Digital assistant driving you nuts? How to get Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant to pipe down
Digital assistants are helpful gadgets to have around the house and on the go. They can help you with the weather, the traffic on the road, daily reminders, music suggestions, morning routines and more.
More vehicles are equipped with technology to better sync your phone to your cars, such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This also makes it easier to use your voice assistant on the road. While this can be useful, what’s the legality of talking to your phone’s smart assistant while driving? Tap or click here to find out.
Sometimes your smart assistant is just too loud. You’re walking down the street and you pull out your phone and quietly ask to read off your shopping list. Your assistant then rattles off the unmentionables you need. The same can happen with your smart speakers at home. Read on for steps to muting smart assistants or turning them down.
Simmer down, Siri
You can direct when Siri can speak and when she’ll remain silent, as well as control her volume. Here’s how to do it from your iPhone:
- Open Settings > Accessibility > Siri and select When Silent Mode is Off. Siri will speak if Silent Mode is off when using “Hey Siri” or when connected to a Bluetooth device or CarPlay.
- Select Only with “Hey Siri” on the same screen and Siri will speak only when you use “Hey Siri” or when connected to a Bluetooth device or CarPlay.
- Use the volume buttons on the side of your phone to control Siri’s volume.
- Say “Hey Siri, speak quieter” to lower the assistant’s volume.
You can also change Siri’s voice settings from your Mac:
- Go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Siri.
- Toggle Voice Feedback off to mute Siri. Her responses will still be shown in the Siri window.
- When Siri is speaking, click the Volume control in the menu bar and drag the slider to adjust the volume.
- You can also use the volume keys on your keyboard.
You can control Siri’s voice feedback and volume from your Apple Watch:
- Open Settings > Siri and select Control With Silent Mode or Headphones Only.
- Say “Hey Siri, speak quieter” to lower her volume.
- Go to Settings > Siri > Voice Volume – Speaker and adjust as needed.
- You can also tap the slider, then turn the Digital Crown.
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Not so loud, Alexa
15 new Alexa commands you’ll wish you knew about sooner
Alexa may very well be the ultimate smart home companion. She does it all: she keeps track of our schedule, entertainment, and even our kitchen timer are all taken care of when she’s on the job.
According to Amazon, there are more than 50,000 unique tasks and commands that you can entrust this energetic little bot with. You probably know the usual suspects like asking Alexa for today’s weather or to call your mother, for example. She’s capable of so much more than adjusting the volume, though.
A simple way to fix one of Alexa's most annoying behaviors
Virtual assistants like Alexa are helpful gadgets to have around the house. They can help you with the weather, the traffic on the road, or daily reminders. Tap or click here for three great Alexa tricks. But while they do have volume controls, their responses can be rather loud.
The 5 most annoying Alexa problems, solved
Smart speakers are great for listening to your favorite tunes, but they can do so much more. Thanks to voice assistants, a smart speaker can tell you the weather, give you a traffic report, answer random questions, set your thermostat, turn off the lights and turn on the TV. And more features are being added by developers all the time.