Siri® Eyes Free for in my Prius 2012 doesn't work for me

never heard of it, i'll be watching to learn something new as well. all the best!

 

There was a software update to the software in the multi-function display that came out maybe a year or so after the v was introduced. I got it and it fixed some navigation problems but was not a map data update that you have to pay a ridiculous amount for. Also depending on what iPhone you have and what rev sw it has there were reported connectivity issues. The cause was attributed to non-standard bluetooth in the Apple sw.

So might want to look up both your phone sw version and your MFD sw version. Post them and maybe someone has a match for your pair and can help.

 

You are pressing and "Holding" the off hook button correct? It should "beep" at you after a second. I use it multiple times daily....

Sidenote: If you have Cortana on your phone (Yes it's available on Iphone) It works the same way, except you push the "talk" button on the steering wheel and say call Cortana. (I use both actually, and prefer Cortana to tell you the truth).

 

I was never able to connect my iphone 6's bluetooth to my Prius V. I always use the aux cord to listen to GPS and music.

 

The MFD update was dealer installed around 2013 to resolve a complaint. Free. Look back with the search function and I'm sure you'll see a version number I posted.

 

I find this thread confusing. Siri® Eyes Free compatibility was introduced on the Prius v only for its final model year in the U.S. which was 2017: http://www.auto-brochures.com/makes/Toyota/Prius/Toyota_US%20PriusV_2017.pdf

Some Toyota models (e.g. Camry, Sienna) got Siri® Eyes Free compatibility a model year earlier - 2016.

Siri® Eyes Free compatibility was not offered on the Prius v before the 2017 model year. I've never heard of an update that would provide Siri® Eyes Free compatibility to older Prius v model years.

 

On Toyota's, you can access Siri by simply pressing and "holding" the off hook button on your steering wheel. Doesn't matter if you have Entune or not.

 

Have you personally been successful in getting Siri Eyes Free to work by pressing the off hook button in Toyotas that don't have Siri Eyes Free built into their head units? The 2016 Prius C Two shown in your profile has Siri Eyes Free built into its head unit: http://www.auto-brochures.com/makes/Toyota/Prius/Toyota_US%20PriusC_2016.pdf

People on the Sienna Chat forum were thoroughly p1ssed when Toyota added Siri Eyes Free to the 2016 Sienna and didn't retrofit it to the 2015 Sienna with a software update even though the head units in the 2015 and 2016 Sienna appear to be identical.

The following web page seems to confirm what I am saying: How to use Siri Eyes Free in your Toyota automobile | iMore

 

No, don't own an older Toyota. And it appears I am incorrect when I said it works whether or not you have Entune, so right off the bat apologies for the misinformation. To me "Siri Eyes Free" is something every iPhone user gets and I guess I don't see the big deal in getting a green microphone to show up on my head unit. Can't any Bluetooth connected iPhone user just say "Hey Siri" and still get access to her?
I can do it in an old Nissan Titan with a crappy radio connected to Bluetooth and again, I guess I don't see the big deal in seeing a green microphone on the display when she speaks through your car speakers anyways.

 

I'll tell you what the "big deal" is. Without Siri Eyes Free, an iPhone has to be exposed enough and close enough to be able to hear the driver say "Hey Siri". When my wife's iPhone is in her purse which is inside her "yoga bag" in the luggage area of her car, her iPhone can't hear "Hey Siri" even if she yells it. If her Prius had Siri Eyes Free, Siri could be activated by pressing the off-hook button on the steering wheel regardless of where the phone is in her car because the request to Siri is going through Bluetooth.

 

Well, obviously it's a big deal to you. But to me - if my phone can hear me say "Hey Siri" when it's in the back of my brothers SUV with my RC airplanes then it's no big deal. Maybe, if your wife would like to use this feature, then she should take it out of her bag. It really can't be that hard of a task to complete for her safety.

 

I asked my wife to use Siri today after "retraining" her iPhone 7 to recognize her current voice saying "Hey Siri".

Sitting in a quiet kitchen with my wife holding her iPhone in her hand or with it laying on the kitchen table, her iPhone recognized her saying "Hey Siri" 100% of the time.

Then we tried doing it in the car with the engine off, the radio playing music at a comfortable volume, my wife in the front seat with her iphone in the outside pocket of her favorite canvas purse which is barely held closed by a single small magnet. Her purse was in the right side front foot well. She repeated "Hey Siri" over and over increasing the volume of her voice each time. Her iPhone didn't respond a single time when it was in her purse.

Then I turned the radio off and had her repeat "Hey Siri" over and over increasing her voice volume each time. Her iPhone finally responded on the fifth try when she said "Hey Siri" VERY loudly.

I think our experience is pretty typical. Similarly, I tried getting getting "S Voice" to respond on my Android phone when it was in my pants pocket. I couldn't get it to respond a single time but it responded every time when I held my phone in my hand.

This is why Siri Eyes Free has been regarded as a "big deal".

 

I see what your saying then. I have the iphoneX. Maybe it’s a difference in the mic built into the phone? Works great for me. I even used it while I was upstairs and it was on the bottom step and got a response this morning.

 

The problem could be that the MFD in a 2012 does not support the Bluetooth profile that is used with the latest iPhones. solution is to buy a USB fob that gives you that compatible version of Bluetooth, and switch the MFD to use USB. This has worked for other folks.

I would like to put in a plug for my 57011 MFD that I am selling, if you think that would help. It is fully functional, and fully updated to the latest firmware. I am hoping to get $100 for it. I upgraded to a "Facelift unit, so I don't need this one that works 100%. Maps are from 2013 (what it came with 2014 v that the 57011 was pulled from).

 

Can you force the MFD to connect using USB as its input? I know that will play music (that is how my wife used it), but I don't know if Siri will work that way.

 

I think you are right. It may also require connectivity with the car microphone using the "talk" button for the best integration. Which may not be possible on the existing Toyota system. I know our 2017 Honda allows integrated bluetooth voice commands to Siri. It does not matter if the phone's mic picks up the command but does require pushing the steering wheel talk button.