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617660

Cancelled
Sep 17, 2011
682
358
It's a real issue. I totally get it. I mean I had the exact same experience. That's why I half-heartly suggested Google dictation as an alternative. Take it as a jab at Apple/Siri but they were never interested in improving dictation. It's not your phone problem it's a problem at Apple. If you think it's bad on iPhone, try it on a Mac...
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,495
It's a real issue. I totally get it. I mean I had the exact same experience. That's why I half-heartly suggested Google dictation as an alternative. Take it as a jab at Apple/Siri but they were never interested in improving dictation. It's not your phone problem it's a problem at Apple. If you think it's bad on iPhone, try it on a Mac...

Those changes are coming, that’s why they hired google’s Artifical intelligence director John Giannandrea to hopefully readily improve Siri and other core tasks with dictation. As someone who uses dictation quite frequently, Siri is crucial to my experience with iOS, and hopefully those changes with iOS 13 will be significant.
 
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wjh

macrumors newbie
Nov 4, 2018
6
1
Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
What I would suggest doing, is disable Siri, power off your iPhone, power back on your iPhone then re-enable Siri.
>Guess I messed up; not sure who this quote is from.<

I was skeptical, but this actually seems to have worked. So far I have tested only about 30-40 words, but I'm not seeing the maddening incorrect "corrections" that I was seeing.

To clarify: Before doing this disable and power-off procedure, when dictating text messages or notes I would see the correct words, but then some of the words would change to nonsense. I've seen lots of complaints about this with no solutions. This appears to be a solution.
 

Joy23

macrumors newbie
Nov 8, 2018
4
1
Brighton
[doublepost=1533602002][/doublepost]
Doesn’t work. I’ve tried probably a couple hundred times in the past year. Siri/ iPhone dictation is definitely worse, and getting worse every day. It was better on my 5C than this SE. in fact, it was phenomenal on my 5C. It got used to how I said things, and I had very few incorrect words.

Now, I still use dictation, because it’s still better than typing all the letters myself. One of the weird things is that it will often write the correct word, and then changes it after the fact, to the wrong one. I have to slow down when I dictate, because Siri can’t understand the spaces between syllables. When I said “husband,“ Siri wrote “has-been.“ Yesterday, trying to capitalize the word, I dictated “CAP something.” Siri wrote “Capitalism.” Siri tries to correct my grammar. I don’t need – I’m an English major, thank you very much! Siri writes “apparently“ as “parent Lee.“ And the capital letters at odd places in the middle of a sentence remind me the way Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.

This will definitely make me change away from iphone. I use dictation more than any other feature on my phone. It’s supposed to be artificial intelligence. It is artificial, but it’s not intelligence; it’s dumber than a brick.

If Apple doesn’t care to update their Siri/dictation, I understand Alexa is not perfect, but is better. Better is good enough for me.

Agree with everything you said, I have all the same problems, and it is definitely getting worse. I am disabled so rely on dictation and find Siri somewhere between astonishingly bad and unusable, usually the latter. It amazes me that it was better a few years ago but constantly getting worse. If you cannot use your hands at all you cannot edit. Just deleted last vast thanks vast chance okay ignore this sentence… I cannot edit which is why it reads like this . it also gets things right then changes them to make no sense at all.

Appalled by Apple's lack of care for this or for any of the disabled customer base, will also be forced to leave Apple and iPhone too as it is impossible. The irony is they shout from the rooftop's about their exquisite princess ability features… Access ability features, sorry for the typos using Apple !
 
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Yvonneswinson1

macrumors newbie
Feb 19, 2019
1
4
Seriously, why even chime in then. Bully for you. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when someone asks, "Does anyone else have this problem?" what they are asking for is help solving that problem. They are not taking a poll. Everyone who answered the equivilant of "works great for me, never once had an issue" is being incredibly rude and insensitive to those who have the problem outlined in the orginal post. It's particularly disheartening to have such a frustrating issue, come to these boards for the hope of an answer, but it turns out to be, "I don't know what you're talking about, dude, mine works perfectly!" thanks, genius, but that's not what we're looking for here.
[doublepost=1538294829][/doublepost]

"Worse every day" is NOT an exaggeration, trust me. It is maddening how much worse my new iphone 8 plus handset is at dictation than it was on my iphone 7 plus. I can only surmise it's either the software update or the handset itself, if others are not having the same issues on a mass scale. I am going to ask for a replacement, this is a deal breaker for me, for sure. Here's the example I will give you, on my very first try just now, I spoke at a fairly slow and enunciated pace, a bit more effort than I'd like but I wanted to give the phone a shot. Here is what I dictated into the phone:

"Why can't my new iphone take dictation as well as my last one did? It's really weird."

Here was what the phone's dictation typed it as:

"Why can’t get sound tasty tasty as well as my wife I found it really weird"

It's that bad more than 75% of the time. It's ridiculously incompetent.
[doublepost=1538294956][/doublepost]Can I teach it learn to take better dictation?
[doublepost=1538296280][/doublepost]" everyone using Siri may have different results based on how they pronounce a word, the speed at which they are dictating, specifically what are they dictating, ecf, those are *all* variables that affect Siri "

But why would it work so well for my voice and rate of speech, etc. on one phone but then completely go haywire wrong on the upgraded iphone?
[doublepost=1538296917][/doublepost]
This thread is not a poll, it's a request for helpful information. If you don't have any, kindly don't waste our time with answers like this. It's particularly maddening to those of us so desperate we have resorted to discussion boards for help, and you chime in with your completely useless poll answer.
[doublepost=1550632460][/doublepost]Yes!! Same problem, worse everyday. The thing that is really weird is that it seems mostly okay on a google search bar or on Facebook, but texting is horrific! I tried today FIVE times “I think I am just exhausted”. The first time speaking normally, then trying to enunciate and/or slow down. Results:
1- I think I am gay
2- i think I am yes yes
3- i think I am Jessica busted
4- i think I am yes exile
5- i think I am yes exiled

Really?!?! Please if someone knows a fix help me!!
 

1rottenapple

macrumors 601
Apr 21, 2004
4,759
2,774
I find Siri to be far too impatient. The slightest pause... and I mean the slightest pause... will cause Siri to stop receiving dictation and move onto the next step. (Ex. "Okay, would you like me to send this message now?"

You can't practically dictate a message off the top of your head. You would need to have it written or typed out first so that you could say the entire message without any pauses... and what would be the use of doing that?

Siri is a wonderful idea, but I find it very hard to believe that anyone actually tested out Siri features before bringing them to market.
Omg that is one of my frustrations with Siri. The problem with apple is these problems exist of years and there is no ****ing solution. It’s so annoying. Fixed it already you guys are the most valuable company come on. I really dislike siri. I’d love it if google took over Siri duties. I actually use a short cut for google now on my Apple device but of course it’s not native and is slower to trigger than a native application support.
[doublepost=1550731558][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1550632460][/doublepost]Yes!! Same problem, worse everyday. The thing that is really weird is that it seems mostly okay on a google search bar or on Facebook, but texting is horrific! I tried today FIVE times “I think I am just exhausted”. The first time speaking normally, then trying to enunciate and/or slow down. Results:
1- I think I am gay
2- i think I am yes yes
3- i think I am Jessica busted
4- i think I am yes exile
5- i think I am yes exiled

Really?!?! Please if someone knows a fix help me!!
Haha Siri #siri_sucks
[doublepost=1550731705][/doublepost]
Those changes are coming, that’s why they hired google’s Artifical intelligence director John Giannandrea to hopefully readily improve Siri and other core tasks with dictation. As someone who uses dictation quite frequently, Siri is crucial to my experience with iOS, and hopefully those changes with iOS 13 will be significant.
When was Siri introduced? Big ****ing deal they poached a google director. They’ve had 7-8 yrs? It was introduced in iPhone 4s. They’ve had nearly a decade and progress is pathetically slow. Listen I love apple products as can be seen on my signature but Siri is one thing that really aggravates me because I need it to work when I’m driving but it doesn’t.

Attached is my quick google voice search using a google short cut. Guess which got it right?

The second attachment me is “Siri”

The google search read me the results!
 

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wjh

macrumors newbie
Nov 4, 2018
6
1
Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
It really surprises me that Apple doesn't fix this. Dictation has not worked well for a long time. With everything else being top notch, you would think they would want dictation to be top notch as well.
[doublepost=1550854646][/doublepost]
When I was using the demo iPhone 8 model in the Apple store, the dictation was very good. It was able to pick up what I was saying with impressive accuracy despite background noise.

On the iPhone 8 I purchased, though, dictation is horrible. It can barely understand a word I'm saying even when I speak slowly and clearly. Then, after mis-hearing me, it makes automatic corrections that result in even worse translations. I am on Wi-fi and logged into an iCloud account.

Has anyone else encountered this problem? I tried an OS update but it did not help.
[doublepost=1550854682][/doublepost]Yes, exactly my experience. I've tried different suggested fixes, but nothing works.
[doublepost=1550855860][/doublepost]I think I've seen all the dictation problems mentioned in this thread. I dictate text messages--I rarely use Siri. (She often gets confused, doesn't seem to know my contact list and usually just sends me to a web site instead of answering my question.)

However, I saw this suggestion somewhere, and it does seem to help improve dictation for text messages--reset the keyboard dictionary to the default. (Don't know if this affects Siri.)

Procedure:

Settings > General > Reset (and scroll down) > Reset Keyboard Dictionary.

Maybe the dictation software accumulates bad data concerning words, you voice, etc., as you use it over time?
 
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1146331

macrumors 6502
Sep 22, 2018
258
551
I haven't been able to use dictation for at least 6 or 8 months.

I've done everything I can think of:
  • Restart iPhone
  • Clear keyboard settings
  • Clear all settings
  • Factory Reset (and set up as new iPhone) (Clear content and settings)
  • Attempt to use Dictation on WiFi and Cellular after the above has been done.
I'm very disappointed that it doesn't work anymore, it was very accurate and useful while driving. It does not work whether I use a headset (Bluetooth or wired), nor if I use the phone itself.

Does anybody have any other ideas other than "You're using it wrong"? There is no point in filing a bug report, Apple doesn't care. They'll just say "Buy a new iPhone.
 

1rottenapple

macrumors 601
Apr 21, 2004
4,759
2,774
I haven't been able to use dictation for at least 6 or 8 months.

I've done everything I can think of:
  • Restart iPhone
  • Clear keyboard settings
  • Clear all settings
  • Factory Reset (and set up as new iPhone) (Clear content and settings)
  • Attempt to use Dictation on WiFi and Cellular after the above has been done.
I'm very disappointed that it doesn't work anymore, it was very accurate and useful while driving. It does not work whether I use a headset (Bluetooth or wired), nor if I use the phone itself.

Does anybody have any other ideas other than "You're using it wrong"? There is no point in filing a bug report, Apple doesn't care. They'll just say "Buy a new iPhone.
It’s broken. You can ask it to set alarms and timers but that’s it. It struggles dictating text messages, and makes too many mistakes. It’s faster to type it yourself.
 

wjh

macrumors newbie
Nov 4, 2018
6
1
Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
It’s broken. You can ask it to set alarms and timers but that’s it. It struggles dictating text messages, and makes too many mistakes. It’s faster to type it yourself.
It’s broken. You can ask it to set alarms and timers but that’s it. It struggles dictating text messages, and makes too many mistakes. It’s faster to type it yourself.

"Buy a new iPhone" doesn't do it. I have an iPhone X (10?), which is a wonderful phone--but dictation is still pretty bad. So it must be iOs.
 

akuma13

macrumors 6502a
Jan 10, 2006
934
430
Siri is trash. Anyone who says otherwise is deluded. Apple get things right sometimes but this is not one of their shining moments.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,495
Siri is trash. Anyone who says otherwise is deluded. Apple get things right sometimes but this is not one of their shining moments.

It’s not trash, and I’m (Nor are others) deluded either. As a matter fact, I probably have _more_ experience with Siri than most users do in terms of just using it for dictation for about 90% of my tasking over the years.

I’ll say it again just for reference, where Siri struggles the most is outward dictation and deciphering in providing relevant information to the question asked/posed. In addition, Siri struggles to understand a specific word and completely deciphers it differently from how the user interprets/portrays it. That there is, the underlying problem with Siri. For in-house tasking commands and usage with toggling features, messaging, creating events, etc., etc. Siri does very well in that respect. It’s the external searching and various words that Siri struggles immensely.

Siri’s {search engine, speech recognition and word decipherment} need complete overhauling in those respects, and if those things are executed, then Siri has the potential to compete with the likes of Alexa and Google voice.
 

Wackery

Cancelled
Feb 1, 2015
1,342
1,571
[doublepost=1550632460][/doublepost]Yes!! Same problem, worse everyday. The thing that is really weird is that it seems mostly okay on a google search bar or on Facebook, but texting is horrific! I tried today FIVE times “I think I am just exhausted”. The first time speaking normally, then trying to enunciate and/or slow down. Results:
1- I think I am gay
2- i think I am yes yes
3- i think I am Jessica busted
4- i think I am yes exile
5- i think I am yes exiled

Really?!?! Please if someone knows a fix help me!!
out of curiosity, which accent do you have?
 

willmtaylor

macrumors G4
Oct 31, 2009
10,314
8,198
Here(-ish)
Siri is trash. Anyone who says otherwise is deluded. Apple get things right sometimes but this is not one of their shining moments.
...so if Siri works for me 95% of the time--dictates correct, queries correctly, adds reminders correctly, opens apps correctly, etc., you're telling me the that I'm deluded?

Interesting.
 
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akuma13

macrumors 6502a
Jan 10, 2006
934
430
Yes Siri can do all that but hasn’t advanced much since it was first introduced. It still can not integrate with 3rd party apps, does not do contextual queries, it’s neutered between each new product Apple introduces and why do we have to wait over a year before a new feature is added? Compared to other similar software it’s trash and if people don’t see it that way. Good for them I guess. People need to stop giving Apple so much leeway. It’s ok to be critical of them.
 

s15119

macrumors 68000
Nov 20, 2010
1,856
1,714
It's strange how people's experience is different. Dictation usually works fine for me. If I speak slowly and clearly, enunciating each word carefully, it works flawlessly. If not, it screws things up. Same as if someone leaves me a voice mail. If they speak slow and clear, I can catch all of it. If they are rushed and mumbling, I can't copy it all without listening several times.
 

jeritadamson

macrumors newbie
Feb 28, 2019
1
0
It really surprises me that Apple doesn't fix this. Dictation has not worked well for a long time. With everything else being top notch, you would think they would want dictation to be top notch as well.
[doublepost=1550854646][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1550854682][/doublepost]Yes, exactly my experience. I've tried different suggested fixes, but nothing works.
[doublepost=1550855860][/doublepost]I think I've seen all the dictation problems mentioned in this thread. I dictate text messages--I rarely use Siri. (She often gets confused, doesn't seem to know my contact list and usually just sends me to a web site instead of answering my question.)

However, I saw this suggestion somewhere, and it does seem to help improve dictation for text messages--reset the keyboard dictionary to the default. (Don't know if this affects Siri.)

Procedure:

Settings > General > Reset (and scroll down) > Reset Keyboard Dictionary.

Maybe the dictation software accumulates bad data concerning words, you voice, etc., as you use it over time?

This worked perfectly. I’m going to say a list of words and see if it can recognize them now: my daughters name is Ivy. My name is Jerit. My name is Jerit. My name is Jarret

(I corrected the spelling of my name the first two times, the third time I am letting it stand, but it did choose JA are ED for a moment JA are ED how do you get it to spell stuff JA are ED)

???????

I work at Pacific dumb’s geodesic dome’s I work at Pacific domes I work at Pacific dumb’s I work at Pacific domes geodesic dome’s I work at Pacific dumb

??????

At least you can get my daughters name correctly at least it can get my daughters name correct my daughters name is Ivy that’s different from getting an intravenous IV

This is kind of the best it’s ever done, but how do I get it to actually learn my name? Or to stop saying dumb when I wanted to see the dome dome
[doublepost=1551404946][/doublepost]I’m talking about I reset the keyboard dictionary settings General reset keyboard

We could actually I’ll just start using dictation and see if we can even understand each other we could actually all just start using dictation

It’s pretty annoying how it does get the word right and then change it, and then keep on changing it back-and-forth: has anybody seen that yet?
 

retta283

Suspended
Jun 8, 2018
3,180
3,482
You should see some of the gibberish rants that I have with dictation, complete garbage... Funny though
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,495
Yes Siri can do all that but hasn’t advanced much since it was first introduced.

Fun fact:

If you watch a video comparison of when Siri was first introduced in 2011 compared to 2019, it’s staggering to see how much more advanced of what Siri can do in terms of providing more relevant results (Faster as well), the algorithm based data is much more sophisticated, dictation is more apt to providing search results based on what The user is interested in, more importantly, Siri executes with in-house tasking better than it did in 2011. Being critical of Apple is a good thing, but also acknowledging Siri has improved, seems something that you’re not doing at all.
 
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