Q: Siri can't control phone functions

I too am experiencing this issue. Siri can understand make perfectly, but can't perform any tasks using the phone. Can't make calls or set a timer. It can search the net but that is about all. iPhone 6s 60GB - Rose gold. Tried everything that has been suggested on the thread so far! Just thought I would add my voice.

I've got the same issue on a brand new iPhone 6S.... Apple Tech Support tried several options including a "Reset All Settings" which worked for 5 minutes then the problem returned.... It would seem that the iPhone software is corrupt (possibly in my case from restoring a backup from my previous iPhone).

The latest solution which seems to be working is as follows:-

1. Back up iPhone to iTunes
2. Turn off "Find My iPhone"
3. Restore iPhone and select "Set up as new iPhone"
4. After completing the set up on the iPhone handset, connect to iTunes and transfer "Apps", "Music", "Photo's" and any other data. 
   DO NOT RESTORE FROM BACKUP (As this will copy the corrupt software back to the iPhone).
5. Back up iPhone to iTunes

This link from Apple discusses "Back Up and Restore" Use iTunes on your Mac or PC to restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

So far this has solved the problem for me 

Installing iOS 9.3 public beta 3 seemed to work for me..... So far

UPDATE:

In addition to my earlier post, I have now restored my iPhone form an earlier backup and Siri seems to be working without any problems.... So it seems possible to "Set up as new iPhone" and then "Restore from backup".

I trust this helps....

UPDATEs: ok I've had this issue from the end on January, finally have got it fixed!! Multiple restores and 2 Genius Bar visits. I have a solution.

IF like me a restore didn't help. You got to go to Apple Store and get them to install a firmware update, unfortunately you can do this yourself from what I know, once firmware update was installed I restored my iPhone from the computer back up. And bang! It's been working ever since .  Hope this helps

I have been having the same issue for months with iPhone 6S currently running iOS 9.2.1.  Siri refuses to set timers, call people, play songs that I ask it to play.  (Siri on a paired Apple Watch works just fine.)

I've tried disabling Siri and restarting, then re-enabling Siri.  It works for a few minutes then stops working.  I've also tried restoring the phone from a backup, but that doesn't work.  I'm not going to set the phone up as new, since that deletes years of Health data.

Same Problem here.  6 Plus with 128 gig - seems to be a big problem for them

I can also confirm that updating to iOS 9.3 beta fixes the Siri issues. It seems to be an issue that only affected some people on 9.2. Now that it is up to beta 5, I decided to give it a go and after two days, it is stable and Siri is working great again.

Turning Siri off in Settings, then restarting my phone, then turning Siri back on again has fixed the problem for me (at least temporarily). I was immediately able to create a Reminder after doing these steps.

Just to follow-up on this:

Turning Siri off in Settings, then restarting my phone, then turning Siri back on again has fixed the problem for me (at least temporarily). I was immediately able to create a Reminder after doing these steps.

It stopped working again within 10 minutes.

Having exactly the same problem and I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with the Internet connection or siri being turned off or not understanding what I say because I used to ask her the same things and it performed the tasks just fine. But ever since I got my new iPhone 6, 64GB – my old one was replaced because the mic didn't  work anymore – Siri isn't just the same and I keep getting "Sorry, I can't do that now" so annoyingly often. Restarting the phone is useless. It won't just fix the problem. I may try reseting the it which I didn't want to do. It's so annoying to have to through all the setting up process again, especially when you've just done it. What's going on with Apple?! Their products used to be so reliable. 

"I can't do that right now" is Siri's way of saying the app could not connect to the Siri server over the Internet.

That's exactly what I did. Just got a new phone from tech support and restored it from iCloud backup. I'm gonna try this. Last try before taking mine back to support. Thanks for sharing.

I finally upgraded to 9.3 beta - and it's working great after 3 days!  totally solved the issue for me.

Thanks for the help.

John

There’s a few threads on this same subject.  I have found a fix for this issue which worked for me, and I’d be keen to see if it works for other readers of this site.  Please see fix at https://discussions.apple.com/message/29907793#29907793.