Did Apple remove the option to have Siri speak responses “Only with Hey Siri” from Settings .. Siri Responses? I can’t find this setting since updating to 16.0 and audible responses for simple commands is proving disruptive and, at times, destructive even in the “Automatic” setting.
iPhone 12 Pro, iOS 16
Change how Siri responds
Siri can respond out loud or silently (with text onscreen). You can also see your request onscreen. Go to Settings > Siri & Search, then do any of the following: Change when Siri provides voice responses: Tap Siri Responses, then choose an option below Spoken Responses.
I also do not care to have Siri speak its responses aloud. Prior to iOS 16 one used to be able to keep Siri from responding aloud through the iPhone speaker by setting the “Hands-Free Only” option in Siri’s preferences. That setting is not present in iOS 16 … the only options are “Automatically” or “Prefer Spoken Responses", neither of which (frustratingly) hush Siri up. Even when the phone is held up to my ear the "on-device intelligence" didn't discern that I prefer not to have my eardrums blasted by the spoken responses.
(SIGH) Another useful setting removed for no (apparent) reason.
BUT, although one cannot mute Siri completely one can make Siri speak so softly as to be practically inaudible.
The trick is to have Siri look up something lengthy (“Siri, what is the Gettysburg address?”) and then have Siri read the entry it returns. WHILE SIRI IS SPEAKING lower the volume using the button on the left side until it is as low as it can go. Now Siri speaks so softly you can’t really hear it.
Other sound levels for the device ... ringer, music playback, and so on ... should be unaffected.
So far this hasn’t affected hearing Siri through my AirPods and hopefully won’t affect CarPlay. I did report the issue to Apple.
iOS 16 - Disabling Siri Spoken Responses - Apple Community
That isn’t helpful. It’s just a copy + paste from the help page..
What options in Siri Responses do you see, and which option silences Siri?
Siri won’t be silent anymore?
