Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
If dictation and Siri do not respond on Apple Watch, there are usually several causes: no internet on the watch, Siri is turned off on the iPhone or the Watch, Hey Siri is turned off, the microphone or speaker is covered by a case, or the voice pack has not finished downloading. The solution is to go through 6 checks: from the internet and Siri settings to removing the case and restarting the watch.
If dictation and Siri do not respond to voice at all on Apple Watch, neither by the button nor by the phrase Hey Siri, Apple names several typical causes for this case, and almost all of them can be checked in a few minutes.
What it looks like for the user
Usually it looks like this: pressing the side button of the Apple Watch either triggers nothing, or starts Siri, which does not react at all to the spoken phrase; the listening indicator either does not appear at all or appears and goes out at once with no result. The voice phrase Hey Siri may also not work, even if it worked normally before.
From the outside it looks like a broken watch, although most often the problem is in one of several independent settings or physical obstructions: from the internet being off on the Watch to a case accidentally covering the microphone or speaker.
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Voice input and Siri do not respond to speech or commands | The official list of causes: no internet connection on the Watch, Siri is turned off on the iPhone or Watch, “Hey Siri” is turned off, the microphone/speaker is physically blocked by a case, the voice pack has not finished downloading. | 1) check the internet on the Watch; 2) turn on Siri in Watch Settings and iPhone Settings → Siri; 3) turn on “Listen for Hey Siri”; 4) remove the case from the microphone/speaker; 5) for Series 3+ leave the Watch to charge on Wi-Fi overnight; 6) restart the Watch. |
What actually broke
Nothing physically breaks. Apple names five typical causes for this situation, and any of them alone fully explains why dictation and Siri stay silent. The watch may have no internet connection even though the iPhone nearby is online: Siri and dictation on the Watch depend on the watch's own connection, and not only on the link with the phone. Separately, Siri may be turned off either on the iPhone or on the watch itself, and the settings do not always sync automatically. Hey Siri is another separate setting, turned on by itself, independent of Siri in general. Finally, the microphone or speaker may be physically covered by a case, and if the watch is brand new, the voice pack for speech recognition may not have finished downloading yet.
Similar Siri and dictation failures on Apple devices are collected in the review of Apple voice input errors.
How to get it working again
- Check the internet on the Apple Watch itself, separately from the iPhone: dictation and Siri on the Watch need their own connection, and not only a link with a phone nearby.
- Turn on Siri in two places: in the Watch settings (Settings on the watch) and in iPhone Settings → Siri. If it is off in at least one of the places, Siri on the watch may not respond.
- Separately turn on Listen for Hey Siri: this is an independent setting that does not coincide with the general switch of Siri.
- Check whether a case physically covers the microphone or speaker of the watch, and remove it if it does.
- For Apple Watch Series 3 and newer, leave the watch to charge on Wi-Fi overnight: this helps finish downloading the voice pack if it did not finish.
- Restart the Apple Watch and check by voice again: after a restart the watch reapplies the Siri and microphone settings.
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Free
- Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed
- Pro
- Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly
- Payment
- Russian bank cards, rubles
- Where speech is recognized
- cloud, servers in Russia; internet required
Potok is a cloud service: speech is recognized on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. Download: potok.now/download
Who this way does not suit
This way does not suit you if you need dictation not on the watch but on a computer: Potok has no version for Apple Watch, it is a cloud service only for Windows, macOS and Linux, which recognizes speech on servers in Russia and does not work without the internet either. If after all the steps Siri on the watch still did not start working, look at the alternatives to dictation on Apple Watch.
Frequently asked questions
Yes: for Apple Watch Series 3 and newer, Apple separately recommends leaving the watch to charge on Wi-Fi overnight. This helps finish downloading the voice pack, without which dictation and Siri may not respond to speech.
Turn on Dictation: Apple menu → System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation. Then put the cursor in a text field, start dictation with the microphone key (if there is one in the row of function keys), the dictation keyboard shortcut or Edit → Start Dictation, and begin speaking.
It depends on the Mac. On a Mac with Apple silicon, ordinary text dictation (messages, notes, but not the search field) is processed on the device; on Intel Macs and in some scenarios the sound goes to Apple servers, and then the internet is needed. You can see exactly in System Settings → Keyboard: under the Dictation item it says whether the internet is needed and whether speech is processed on the device.
It depends on the Mac. On a Mac with Apple silicon, ordinary text dictation (messages, notes, but not the search field) is processed on the device; on Intel Macs and in some scenarios the sound goes to Apple servers, and then the internet is needed. You can see exactly in System Settings → Keyboard: under the Dictation item it says whether the internet is needed and whether speech is processed on the device.
Yes. The macOS system Dictation is also on Intel Macs; on Intel Macs the sound for recognition goes to Apple servers, so the internet is needed. Potok is an app for Windows, macOS and Linux, and it works on Intel Macs.
It depends on the Mac: on a Mac with Apple silicon, ordinary text dictation (messages, notes, but not the search field) is processed on the device and is not sent to Siri servers; this can be seen in System Settings → Keyboard under the Dictation item. Whether Apple stores recordings of your dictations is decided by the Improve Siri & Dictation switch in Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements.
If you want to compare for yourself
Take one of your own tasks and dictate it in Potok. The first 14 days have no limits and need no card. Potok is a cloud service: speech is recognized on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokThe Potok subscription also includes the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: forward it a voice message or a long meeting recording and it returns the text. Without a subscription the bot gives 60 minutes per month for free.
Built-in dictation and Potok
| Tool | Where it works | Russian language | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows voice typing (Win+H) | Windows 10 and 11 | Windows 11 only | Microsoft cloud, does not work offline |
| macOS Dictation | macOS | yes | on the device or on Apple servers |
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | primary language | cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline |
Primary sources: support.apple.com · support.microsoft.com