Using Vocal Shortcuts, you can record specific phrases that trigger actions on your iPhone. In many cases, there’s no need for a Vocal Shortcut when you can ask Siri to perform the same action, but there are some occasions where only a Vocal Shortcut will do the job.

1 Giving Siri a New Name

No self-respecting geek would turn down the opportunity to change Siri’s name to that of a famous talking computer from popular culture. Depending on your age, you might wish that Siri was called HAL, J.A.R.V.I.S., KITT, or some other equally geeky name.

For as long as it’s been possible, I’ve changed the wake word on all my Alexa devices to “Computer” rather than “Alexa” so I could feel more like the captain of the Enterprise. With Vocal Shortcuts, I can do the same for Siri, having the voice assistant respond whenever I say “Computer.”

Go to Settings > Accessibility. Scroll down to the “Speech” section and select “Vocal Shortcuts.”

Tap “Set Up Vocal Shortcuts” (or “Add Action” if you’ve created shortcuts before) and then “Continue.”

On the “Choose Action” screen, scroll down and select “Siri.”

Type the phrase you want to use to trigger Siri. In this example, I’ll be using “Computer.”

Say the phrase that you want to use three times. You don’t need to tap anything as your iPhone is already listening.

Once you’ve recorded the phrase three times, your Vocal Shortcut is ready to go. Say “Computer” and Siri will launch.

If you turn up the geek even further, you can create a shortcut called “Earl Grey, Hot” that turns on the smart plug for your kettle. Then all you need to do is say “Computer, Earl Grey, Hot” and your kettle will switch on. It will have to do until Apple starts selling replicators.

2 Streamlining Frequent Requests

A lot of the time, creating a Vocal Shortcut is overkill when you can ask Siri to do most tasks. However, if there are requests you use multiple times a day, a Vocal Shortcut can make things more efficient, as you won’t have to keep saying “Siri” or “Hey Siri” all the time.

For example, if you use timers on your iPhone to make you more efficient using the Pomodoro Technique, having to say “Hey Siri, start a timer for 25 minutes” each time you want to do a block of focused work can soon get boring.

Instead, you might want to create a shortcut in the Shortcuts app that starts a 25-minute timer. You can then use a Vocal Shortcut to run your timer shortcut whenever you want to focus on work.

Open the Shortcuts app and tap the “+” (plus) icon in the top right to create a new shortcut. Tap “Search Actions,” type “Start Timer” and select the “Start Timer” action from the results.

Tap “Duration” and enter the duration you want to focus for. Tap the name of the shortcut and select “Rename.” Give the shortcut a memorable name and tap “Done” to save it.

Navigate to Settings > Accessibility and select “Vocal Shortcuts.”

Tap “Set Up Vocal Shortcuts” or “Add Action” if you have already created a Vocal Shortcut.

Scroll down and select the timer shortcut you just created.

Enter a phrase to trigger the shortcut, and then record yourself saying it three times.

Now, whenever you say your trigger phrase, your timer will start, without having to keep saying “Hey Siri” every time. You can create another shortcut for a five-minute break timer or make your timer shortcut more complex so that the five-minute timer starts automatically once the other timer is finished.

3 Stopping Siri From Activating On All Devices

If you have multiple Apple devices, you may often be in the same room as several of them at once. When I’m writing, I usually have my iPhone, two Macs, and a HomePod mini around me. When I say “Hey Siri” all four devices start the familiar glowing colors, but my HomePod is always the one that answers, which isn’t always what I want.

You can use the method above to make Siri respond to “Computer” or any other phrase you wish. That way, when you trigger the Vocal Shortcut, Siri will only open on your iPhone rather than any of the other devices.

4 Ensuring Siri Understands Your Shortcut Requests

Another useful way to take advantage of Vocal Shortcuts is to stop Siri from misunderstanding your requests. Siri’s voice recognition has improved, but there are still times when it will misunderstand what you say and do something completely different. Nobody likes it when their request to play music is greeted with the response “Okay, calling Mom.”

If there are specific requests that Siri constantly misunderstands, you can create Vocal Shortcuts for those requests using a specific phrase.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Vocal Shortcuts. Tap “Set Up Vocal Shortcuts” or “Add Action” and then “Continue.”

On the “Choose Action” screen, select “Siri Request.”

Enter the request that you would normally speak aloud to Siri.

Enter the phrase you want to use to trigger the Siri request and record yourself saying it three times.

Now, whenever you say the trigger phrase, Siri will run your specific command.

5 Playing Practical Jokes

A silly but entertaining way to use Vocal Shortcuts is to play practical jokes. You can use a Vocal Shortcut to trigger a shortcut that will play a sound effect. Because you don’t need to say “Hey Siri,” you can trigger the sound effect without people realizing that you’re doing so.

For example, you can create a Vocal Shortcut that makes a fart sound whenever you say the word “sandwiches.” It may be childish, but it amused my kids for ages, as they couldn’t work out where the noise was coming from, or what was triggering it. Be careful with your choice of trigger phrase, however, in case you need to ask for sandwiches during an important business meeting.

Find a free sound effects website and download the sound effect you want to use to your iPhone. Open the Shortcuts app and tap the “+” (plus) icon to create a new shortcut. Tap “Search Actions,” type “File” and select the “File” action.

Tap “File” and select the downloaded sound effect file. Tap “Search Actions” again and type “Play Sound.” Select the “Play Sound” action from the results.

Tap the name of the shortcut, select “Rename,” and give the shortcut a memorable name. Tap “Done” to save it.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Vocal Shortcuts, tap “Set Up Vocal Shortcuts” or “Add Action” and then “Continue.”

On the “Choose Action” screen, scroll down and select the sound effect shortcut you just created.

Enter the phrase you want to trigger the sound effect shortcut and record yourself saying it three times.

Any time you say the trigger phrase, the shortcut will run, and the sound effect will play. For the best results, hide your iPhone somewhere away from where you are, and you can blame the sound on someone else.

Vocal Shortcuts is a useful accessibility feature that can be of use to almost anyone. There are some situations where Vocal Shortcuts can be more useful than relying on Siri alone. It’s worth it just to feel that little bit more like Jean-Luc Picard.