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Dear Aunt TUAW: Can I use bluetooth with Siri?

by Erica Sadun Oct 31st 2011 at 11:00AM

Dear Aunt TUAW,

Auntie, you did a great job on the Siri book. I plan to work my way through it to maximize the use of Siri.

You indicate a Bluetooth headset can be used to communicate with Siri. I've never had one but I'd like to keep the iPhone in my pants pocket and be able to talk to Siri as well as hear her responses. Is two-way communication possible with Siri in this situation? If so, do I need a certain type of headset or headphones? Are you allowed to make recommendations?

You're assistance is greatly appreciated! Keep up the good work!

Your loving nephew,

Ken B.

Dear Ken,

Auntie has used both a Bluetooth earpiece and iPhone earbuds with Siri, and has found that the Apple earbuds were far better performance-wise. They worked very well in dealing with a pocketed-or-backpacked Siri, ambient-noise permitting (if the guy jogging next to you can't hear you over traffic, Siri won't either).

Auntie tested Siri with a Jawbone ICON and had a great deal of trouble getting Siri to recognize it consistently, even when using the Jawbone in the recommended touching-the-cheek-bone position. Auntie thinks it's probably because of the particular brand and mic pick-up and not because of the Bluetooth technology.

Obviously, this will also vary by noise conditions and the quality of the Bluetooth pickup. Unfortunately, Auntie didn't have access to any other BT devices to test with, so all she can report is that yes, it does work as long as you have a better audio pickup than the Jawbone provides.

Does anyone have a really good BT earpiece to recommend? Let Auntie know!

Hugs,

Auntie T.



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Dear Aunt TUAW, Auntie, you did a great job on the Siri book. I plan to work my way through it to maximize the use of Siri. You...
 

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39 Comments

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RobertBobbins

Works pretty well with a Jabra Drive I bought a few weeks ago (partially because I knew Siri was coming.)

Nicely Appleish styling to it, with a large aluminium-finished clip that grips onto your visor. you can play music through it too ( though I wouldnt recommend it, but at least it's louder than the iPhone speaker)

I have to remember to turn it off, as otherwise it occasionally connects when I am in the house and the car is on the drive so the phone doesn't sound indoors. I guess that means range isn't a problem.

Peter
solubleapps

November 01 2011 at 10:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Stephen Gozza

I've been using Siri with the bluetooth integrated into my Jetta and it's never had a problem. So much better than the built in "Say a command" system.

November 01 2011 at 10:43 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
matthew.sanders

I use my iPhone 4S with my Audi A3's bluetooth and it works flawlessly. Siri's voice is relayed through the speaker system.

November 01 2011 at 8:40 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
cgamercs

Bose series 2 works great it cuts out the ambient noise and she will read everything on the screen rather than just a general over view

November 01 2011 at 12:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
PTGamer

Have used Siri on the iPhone and Motorola H720 for the past two weeks without any difficulties.

October 31 2011 at 6:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Barry Selby

My BlueAnt T1 works great with Siri.

October 31 2011 at 5:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Barry Selby's comment
lhunath

Are you kidding me? I have a BlueAnt T1, and each time you want to talk to Siri, it involves:
1. Press a button.
2. Wait for T1 to say "Say a command"
3. Say "Phone commands"
4. Wait for it to understand you and hope it does; if not, go back to step 1.
5. Wait for it to activate Siri.
6. Say a Siri command and hope it understands you; if not, go back to step 1.

It takes *forever* to get anything done on this blasted headset. If only they had the sense of getting rid of the built-in "say a command" thing which is good for only 1 thing: checking battery status. Screw that.

November 21 2011 at 5:55 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jim Robinson

I use a bluetooth to speaker converter converted that plugs into the aux jack of my car stereo. Originally, I purchased it so I could wirelessly play music on my car stereo. Then I discovered I could make phone calls with it on. When I got my 4S, I went to use siri when it was already paired and worked fine, although siri did take some extra time pin processing my text to voice.

October 31 2011 at 5:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jim Robinson's comment
Jim Robinson

sorry got the typos everyone.

October 31 2011 at 5:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Surfeast

Works fine Using the stock VW bluetooth car kit . Simply hold down Siri button and she talks over car speakers and you use in car mic as normal.

October 31 2011 at 4:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nerdy Liberal

I would like to know what to say to Siri to get her to turn Bluetooth on and off. I find that if I forget to turn it on before I get into the car, it can be dangerous to have to go through all the steps to turn it on, almost as bad as texting.

Is there another shortcut, if Siri won't do it?

Thank you.

October 31 2011 at 3:56 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brad McCormick

I use Siri with my in-car Bluetooth (Hyundai Elantra) and it works absolutely perfectly.

October 31 2011 at 3:51 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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