In a world where cars, home devices and even clothing can be controlled using voice commands, it’s no surprise that smartphones also have this feature built in.

But sometimes you just want to be able to grab your iPhone from your pocket without worrying about accidentally opening Siri or Voice Control. This is possible with a simple tweak in the Settings app.

Disable Siri

Whether it’s during a movie, bus ride or business meeting, accidentally pressing and holding the Side or Home button can activate Siri or Voice Control. Luckily, there are several ways to prevent this from happening. One way is to simply disable Voice Control, and another way is to set the button to do nothing. Both methods are easy to do and can easily be reversed later if you decide that you want the Home or Side button to launch Voice Control again.

Disabling the iPhone’s voice command system can help to avoid accidental calls, pocket-dials or errant dictations. It’s also a useful feature if you have a condition such as Tourette’s Syndrome or ADD, which can cause problems when using the device.

The method to turn off voice control varies slightly depending on the model of the iPhone. If you have an iPhone X or later, you can open Control Center by tapping any item in the status bar or swiping up with three fingers. If you have an iPhone 8 or earlier, you can open the Accessibility features by opening Settings and swiping up with three fingers or tapping an icon on the screen. Once in the Accessibility menu, you can find the Siri switch at the top of the page and toggle it off.

This will disable the ability to press and hold the Home or Side button to trigger the Siri function, but it won’t disable the phone’s built-in microphones. If your headset repeatedly activates Siri or Classic Voice Control, a loose connection or frayed cables may be the problem. It’s worth trying a different headset to see if the problem is resolved.

You can also disable the microphone in Siri by going to Settings and selecting “General.” Once in this section, you will see a switch labeled “Listen for Hey Siri” or “Allow Siri When Locked.” You can toggle these off as needed to prevent accidental calls or other unwanted functions when the phone is locked. If you ever need to use Siri while the phone is locked, you can still enable the passcode and use your custom voice commands.

Disable Voice Dial

Apple’s iPhones come with a lot of settings. There’s no way to change all of them without interrupting your work in one app or another, and some need changing a lot more often than others (screen brightness, Bluetooth). With iOS 7, you can get at the most important settings from the Control Center, which you open with a swipe upward from anywhere on the screen.

On an iPhone 8 or later, you can also access the same controls by pressing the Home button or saying “Hey Siri.” On an iPhone X or earlier, you can press and hold the power button for a second to get the same effect.

Once it’s open, you’ll see a grid of icons that let you control everything from phone and FaceTime calls to music and Google searches. You can also set it to demand a password or (on the iPhone 5s) a fingerprint each time you wake it up, though that’s a bit of a pain for frequent users.

Among the most useful Control Center features are the sliders for the screen’s brightness and a quick way to turn off the alarm, among other things. You can also use the lock screen to display a big Do Not Disturb sign that you can activate with a single tap, and set an automated schedule for when it goes off.

The other essential options are the power button shortcuts for various functions, including launching Siri and the camera. And you can set the iPhone to automatically launch certain apps when you press the Home or Side buttons, and to do nothing if it detects no command.

To disable Voice Dial, go to the Settings app and open the Accessibility page by swiping up with three fingers or tapping any item in the status bar. Then tap the Larger Type, Larger Accessibility Labels or the Voice Over option — it’s the blue microphone icon — to enable or disable it. You can also set the Home or Side button to launch any other app or do nothing at all; see this guide for more details.

Disable Music Voice Control

Apple has made some significant tweaks to the interface of the iPhone with iOS 13. One big new feature is that it allows you to operate your phone hands-free using a voice command. You can give a variety of commands including taking a screenshot, launching apps, setting alarms, unlocking your iPhone without typing a passcode and more. The ability to control your iPhone hands-free with just a voice is a huge convenience. However, there are some things you should keep in mind if you use the iPhone with Music Voice Control enabled.

If you have your iPhone paired with headphones or earbuds that have built-in microphones, Music Voice Control may activate automatically when it’s time to listen. This can be a bit annoying if you’re trying to use your device at work or while working out. To prevent this from happening, make sure the headphones or earbuds are inserted properly and don’t have frayed cables.

Other ways to disable Music Voice Control include pressing the Home button or the side button. If your iPhone isn’t locked, you can also swipe up from the bottom edge to open the Control Center. This brings all the important settings (including volume, brightness, Airplane mode, a flashlight, and more) in one place.

You can also enable Do Not Disturb mode, which means it won’t ring or buzz except for calls from your most important contacts. Finally, you can put your iPhone in silent mode by tapping the small flipper on the left edge of the device. This is a great feature when you’re in a meeting, in class, or at church and don’t want to disturb anyone. It’s also a good way to save battery power by turning off the display, wireless radio, and other features. You can set your iPhone to do this on a schedule or manually. You can also set it to do this when it detects you’re on an airplane or in a gym. If you’re a pessimist about your battery life, these tips can help you get a few more hours out of it.

Disable Voice Recognition

There are a few ways to prevent the iPhone from activating Voice Command when pressing the Home or Side button. The simplest is to make sure that headphones or earbuds without microphones are inserted properly, and don’t have frayed cables. Other solutions involve disabling voice control or turning off Raise to Speak – the feature that activates when the phone is held up to your face and Siri listens for commands. These solutions can help to reduce the number of times the iPhone accidentally starts calling people or spouting useless information at the worst possible time.

The iPhone isn’t like any machine that came before it, and operating it can be tricky to master at first. Instead of physical buttons, the iPhone’s touchscreen has to be used for everything from unlocking it after dropping it in your pocket to confirming a swipe to delete an email or send a text message. While the onscreen buttons are big, it’s hard to hit them accurately, especially when your fingers are greasy or you’re trying to do something quickly.

Fortunately, the iPhone’s touchscreen also allows you to control most of its functions with just a few quick gestures. Swiping up from the bottom of the screen (iPhone 5 series) or down from the top of the screen (iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s) brings up the Control Center, a set of customizable settings that allow you to perform certain actions without touching the phone.

From here, you can adjust your iPhone’s screen rotation (to prevent it from rotating automatically when the phone is turned horizontally or vertically) and turn off or enable the Raise to Speak feature, which activates when the phone is lifted up to the face. You can also disable the ability to call people or start a search using Siri while in lock mode.

Finally, you can change the action of the Home or Side button by tapping either “Siri” or “Off”. Disabling Siri, which enables the iPhone to be controlled by voice commands even when it’s locked, is one of the best ways to prevent the phone from unintentionally calling people or performing searches at the most inconvenient times.