Published November 11, 2024 6:00am EST close 'CyberGuy': Avoiding Siri-ous confusion on your work, personal iPhones Voice assistants may cause confusion across devices. Tech expert Kurt Knutsson offers some solutions to fix it. When it comes to using voice assistants across multiple devices, things can get a bit tricky. "Mike" from St. George, Utah, found himself in a comical yet frustrating situation with his personal and work iPhones. Let's dive into his predicament and explore some solutions.IM GIVING AWAY A $500 GIFT CARD FOR THE HOLIDAYSEnter bysigning up for my free newsletter! Man making a call using Siri on iPhone (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)The dilemmaMike has two iPhones, one for personal use and another for work. In his email to us, he explained his issue: "When using Siri to call my wife (Terrie) on my personal phone, my WORK phone dials a guy I work with also named Terry. So Im constantly having to explain my butt dial to him."This leads to awkward explanations and unnecessary "butt dials." The situation highlights a common challenge faced by many users with multiple devices, where voice assistants can become more of a hindrance than a help. Siri being used on iPhone (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)HOW TO PROTECT YOUR IPHONE & IPAD FROM MALWAREAttempted solutionsMike's first attempt was to rename his wife's contact to "Wifey" on his personal phone. However, this didn't fully solve the problem, as Siri still struggled to differentiate between similar-sounding names across devices. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't allow users to change Siri's activation phrase to something custom like "Hey Wife." This limitation means we need to look for alternative solutions. iPhone and a laptop on a coffee table (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)HOW TO ASSOCIATE A RINGTONE WITH ONE OF YOUR CONTACTS ON YOUR PHONEEffective workarounds1) Use Siri Shortcuts:You can create a Siri Shortcut for calling your wife and assign a unique phrase to it. This way, you can say something like "Call Wifey" and it will only trigger on the phone where the shortcut is set up.Create a shortcutOpen the Shortcuts app on your iPhone.Tap the "+" icon to create a new shortcut.Add the action Call and select your wifes contact.Click Done Steps to create a Siri Shortcut on iPhone (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Use Voice Control: You can enable Voice Control and create custom commands that wont interfere with Siri.Go to SettingsTap AccessibilityClick Voice ControlTurn on Voice Controlby toggling it onClick the Commands row Steps to set up Voice Control on iPhone (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Click CustomClick Create new commandIn the phrase field, type "Call Wifey"Click the Action rowClick Run shortcutClick the first row you just set above called "Call"Click backClick Save in upper right-hand corner Steps to set up Voice Control on iPhone (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Now go back to your home screen and say to your phone "Call Wifey" and it should call her.2) Disable Siri on one device: If you primarily use Siri on one phone, you can disable it on the other to prevent accidental triggers.Go to SettingsTap Siri (or could appear as Siri & Search depending on which iOS you have installed).Tap Talk to SiriTurn off Listen for "Hey Siri" and enable Press Side Button for Siri Steps to disable Siri on iPhone (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)3) Rename contacts differently: Since youve already tried renaming your wifes contact, you might want to use a more unique name that wont conflict with your work contacts. For example, you could use a nickname or a combination of her name and a unique identifier.IOS 18: MAXIMIZE YOUR PRIVACY BY TURNING OFF THESE 3 IPHONES SETTINGS NOWKurt's key takeawaysWhile Siri's confusion can be frustrating, there are several ways to work around the issue. The most effective solution seems to be using Siri Shortcuts or Voice Control, as these methods create unique commands that are less likely to be misinterpreted across devices. It's worth noting that voice assistant technology is continually improving. In the future, we may see more sophisticated context recognition that can better distinguish between similar names on different devices. Until then, these workarounds should help Mike avoid any more awkward explanations to his colleague Terry!In what ways do you think voice assistants could be improved for a better user experience? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPFor more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading toCyberguy.com/Newsletter.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com.All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurts free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.