Here’s how to use “Hey Siri” on Mac

Hey Siri in macOS works in two ways

Siri on the Mac can be activated in several ways, for example via the Siri icon in the menu bar or with a key combination. You can also use “Hey Siri,” but how this works depends on the type of Mac you have. If your Mac is equipped with a second-generation T2 security chip or newer, Hey Siri is always supported. If not, you will have to use the Studio Dipslay, suitable headphones or a workaround.

• Newer Macs (from 2018 + iMac Pro)
• Older Macs

“Hey Siri” on newer Macs

Siri is an easy way to access all kinds of information on your Mac without having to touch the keyboard. For example, use Siri on the Mac to ask about the weather, set a reminder, or request documents you worked on last week. You can pin the results to Notification Center.

Hey Siri is available on these Mac models without any extra detours:

• MacBook Pro 2018 and newer

• MacBook Air 2018 and newer

• iMac Pro

• iMac 2020 and newer

• Apple Studio Display with a connected Mac

So it works on all Mac models with an Apple T2 chip. This is an extra security chip for your personal data. This means that your voting data cannot be retrieved by hackers.

If you have an Apple Studio Display, you can also use hands-free Hey Siri, even if your MacBook is not in the above list. That means you can use Hey Siri even with a 2016 MacBook Pro or 2017 iMac, as long as it’s connected to the Studio Display.

If you have one of these models, you can set up Hey Siri on the Mac as follows:

1. Go to System Preferences > Siri.
2. Check the Listen for “Hey Siri” option.
3. Follow the steps on the screen and speak the examples.

“Hey Siri” on an old Mac with headphones or workaround

On the older Macs, Hey Siri is not natively supported. If you still want to activate hands-free Siri, you will have to use the Studio Display, a suitable headset or workaround.

• With studio display
• Headphones
• Workaround

With studio display

As mentioned earlier, you can also use the Apple Studio Display. Simply connect your Mac to this screen and you can enable the Hey Siri option by following the steps above. This is possible thanks to the A13 chip in the Studio Display, which can control the processing of the Hey Siri command. These are the models that work with the Studio Display:

• MacStudio

• Mac mini 2018 or newer

• Mac Pro 2019 or newer

• iMac 2017 or newer
• iMac Pro
• MacBook Pro 2016 or newer

• MacBook Air 2018 or newer

If you don’t have a Studio Display, there are two other options.

Through headphones

Do you use headphones with your Mac? Then you can use it to call up the assistant without buttons. This option only appears on older Macs and obviously only works if the headphones with microphone are actually connected. Suitable headphones include the AirPods, AirPods Max, and some Beats headphones. Is there a mute button on your microphone? Then turn it off. This is how you set up Siri:

1. Go to System Preferences > Siri.
2. Check the Listen for “Hey Siri” on headphones option.
3. Optionally, choose whether Siri can also be activated with a locked Mac. This option appears when you follow step 2.

When you work this way, Siri won’t let you recite examples to get to know your voice. After all, your Mac does not have a T2 chip and cannot store your voice data securely enough. Therefore, your Mac may not always be able to hear you properly. Other people can also activate it if they talk to their iPhone in your area, for example. You don’t have to worry about your security, because your voice is not stored locally.

Through a workaround

Have an old Mac and don’t use headphones? Then there is another option to activate Hey Siri on your Mac. Please note: this is not an official way and it does not always work well. Still, it may be worth a try. This is how you set it up:

1. Open System Preferences on your Mac.
2. Go to Accessibility and click on Voice control in the left column.
3. Check the Enable Voice Control box.
4. Click Commands in the bottom right, then click the plus sign in the bottom left.
5. In the text box, type “Hey Siri.” You may also choose a completely random word, such as ‘banana’.
6. In the bottom list, select Open Finder items and select Siri.app from the App folder.

Now saying “Hey Siri” will activate Siri on the Mac. You can also use another command like “OK Siri” or “Hello Siri”. This dictation function can respond a little slower than what you are used to on the iPhone. The downside is that this function also doesn’t take your voice into account, so if you’re in an office with several colleagues, you can be bothered by each other’s voice control.

Note: when you are working in a text field, the command will not work. Instead, your Mac thinks you want to dictate what you want to type. So make sure you are out of a text field when you want to use this command.

Now that you’ve set up “Hey Siri,” you can remove the Siri icons from the menu bar and dock, as you may no longer need them. Another option is to set a keyboard shortcut for “Hey Siri.”