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Siri Shortcuts Not Working Properly For Some iPhone Users [Fixed]

Wednesday December 5, 2018 4:11 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
It's not just you: it appears that Siri Shortcuts have not been working properly for some iPhone users since as early as Tuesday.


A small but increasing numbers of users on Twitter and the MacRumors forums claim that they are unable to invoke shortcuts using Siri, including Federico Viticci of MacStories and Rene Ritchie of iMore. The shortcuts still work if executed directly from the Shortcuts app, but not with a Siri voice command.

The issue is not affecting all users, nor is it affecting all apps. Third-party apps appear to be affected more than Apple's apps. It also doesn't appear to be related to today's release of iOS 12.1.1 or Shortcuts version 2.1.2. Your mileage may vary, so leave us a comment in our forums if you are affected.


As with any cloud-based service interruption, Apple certainly has engineers working on a server-side fix. With the issue now receiving media attention, a fix shouldn't be far away. We'll update this article when it is implemented.

In the meantime, some users have been able to re-record their Siri Shortcuts phrases to get them working again. To do so, open the Shortcuts app, tap on the three dots on a shortcut, tap on the settings toggle icon below Done in the top-right corner, tap on Siri Phrase, and tap Re-Record Phrase.

Update: Apple has implemented a fix, according to Rene Ritchie.

Tags: Siri Guide, Shortcuts
[ 72 comments ]


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blacktape242
7 months ago
siri not working correctly....what else is new.
Rating: 16 Votes
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jarred125
7 months ago

That **** never worked for me. It’s such a stupid concept just let Siri do it for me. Programming Siri to do what I say is what Apple should do


Well having a bit of imagination helps with products like this. Workflow and now shortcuts is a fantastic product. Just don’t use it if you don’t like it, rather simple fix.
Rating: 5 Votes
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s15119
7 months ago

Its ok... nobody uses anything related to Siri. Haven't since 2011.


Actually, millions of people use Siri on a daily basis.
Rating: 4 Votes
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Statcoder
7 months ago
HEY APPLE - It's not a shortcut if it doesn't work. I've saved a total of 5 minutes using it over the past few months and have spent 10 minutes trying to get it to work over the past couple of days.
Rating: 4 Votes
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AstroRob
7 months ago

It sucked in 2011 and guess what? It still sucks in 2018. It has NOT improved in the 7 years its been out at all. That's why I always say when people use it, they can't be taken seriously. Its still in beta after all these years.


I really don't get where this kind of factually incorrect griping (hate?) comes from. Siri HAS improved significantly, and I know because I've been a user since it came out. New functionalities have been documented constantly on this and other sites. You claim it was DOA the day it came out and that you stopped using it. How can you know whether or not it has improved if you don't use it?

It can be taken seriously. It is useful. It is not 100% effective and correct in its responses, but the accuracy and flexibility has improved considerably over the years I've been using it. Sure, I wish it were more accurate, and want it to do more, but that doesn't mean it IS and always WILL BE of ZERO UTILITY.

I don't use a single piece of software or technology that doesn't crash or freeze up or glitch occasionally. But Siri seriously crossed over to significant utility years ago. Things I find of great utility and that are part of my daily routines include;

* quick math and unit conversions
* scheduling calendar events
* adding things to my shopping list
* opening apps
* controlling music and podcast playback (love to "skip ahead 90 seconds" to avoid ads)
* responding to texts (esp. hands-free in the car over my bluetooth system)
* Homekit control of my devices (it and Alexa are roughly equiv. in utility and I use them interchangeably)
* getting navigation guidance on the road
* looking up random information (something like an 70-80% hit rate of finding what I am looking for)

I suppose the fact that I have a Ph.D in physics, work at Caltech, and have followed technology my whole life can be rendered irrelevant (I "can't be taken seriously") because I've come to a different conclusion about a technology you don't like.
Rating: 3 Votes
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jarred125
7 months ago

It sucked in 2011 and guess what? It still sucks in 2018. It has NOT improved in the 7 years its been out at all. That's why I always say when people use it, they can't be taken seriously. Its still in beta after all these years.

It should be immediately disabled on any new iphone so it doesn't take away from the experience.


There’s that saying about opinions. How does it go again?
Rating: 2 Votes
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Scottsoapbox
7 months ago
OMG! we have to use our iPhones like it's (early) 2018! Oh the humanity!
Rating: 2 Votes
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haruhiko
7 months ago
Can't imagine this depends on a Web service. It seriously needs to support offline operation!
Rating: 2 Votes
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AstroRob
7 months ago

Its ok... nobody uses anything related to Siri. Haven't since 2011.

Uh, wrong, lots of people use it.

And if you haven't used it since 2011 you truly have no idea of what it does or how well it works. Funny thing about software underlying bleeding edge technologies: it actually tends to get better and more powerful over time.
Rating: 2 Votes
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mdatwood
7 months ago

The several million dollar question here is, "Why does Apple keep failing in the AI and ML spaces while Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are thriving?"


While Apple does not get a complete pass here, their stance on privacy does it make it harder. AI/ML requires data. Gathering and using that data while also maintaining privacy adds a complicated hurdle that the other companies care less about.
Rating: 2 Votes

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