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    Everyday Tech · Reference

    Voice Command Cheat Sheet

    Hundreds of commands. Say them out loud. No typing required.

    Pick your assistant below — Siri, Alexa, Google, or Bixby — search for what you want to do, and print a wall poster for the kitchen or bedside.

    Siri · wake word "Hey Siri"
    Works on: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod, Mac
    Showing 89 of 89 commands

    Basics

    The everyday questions and timers you will use the most.

    • "Hey Siri, what time is it?"
    • "Hey Siri, what is today's date?"
    • "Hey Siri, set a timer for 10 minutes."
    • "Hey Siri, set an alarm for 7 a.m."
    • "Hey Siri, remind me to take my medicine at 8 p.m."
      Set up medication reminders
    • "Hey Siri, what is the weather?"
    • "Hey Siri, what is the weather tomorrow?"
    • "Hey Siri, will it rain this week?"
    • "Hey Siri, what is the temperature outside?"
    • "Hey Siri, what time does the sun set today?"

    Calling and messaging

    Hands-free calling, texts, and reading messages aloud.

    • "Hey Siri, call Mom."
      Replace "Mom" with any name in your Contacts.
    • "Hey Siri, call my emergency contact."
    • "Hey Siri, FaceTime my daughter."
      Siri only — works with anyone in your Contacts who has an Apple device.
    • "Hey Siri, text my son "running late, see you at 6"."
    • "Hey Siri, read my messages."
    • "Hey Siri, reply to that."
    • "Hey Siri, call back the last person who called."
    • "Hey Siri, send a voice message to my sister."
    • "Hey Siri, do not disturb on."

    Music and podcasts

    Play, pause, skip, and adjust volume without touching the screen.

    • "Hey Siri, play Frank Sinatra."
    • "Hey Siri, play classical music."
    • "Hey Siri, play the news."
    • "Hey Siri, play NPR."
    • "Hey Siri, play 70s rock."
    • "Hey Siri, play a podcast."
      Find senior-friendly podcasts
    • "Hey Siri, pause."
    • "Hey Siri, skip."
    • "Hey Siri, louder."
    • "Hey Siri, quieter."
    • "Hey Siri, set volume to 4."
    • "Hey Siri, who sings this song?"

    Navigation and directions

    Get directions, find places nearby, or call a ride.

    • "Hey Siri, directions to the nearest pharmacy."
    • "Hey Siri, what is nearby?"
    • "Hey Siri, find a gas station with the cheapest gas."
    • "Hey Siri, call a Lyft."
      Set up Uber and Lyft
    • "Hey Siri, call an Uber to my home."
    • "Hey Siri, how long to drive to the grocery store?"
    • "Hey Siri, where is the nearest urgent care?"
    • "Hey Siri, find a coffee shop within walking distance."

    Calculations and questions

    Math, conversions, definitions, and quick lookups.

    • "Hey Siri, what is 15 percent of 80?"
    • "Hey Siri, convert 2 cups to milliliters."
    • "Hey Siri, how many ounces are in a pound?"
    • "Hey Siri, how old is Tom Hanks?"
    • "Hey Siri, define "ephemeral"."
    • "Hey Siri, spell "restaurant"."
    • "Hey Siri, how do you say "thank you" in Spanish?"
    • "Hey Siri, what is the capital of Australia?"
    • "Hey Siri, what is 350 Fahrenheit in Celsius?"

    Smart home

    Lights, plugs, locks, thermostats, and TVs — all by voice.

    • "Hey Siri, turn on the living room lights."
    • "Hey Siri, dim the bedroom lights to 30 percent."
    • "Hey Siri, set the thermostat to 72."
      Set up a smart thermostat
    • "Hey Siri, lock the front door."
    • "Hey Siri, is the garage door closed?"
    • "Hey Siri, start the coffee maker."
    • "Hey Siri, play Netflix on the living room TV."
    • "Hey Siri, turn off all the lights."
    • "Hey Siri, good night."
      Triggers your bedtime routine if you set one.

    Entertainment

    Jokes, stories, trivia, and TV listings.

    • "Hey Siri, tell me a joke."
    • "Hey Siri, tell me a fun fact."
    • "Hey Siri, what is on TV tonight?"
    • "Hey Siri, play Jeopardy."
    • "Hey Siri, play a podcast."
      Browse podcasts
    • "Hey Siri, read me an audiobook."
    • "Hey Siri, sing me a song."

    Accessibility wins

    Built-in helpers for low vision, low hearing, and tremor.

    • "Hey Siri, read the screen."
      Siri "Spoken Content" reads anything visible on the iPhone screen.
    • "Hey Siri, zoom in."
    • "Hey Siri, increase the text size."
    • "Hey Siri, turn on the flashlight."
    • "Hey Siri, turn on dark mode."
    • "Hey Siri, turn on captions."
    • "Hey Siri, slow down speech."

    Safety and emergency

    Reach 911, your family, or your address in seconds.

    • "Hey Siri, call 911."
    • "Hey Siri, call my emergency contact."
    • "Hey Siri, call my son."
    • "Hey Siri, call my daughter."
    • "Hey Siri, where am I?"
      Speaks your full GPS address. Very helpful when calling 911 or roadside assistance.
    • "Hey Siri, share my location with my daughter."
    • "Hey Siri, find my phone."

    Senior-life specific

    Medication, lists, calendar, news — the daily essentials.

    • "Hey Siri, what are my medications?"
      Works only after you set up reminders or a med list.
      Set up medication reminders
    • "Hey Siri, did I take my pills today?"
    • "Hey Siri, read my grocery list."
    • "Hey Siri, add milk to my shopping list."
    • "Hey Siri, add bread, eggs, and butter to my shopping list."
    • "Hey Siri, how do you spell "appointment"?"
    • "Hey Siri, read me the news."
    • "Hey Siri, what is on my calendar today?"
    • "Hey Siri, when is my next doctor appointment?"
    • "Hey Siri, remind me to call the dentist tomorrow at 10 a.m."
    • "Hey Siri, find my reading glasses."
      Only works with a tracker like AirTag or Tile.

    Wake your assistant without saying the wake word

    In a quiet library, hospital, or church, you can wake any assistant with a button press instead of a wake word.

    iPhone

    Hold the side button (right side) for 1 second. Or say "Hey Siri" if you have always-on listening enabled.

    Apple Watch

    Raise your wrist and start talking — no wake word needed on Series 9 and later, or Series 7 with watchOS 10. On older watches, hold the Digital Crown.

    Echo (Alexa)

    Press the round Action button on the top of any Echo. You can speak right away — no wake word needed.

    Google Nest Mini / Hub

    Touch the top of the device, or say "Hey Google". Newer Nest Hubs respond to a "Quick Phrase" — a short command without the wake word.

    Samsung Galaxy phone

    Press and hold the side key (the power button) for 1 second to wake Bixby, or open the Google Assistant app.

    Senior-friendly setup

    Train your assistant to recognize your voice. Each setup takes about 3 minutes and works much better afterward.

    What gets recorded — and how to delete it

    Voice assistants only start recording after they hear the wake word. You can review and delete every recording in the app.

    Alexa

    Amazon stores recordings of every command you give Alexa. Audio is sent to Amazon servers after the wake word.

    Delete from app: Alexa app → More → Settings → Alexa Privacy → Review Voice History → Delete All.
    Delete by voice: "Alexa, delete what I just said." or "Alexa, delete everything I said today."

    Google Assistant

    Google stores your voice activity at myactivity.google.com unless you turn it off. Audio is sent to Google after the wake word.

    Delete from app: Open myactivity.google.com → Web & App Activity → "Manage activity" → delete by date or topic.
    Delete by voice: "Hey Google, delete what I just said." or "Hey Google, delete my last conversation."

    Siri

    Most Siri requests run on the device itself and never leave your iPhone or HomePod. The most private of the three.

    Delete from app: Settings → Siri → Siri & Dictation History → Delete Siri & Dictation History.
    Delete by voice: Siri does not yet support voice deletion. Use the Settings path above.

    Bixby

    Samsung stores Bixby commands tied to your Samsung account. Audio is sent to Samsung after the wake word.

    Delete from app: Bixby app → Settings → "Privacy" → "Manage data" → Delete history.
    Delete by voice: "Hi Bixby, delete my voice history."

    Troubleshooting

    If voice control feels frustrating, one of these fixes almost always brings it back to life.

    Accessibility — voice for hearing aids, low vision, and tremor

    Voice assistants can be the single biggest help for older adults living with hearing loss, low vision, or hand tremor.

    With hearing aids

    iPhone, Galaxy, and Pixel phones can pair directly with most modern hearing aids. The voice assistant's reply plays through your hearing aids. Pair in Settings → Accessibility → Hearing Devices (Apple) or Settings → Accessibility → Hearing enhancements (Samsung/Google).

    With low vision

    Voice assistants are the single biggest help for low-vision users. Combine "Hey Siri, increase text size" with VoiceOver on iPhone or TalkBack on Android. On Echo, ask "Alexa, what is the screen showing?" on devices with a display.

    With tremor or arthritis

    Voice control replaces touch entirely. Use commands like "Hey Siri, go back" or "Alexa, scroll down" instead of swiping. On Echo, the round Action button is large and easy to press without precise aim.

    Family setup · multi-voice profiles

    One Echo or Nest can serve a whole household. Each person gets their own calendar, shopping list, and music — no mix-ups.

    Apple Family Sharing

    Turn on Family Sharing in Settings → your name → Family. Up to 6 people share an Apple Music subscription, calendar, and reminders. Each person says "Hey Siri" and gets their own results.

    Alexa Household

    In the Alexa app, tap More → Settings → Your Profile → Amazon Household. Add your spouse with their Amazon account — both of you get separate calendars, shopping lists, and music.

    Google Home members

    In the Google Home app, tap your home → Settings → Household → Invite. Family members can control devices, hear personal reminders, and play their own music.

    Setting up a voice assistant for your spouse

    Each person needs their own voice profile. Sit together at the speaker, open the assistant app, tap "Add another voice", and have your spouse repeat the training phrases. Takes about 2 minutes per person.

    Fun commands to try

    Voice assistants have a sense of humor. These are favorites with the grandkids.

    "Siri, beatbox."
    Siri
    "Alexa, sing a lullaby."
    Alexa
    "Hey Google, tell me a story."
    Google
    "Alexa, who let the dogs out?"
    Alexa
    "Siri, I love you."
    Siri
    "Hey Google, do you speak Klingon?"
    Google
    "Alexa, party time."
    Alexa
    "Hey Google, beam me up, Scotty."
    Google
    "Siri, what does the fox say?"
    Siri
    "Alexa, give me a hug."
    Alexa

    Frequently asked questions

    Related TekSure tools

    Voice Assistant SetupMedication Reminder SetupSmart Thermostat SetupRideshare Setup (Uber & Lyft)
    Voice Command Cheat Sheet — Siri, Alexa, Google, and Bixby — TekSure