Siri requires iPhone unlock for tasks previously allowed when locked after iOS 27 update

Ever since I upgraded to iOS 27, my iPhone requires that I unlock it now to complete tasks that didn't require it before. If it is through Siri, I get "You'll need to unlock your iPhone first." These are tasks that haven't required that I unlock my phone for years until now. What's truly maddening is that some tasks are denied intermittently. Siri will some times not require I unlock my iPhone and other times it does

Here are some items, most of them happen intermittently

BMW Apple Car Key UWB
Wireless CarPlay, asking Siri to open an app
Deleting alarms via Siri
Adjusting HomeKit lights via Siri
Adding a reminder (like a grocery item to my grocery list) via Siri. This seems to pretty consistently deny my requests now

And yes, I already checked that Siri is enabled under "Allowed Access When Locked." These tasks never required my phone to be unlocked before. And for most of them, sometimes Siri will do the task while my phone is locked and sometimes it won't.

This is driving me crazy. Anything else I can try, or do I have to wait until Apple releases an update to fix this?

I have an iPhone 15 Pro

iPhone 15 Pro, iOS 27

Posted on Sep 29, 2026 1:56 PM

Top-ranking reply

Joseph Delaney

Level 4

1,112 points

Posted on Oct 10, 2026 10:08 AM

Siri AI definitely has stricter security settings then Siri Classic does - so unfortunately the only way to revert to the earlier behavior is to switch back to Siri Classic (at least for the moment, I expect to see refinements in future updates).

Short of going back to Siri Classic, you may be able to have some success by altering what you ask for a little bit. The new security requirements seem to be focused on existing items, but asking for new items continue to work. For example:

"Siri, add milk to my grocery list" (works immediately in Classic Siri, asks for phone to be unlocked with Siri AI)
"Siri, remind me to buy milk" (works in all versions of Siri, no need to unlock)
"Siri, change my meeting alarm to 3:00 pm" (works immediately with Classic, requires unlock with AI)
"Siri, set a 3:00 pm meeting alarm" (works in all versions, no need to unlock)

The big drawback is that you may end up with reminders on the wrong list, or multiple alarms with the same name - but at least you get something.

What I find most frustrating about the change in this behavior happens when using Siri hands-free. For instance, with my iphone in my pocket while wearing AirPods, saying "Siri, add milk to my grocery list" will cause the phone to attempt to unlock, face id fails, and a dialog box is put on the screen - as long as this stays on screen, Siri is unresponsive, and it becomes impossible to use the phone hands-free for several minutes (or until you pick up the phone and tap the dialog)

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17 replies

Odysseus42 Author

Level 1

30 points

Sep 29, 2026 2:45 PM in response to Mac Jim ID

I just tried that and force restart did not make a difference either. Have you tried adding an item to your reminder list or deleting an alarm using Siri from the lock screen? Does it work for you?

Sep 29, 2026 3:06 PM in response to Odysseus42

I think Mac Jim ID said what needed to be said and I don't have anything more to add.

Siri requires iPhone unlock for tasks previously allowed when locked after iOS 27 update