Apple’s “Hey Siri” feature has saved another user’s life, helping to gain aid for a 70-year-old Florida stroke victim that used Apple’s virtual assistant to summon help after taking two days to crawl from his bathroom to his living room.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida resident Daniel Vallaire was in his bathroom when he suffered a stroke in July 2024. He was drifting in and out of consciousness, making him unable to call an ambulance. After slowly making it to his living room he was able to his iPhone’s “Hey Siri” feature to summon help.
9to5Mac reports that Siri proved to be an unexpected lifeline for Vallaire. “It’s the closest I’ve ever been to dying,” Vallaire said, as he recounted his desperate struggle for life.
“I said, ‘Hey Siri, call Victoria Vallaire.’ And she did,” Vallaire recalled. He said that he likely wouldn’t have survived the stroke had he not been able to call his daughter via Siri.
While Vallaire’s daughter had moved to California a week before, she was still able to contact emergency services in Vallaire’s area, who sped to his rescue.
Vallaire’s story was shared by Broward Health:
Rushed to Broward Health Medical Center, Dan’s care team discovered a series of life-threatening conditions, including a stroke and a heart infection requiring complex surgery. Thanks to the expert care of cardiac surgeon Dr. Alexander Justicz and the support of his family, Dan recovered, celebrating his birthday in the ICU and returning to his active lifestyle. Today, Dan is thriving and encourages others to prioritize their heart health.
The iPhone’s “Hey Siri” feature allows iPhone owners to issue a voice command to call emergency services without the iPhone being unlocked. Siri can understand several emergency-related commands, including “Call 911,” or “Call the fire department.” A five-second countdown then takes place, allowing users to cancel the call before it is actually placed, just in case the call was made by mistake.
Here’s How to Enable “Hey Siri” on iPhone
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down until you see the “Siri” menu item. Tap that.
- Tap “Talk to Siri.”
- Tap either the Allow “Sir or Hey Siri” or “Hey Siri” option to toggle the feature on.
- On-screen prompts will now walk you through training Siri to respond to your voice.
- You will be able to summon Siri at any time without touching your iPhone.
- When you want to summon Siri, simply say “Siri” or “Hey Siri” to your iPhone.
