How to Change Siri's Voice and Accent

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Updated December 10, 2019

Siri's voice has become integral to the iPad and iPhone, but it's not the only one Siri is capable of producing. You can change its accent from American English to British English or several other available accents. You can also switch from a female voice to a male voice.

Instructions in this article apply to devices running iOS 9 or later or iPadOS 13 or later.

Choose a New Accent or Gender for Siri

Here's how to change Siri's voice.

Open Settings on your iPad.
Tap Siri & Search.
Tap Siri Voice.
The Siri Voice screen shows all the options for Siri's voice. It currently supports male and female voices with American, Australian, British, Irish, and South African accents.

Apple adds new voices periodically. For example, Apple added an Indian voice, as well, for English speakers, beginning with iOS 13 and iPadOS 13.
To preview the Siri voices, tap an Accent or Gender. Siri will say, "I'm Siri, your virtual assistant" in the voice and accent chosen.

After you choose a new Siri accent, the iPad downloads a file for the voice.

Change Siri's Language

There are a few hidden English accents in the language section such as English (India) and English (Ireland). You can also choose another language, which is great if you want to keep up your Spanish skills or use French.

To change Siri's language, go to the main Siri page (tap the Siri & Search link at the top of the screen) and choose Language. There are dozens of languages to choose from, including Chinese, Spanish, Russian, and Italian along with regional versions of most of them.

Siri will also listen for commands in these languages, so you'll need to speak Russian to get an accurate Russian reply.

Other Changes to Make to Siri

While in the Siri settings, you can also customize when and how you activate the digital assistant. Use these settings if you're concerned about privacy or don't plan to use Siri often.

Don't Allow Siri When Your Device Is Locked

By default, you can activate Siri when your iPhone or iPad is locked, which can be convenient. But it also lets anyone who picks up your device to activate Siri. It won't be able to launch apps without signing in, but it can place phone calls, set reminders, and show upcoming scheduled meetings.

Turn off 'Listen for Hey, Siri'

"Hey, Siri" can be great when you are in the car or at the computer and don't want to take the time to press the iPhone Home button. But it also means your device is constantly listening to you. This voice recording isn't sent to Apple, but it can use up battery power, so if you don't use "Hey, Siri," turn it off.