The Loud Assistant
By default, when you raise your wrist and ask Siri a question on your Apple Watch, the digital assistant will answer you out loud using the watch’s built-in speaker. If you ask about the weather while walking outside, this is helpful. However, if you trigger Siri by accident during a quiet business meeting or in a movie theater, having your wrist suddenly speak at full volume is incredibly embarrassing. If you prefer to read Siri’s answers on the screen without any audio interruptions, you must restrict the assistant’s voice permissions.
How to Turn Off Siri Voice Feedback
You can force Siri to remain silent unless you are wearing headphones via the system settings.
- Open the Settings app directly on your Apple Watch (the grey gear icon).
- Scroll down the main list and tap on Siri.
- Scroll down to the section labeled “Siri Responses.”
- Under the “Spoken Responses” header, select the option labeled Control With Silent Mode (or “Headphones Only” depending on your watchOS version).
Silent Answers
The change is instantaneous. If you select “Control With Silent Mode,” Siri will respect the physical mute state of your watch; if your watch is muted, Siri will not speak. If you select “Headphones Only,” the watch speaker is permanently disabled for Siri; the assistant will only ever speak out loud if you actively have a pair of AirPods or Bluetooth headphones connected to the watch. In all other scenarios, Siri will simply display the text answer silently on the screen.