trip to an Apple Store resulted in a replaced Home button, to no avail. My phone remains possessed, randomly activating Voice Control, calling people from my contacts, and spontaneously playing music. (Luckily we have the same tastes.)


Today on my second trip to an Apple store, the suggested fix was a screen replacement, $100+ out of my pocket. I balked. The fact that this discussion thread started 3 and a half years ago and has over 110,000 views makes it clear that this is a manufacturing problem, and apparently a large scale one at that. Like others here, I resent having to pay out of pocket due to Cupertino's inattention to this longstanding hardware issue.

Jun 16, 2014 4:31 PM in response to TSF429

do you have a 4s or 5s? since my problem went away when i upgraded to a 5s, i'd insist on a new phone. my 4s was possessed and it drove me crazy, especially since i listen to audiobooks with one earbud when i'm going to sleep and all of the sudden voice control would jar me awake. this is a truly unacceptable situation. good luck.

Jun 16, 2014 4:49 PM in response to lopine

I have an iPhone 5. I did speak to a manager today, but could not get him to budge about replacing my phone. However, I didn't see this discussion until later, when I got home and searched to see if others have had similar problems. I'll try again, using this thread as evidence that my problem is far from an isolated instance. Thanks for the advice!

Sep 28, 2014 8:28 PM in response to Kaybays

I had generally the same problem, apps closing, music stopping, that stupid U2 album randomly playing, and the voice control showing up every 3 seconds. I tried turning my phone off and on again a few times and it still happened. I did two things and I don't know what worked because the happened at the same time. I updated to the most recent update and cleaned out my headphone jack with a cotton swab, I haven't noticed the problem, so maybe if you try one of these things it could help. If it doesn't well at least you know what doesn't work

Oct 10, 2014 7:55 AM in response to Lance Chong

My 5S also keeps randomly activating SIRI (to me it's a stupid app anyway) and phoning random numbers from my phone book.

Before I even updated the iOS to 8, this was happening. I though iOS 8 would solve ALL PROBLEMS.

The **** phone wouldn't even switch off, I couldn't even unlock the screen. Somehow or other it came right and now I'm waiting in baited breath for the whole flippen lot to happen again.

What makes this so bitter, it's my first iphone. I should have actually kept on with the Android device (i.e. Samsung)


Has anyone a suggestion to this tale of woe?

Voice Control Keeps on Activating

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