Incorrect Siri spoken response with 'British voice' on iOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and iPadOS 26

Question

Incorrect Siri spoken response with 'British voice' on iOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and iPadOS 26

*Bug still present on iOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26 and iPadOS 26 when using the "British voice" for spoken Siri responses.

When I wake Siri with the command, "New Message", when using Siri spoken response with either of the four "British" voices on offer, Siri incorrectly responds audibly with the individual letters, "H-J-U" instead of asking, "To who?".

The anomaly is though, Siri audibly responds correctly when using other language variations while in English (United Kingdom) if you select a different voice, i.e. American, Australian, Indian, Irish or South African from the other English options on offer.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Incorrect Siri spoken response

iPhone 11, iOS 26

Posted on Sep 16, 2025 12:54 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 16, 2025 11:37 AM in response to Dave_the_Drum

Hey @Dave_the_drum -

Others have reported experiencing a similar issue, although the specifics are a little different. For example, in their case I remember it being in combination with carplay. Here’s the thread, if you’re interested in following. why is siri. saying hju instead of who - Apple Community

Ironically, for them, it’s the American voices that are bugged. 🙄

In theory it should be straightforward bug fix. But, imo, it’s probably been assigned a low priority for resolution since so many issues critical to functionality have been cropping up following Apple Intelligence integration.

It sounds like you’ve done what you can since you’ve reported it already. Although, if you previously reported it through feedback assistant (ie, while ios26 was still in beta testing), then it’s probably worthwhile to report it again following the link @Ingo2711 shared. It’s actually a different reporting pipeline. This can help ensure the bug remains on Apple‘s radar.

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Answer 2

Oct 5, 2025 9:26 AM in response to lukairure46

Hi lukairure46, in answer to your specific question: no the latest iOS update to 26.0.1 didn’t immediately sort things out. I’m not sure exactly what time it got resolved. All I know is that based here in the UK; yesterday the bug was still there but early this morning it had been resolved and Siri no longer says in a British voice, “H-J-U” when asked to write a new message.

Regards,

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Answer 3

Ingo2711

Level 9

78,327 points

Sep 16, 2025 1:12 AM in response to Dave_the_Drum

Did you already report that directly to Apple by using the feedback links for those devices?

Product Feedback - Apple

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Answer 4

Sep 16, 2025 1:30 AM in response to Ingo2711

Hi, thanks for your reply. I walked into my local Apple Store to report the bug and got them to replicate it on one of their devices. I was surprised that they directed me to the apple website feedback link where I reported it recently, as I assumed that they would have a more 'direct' method of fast-tracking this issue up the support chain. I was hoping that it would have been rectified now the iOS has been upgraded to iOS 26 but sadly not, as the bug is still there.

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Answer 5

Oct 5, 2025 6:31 AM in response to Dave_the_Drum

Hey @DavetD -

Thx for following up! Resolution feedback is actually extremely helpful, but rarely provided.

Could you provide a quick clarification (see below)?

Dave_the_Drum wrote:

I'm pleased to report that this issue appears to have been resolved

Following iOS update to v26.0.1, correct?

Cheers (:

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Answer 6

Oct 5, 2025 3:52 AM in response to Dave_the_Drum

I'm pleased to report that this issue appears to have been resolved for now when using the 'British Voice's'. Thank you 'Apple'.

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