Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
If dictation and Siri do not respond on Apple Watch, there are usually several causes: no internet on the watch, Siri is turned off on the iPhone or the Watch, Hey Siri is turned off, the microphone or speaker is covered by a case, or the voice pack has not finished downloading. The solution is to go through 6 checks: from the internet and Siri settings to removing the case and restarting the watch.
If dictation and Siri do not respond to voice at all on Apple Watch, neither by the button nor by the phrase Hey Siri, Apple names several typical causes for this case, and almost all of them can be checked in a few minutes.
What it looks like for the user
Usually it looks like this: pressing the side button of the Apple Watch either triggers nothing, or starts Siri, which does not react at all to the spoken phrase; the listening indicator either does not appear at all or appears and goes out at once with no result. The voice phrase Hey Siri may also not work, even if it worked normally before.
From the outside it looks like a broken watch, although most often the problem is in one of several independent settings or physical obstructions: from the internet being off on the Watch to a case accidentally covering the microphone or speaker.
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Voice input and Siri do not respond to speech or commands | The official list of causes: no internet connection on the Watch, Siri is turned off on the iPhone or Watch, “Hey Siri” is turned off, the microphone/speaker is physically blocked by a case, the voice pack has not finished downloading. | 1) check the internet on the Watch; 2) turn on Siri in Watch Settings and iPhone Settings → Siri; 3) turn on “Listen for Hey Siri”; 4) remove the case from the microphone/speaker; 5) for Series 3+ leave the Watch to charge on Wi-Fi overnight; 6) restart the Watch. |
What actually broke
Nothing physically breaks. Apple names five typical causes for this situation, and any of them alone fully explains why dictation and Siri stay silent. The watch may have no internet connection even though the iPhone nearby is online: Siri and dictation on the Watch depend on the watch's own connection, and not only on the link with the phone. Separately, Siri may be turned off either on the iPhone or on the watch itself, and the settings do not always sync automatically. Hey Siri is another separate setting, turned on by itself, independent of Siri in general. Finally, the microphone or speaker may be physically covered by a case, and if the watch is brand new, the voice pack for speech recognition may not have finished downloading yet.
Similar Siri and dictation failures on Apple devices are collected in the review of Apple voice input errors.
How to get it working again
- Check the internet on the Apple Watch itself, separately from the iPhone: dictation and Siri on the Watch need their own connection, and not only a link with a phone nearby.
- Turn on Siri in two places: in the Watch settings (Settings on the watch) and in iPhone Settings → Siri. If it is off in at least one of the places, Siri on the watch may not respond.
- Separately turn on Listen for Hey Siri: this is an independent setting that does not coincide with the general switch of Siri.
- Check whether a case physically covers the microphone or speaker of the watch, and remove it if it does.
- For Apple Watch Series 3 and newer, leave the watch to charge on Wi-Fi overnight: this helps finish downloading the voice pack if it did not finish.
- Restart the Apple Watch and check by voice again: after a restart the watch reapplies the Siri and microphone settings.
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Free
- Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed
- Pro
- Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly
- Payment
- Russian bank cards, rubles
- Where speech is recognized
- cloud, servers in Russia; internet required
Potok is a cloud service, so it does not work without the internet. Download: potok.now/download
Who this way does not suit
This way does not suit you if you need dictation not on the watch but on a computer: Potok has no version for Apple Watch, it is a cloud service only for Windows, macOS and Linux, which recognizes speech on servers in Russia and does not work without the internet either. If after all the steps Siri on the watch still did not start working, look at the alternatives to dictation on Apple Watch (in Russian).
Frequently asked questions
Yes: for Apple Watch Series 3 and newer, Apple separately recommends leaving the watch to charge on Wi-Fi overnight. This helps finish downloading the voice pack, without which dictation and Siri may not respond to speech.
Dictation and Siri do not respond on Apple Watch. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Dictation and Siri do not respond on Apple Watch you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Dictation and Siri do not respond on Apple Watch. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Dictation and Siri do not respond on Apple Watch you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Dictation and Siri do not respond on Apple Watch. Versions are available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the default hotkey is Ctrl+Space; there are no mobile versions. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. The hotkey can be changed in the settings: any key, a combination or a side mouse button will do. Potok is a sole proprietorship registered in Russia; data and voice recordings are kept on servers in Russia, with the 152-FZ mode on by default. For Dictation and Siri do not respond on Apple Watch you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Dictation and Siri do not respond on Apple Watch. The free plan costs 0 ₽ with a limit of 2,500 words a week; Pro costs 690 ₽ a month or 5,999 ₽ a year (499 ₽ a month). Here is how Potok works: hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), speak, release — and the finished text is inserted into the active field of any app. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Dictation and Siri do not respond on Apple Watch you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
If you want to compare for yourself
Take one of your own tasks and dictate it in Potok. The first 14 days have no limits and need no card. Potok is a cloud service, so it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokThe Potok subscription also includes the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: forward it a voice message or a long meeting recording and it returns the text. Without a subscription the bot gives 60 minutes per month for free.
Built-in dictation and Potok
| Tool | Where it works | Russian language | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| macOS Dictation | macOS | yes | on the device or on Apple servers |
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | primary language | cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline |
Primary sources: support.apple.com · support.microsoft.com