One feature introduced in iOS 8 was “Hey Siri”, which allows users to activate Siri by saying the phrase without touching their iPhone, as long as the device is plugged into a power source. However, here are some tricks to get “Hey Siri” working without your iPhone having to be plugged in.
iOS 8 was released in September last year along with the release of the iPhone 6. One of the biggest new features of iOS 8 was the ability to use Siri without touching your iPhone. All you have to do is say “Hey Siri” and then say a command. You don’t need to hold down the home button to use Siri.
Of course, this works when you plug your iPhone into a power source, whether it’s on your computer or a regular wall outlet. This is because Siri listening all the time can significantly reduce battery life; so Apple requires your iPhone to be plugged in whenever you want to use Hey Siri.
However, there are a few tricks you can use that can activate the Hey Siri feature without being plugged into a power source. They may not be the most convenient methods, but they definitely work.
Leave Siri On
A really easy way to activate Hey Siri without being plugged into a power source is to essentially leave Siri on after you give an initial request/command.
To do this, open Siri by holding down the Home button and say a command. After Siri gives you a response and stops actively listening, leave it on and you can say “Hey Siri” after which it will respond. From there you can say a command or make a request.
Siri will continue to listen and respond to “Hey Siri” as long as you leave Siri turned on. When you turn off Siri, you have to manually turn it back on, say a start command, wait for it to respond, and then start again using Hey Siri.
Using a Battery Box
Hey Siri requires connecting to a power source, so you can use a battery case to somehow circumvent this requirement. When your battery case is charging your iPhone, it will think that the device is connected to a power source (technically it is). This means you can use Hey Siri.
With your iPhone technically plugged in, you’re not connected to an outlet or your computer, and you can navigate freely using Hey Siri. The only downside is you’ll need a battery case for this particular trick to work. Battery cases aren’t particularly cheap, as they start at around $80.
Incipio’s OffGRID Express battery case is one of the best we’ve tested and costs $80.
Jailbreaking Your iPhone
If your iPhone is jailbroken, the process is a little easier to activate Hey Siri without plugging in your device. An iOS 8 Cydia tweak called UntetheredHeySiri enables voice activation with or without your iPhone plugged in.
This is perhaps one of the biggest jailbreak tweaks we’ve seen for Siri, considering that not all users have their iPhones or iPads plugged in all the time, being able to use Hey Siri anytime is a great feature to have, especially. something that can be easily enabled with a jailbreak tweak.