Timers is Alarm’s little brother. Designed to be helpful in situations when you need to be notified when a set period of time has passed.
Timers can be used for anything, like reminding you to finish working out, to take something out of the oven, or finish meditating.
Setting a timer manually is a pretty straightforward process. You can access the Timer app on your iPhone or iPad by opening the Clock app and tapping the Timer tab. On the Apple Watch, the Timer can be accessed via its app icon. On the HomePod, timers can only be controlled by voice commands.
With Siri, you can start timers and then have them pause and stop with just a few simple voice commands.
In this article, we’ll show you how to:
- Start a timer with Siri.
- Check if you have any timers running.
- Pause and resume a timer.
- Stop a timer.
How to start a timer with Siri
Say you spent the last couple of hours preparing an impressive feast for your friends and realize it’s time to get cleaned up, ready to be the dutiful host. You could set the alarm on your oven to let you know when you need to add some vital ingredients. But what if you’re getting ready on the other side of the house and won’t be able to hear it?
Siri rides to the rescue again.
First, activate Siri on your device using one of these methods.
iPhone/iPad
- Press and hold the Side/Home button until Siri appears.
- By saying “Hey Siri”.
Read more about how to set up and use Siri on your iPhone.
Apple Watch
- By saying “Hey Siri”.
- By pressing and holding the Digital Crown.
- By using Raise to Speak.
Read more about how to set up and use Siri on your Apple Watch.
HomePod
- By saying “Hey Siri”.
Read more about how to set up and use Siri on your HomePod.
Once Siri is triggered, say:
Hey Siri, start a timer for 15 minutes.
Hey Siri, set the timer for 25 minutes.
The timer immediately starts running, and Siri displays the countdown in a notification on your device.
Tap on the notification to open the Clock app and view the timer screen.
The timer countdown progress is also shown below the time on your device’s lock screen.
Siri will alert you by sounding an alarm once the specified time has passed.
Check what timers you have running
You can ask Siri at any time to see a list of all the active timers.
Hey Siri, show timers.
Hey Siri, show the timer.
How to pause and resume a timer with Siri
Using these voice commands, you can interact with Siri when a timer is already running.
Hey Siri, pause the timer.
Siri will then pause the timer and display a confirmation message on the screen. To resume the timer, just say:
Hey Siri, resume the timer.
How to reset a timer with Siri
You can ask Siri to reset a running timer. This will wipe any time that has elapsed and start the timer from the beginning again.
Hey Siri, reset the timer.
How to stop a timer with Siri
When the timer reaches zero, it will make a sound to notify you. If you want to stop the timer before it reaches zero, say:
Hey Siri, stop the timer.
Going further
The Siri Shortcuts app can be used to extend the capabilities of the timer beyond normal usage. For example, we’ve written an article on how to build a workout timer using just Siri Shortcuts.
By starting, pausing, and stopping timers with our voice, we can free up our hands to do other things like cooking or working out. So next time you need to set a timer, don’t reach for your phone or tablet; ask Siri instead.