Siri Reminders Commands

In this post, I cover asking Siri to set reminders with the Reminders App and several other core Apple Apps. Apple’s reminders is a very subtle and powerful tool that integrates with a surprising amount of Apple tech. It’s a great example of Apple’s “It Just Works” mentality. And the best part of this capability is that it’s supported on more than just your iPhone—as both the iPad and Apple Watch support reminders, too. Personally, I use reminders often in combination with my iPhone and the iCloud Website.

See the most common questions answered in the FAQ section, or view the complete list of Siri reminders commands under Keeping Up With Siri in the table of contents below.

• FAQs
  • Where are Siri Reminders?
  • Can Siri speak Reminders?
  • Can Siri set Reminders?
  • Can Siri add Reminders to different lists?
  • Can Siri make a Reminder when I get home? 
  • Can Siri set Reminder with time?
  • Is Siri compatible with other reminder apps?
  • Can Siri set the priority on a reminder?
  • Can Siri read a Scheduled Reminder when time passes?
• Keeping Up With Siri
  • Reminders Commands
    • “Hey Siri, read my reminders”
    • “Hey Siri, remind me when I text Tim to ask about travel plans”
    •  “Hey Siri, create a flagged reminder to buy milk”
    • “Hey Siri, show me my flagged reminders”
    • “Hey Siri, add artichokes to my groceries list”
    • “Hey Siri, add skydiving to my bucket list”
    • “Hey Siri, remember to take an umbrella”
    • “Hey Siri, remind me to take my medicine at 6am tomorrow”
    • “Hey Siri, read my work to-do list”
    • “Hey Siri, mark the third one complete”
    • “Hey Siri, create a new list called Groceries”
    • “Hey Siri, remind me about this email tomorrow”
    • “Hey Siri, remember this website”

FAQs

Where are Siri Reminders?

You can find all reminders that you ask Siri to set in the Reminders App. 

Can Siri speak Reminders?

Yes. You can use Siri to read reminders out loud in any of your reminder lists. Check out the command below for the specifics.

Can Siri set Reminders?

Yes. Check out the commands listed below that will let you create reminders in the Reminders App using Siri.

Can Siri add Reminders to different lists?

If you don’t specify a reminder list, Siri defaults to the “tasks” list. But you can specify another list. Just use the phrase “<list name> list.”

Can Siri make a Reminder when I get home?

Siri can make reminders based off of locations, although it’s not specified in Apple’s guide.

Try this command, “Hey Siri, remind me to feed the cat when I get home.”

Can Siri set Reminder with time?

Yes. Check out the command below.

Is Siri compatible with other reminder apps?

Sadly, no. You’ll have to use Apple’s Reminders App if you want to use Siri to set a reminder.

Can Siri set the priority on a reminder?

Yes. Use the phrase “flagged” to add flags to your reminders.

Can Siri read a Scheduled Reminder when time passes?

Yes! But only in a unique case, and with Apple Air Pods connected. If you set a scheduled time on a reminder, Siri will wake up and read that reminder to you, but only if you have Air Pods connected. Without Air Pods, Siri does not wake up and read the notification to you.

Keeping Up With Siri

Beyond the above FAQs, there are many other capabilities Siri has in terms of making your life easier with using the Reminders App. Before we dive into what they are, let me first introduce Keeping Up With Siri. In this series, I outline Apple’s Siri Guide of over 300 commands and provide a walk-through of each within 28 separate category posts. This post specifically focuses on using Siri to set reminders. Check out the Siri Reminders Commands below.

Reminders Commands

“Hey Siri, read my reminders”

Let’s start with the basics! With this command, Siri will read all reminders you have.

“Hey Siri, remind me when I text Tim to ask about travel plans”

Right off the bat, Apple is showing us deep integration with the Reminders App, Siri, and the Messaging App.

When you use this command, Siri creates a reminder in the Reminders App called “ask about travel plans” in the list “Tasks.” Siri also sets a specific field on the reminder for the Messages App. The next time you open the Messages App and send a message to the contact you specified, you’ll get a reminder to “ask about travel plans.”

Let’s give it a try. I’ll use my wife instead of Tim as the contact. When I use this command, I see a Siri UI that looks like this:

And here’s what the reminder looks like in the Reminders App. Notice the special field for messaging.

When I send a message to that contact, I’ll now see a notification with the reminder. This is very cool functionality that I didn’t know existed!

“Hey Siri, create a flagged reminder to buy milk”

What are flags? In the Reminders App, you can assign a flag to any reminder. Flags are a way for you to prioritize, classify, or even search reminders in different ways. For example, you could use flags to mark reminders that are especially important for you to complete.

Siri can also create flagged reminders for you. When you use this command, Siri adds a new reminder to the Reminders App called “buy milk” and marks this new reminder with a red flag. Siri adds this reminder to the default list named “Tasks” in the Reminders App. 

The reminder itself looks like this:

“Hey Siri, show me my flagged reminders”

When given this command, Siri shows you a list of all flagged reminders from the Reminders App. This includes flagged reminders that might be in different lists. You’ll see something that looks like this:

“Hey Siri, add artichokes to my groceries list”

Using Siri, you can also specify which reminder list you’d like to add a reminder to. If you don’t specify a list, Siri will add reminders to the “Tasks” list. 

With this command, Siri adds the reminder “artichokes” to the reminders list called “Groceries.”

If you haven’t created the list yet, Siri will walk you through that as well by first asking if you want to create the list and then adding the reminder to your new list.

“Hey Siri, add skydiving to my bucket list”

This command behaves much in the same way as the previous one. The only differences are the subject of the reminder and the list name. With this slightly-varied command, Apples shows the ability for Siri to set different reminders for other lists you have created beyond “Groceries.”

“Hey Siri, remember to take an umbrella”

Here we have an alternative phrase that Siri understands when setting a reminder. Apple lets us know that the words “add” and “remind me” aren’t the only ways you can add a reminder, as Siri understands the word “remember” too.

When given this command, Siri adds the reminder “take an umbrella” to the default “Tasks” list.

“Hey Siri, remind me to take my medicine at 6am tomorrow”

Siri can schedule reminders for specific dates and times. When you use this command, Siri creates a new reminder in your “Tasks” list titled “take my medicine.” Siri also adds an alarm to the reminder that’s set for the following day at 6 in the morning. The Siri UI looks like this:

In the Reminders App, this is what the reminder looks like with an alarm scheduled:

“Hey Siri, read my work to-do list”

Siri can read your reminders out loud to you. When you use this command, Siri reads the reminders on the list called “Work To-Do” aloud.

“Hey Siri, mark the third one complete”

If you forget the reminder name but remember it’s position, Siri has you covered. When you use this command, Siri marks the third reminder from the top of your list as complete.

Note: this command only works when you have one list. If you have multiple reminder lists, Siri will ask you which item you’re looking to mark as complete.

“Hey Siri, create a new list called Groceries”

When you use this command, Siri creates a new list titled “Groceries” in the Reminders App.

Note: items won’t be automatically added to this list unless you provide Siri with further commands.

“Hey Siri, remind me about this email tomorrow”

Sadly, this command only works with Apple’s Email App—there’s no third-party support, like with Gmail.

When you use this command while looking at an email in the Email App, Siri will create a new reminder with a link to the email you are looking at. Here’s what it looks like:

“Hey Siri, remember this website”

You’ll need to use Apple’s Safari in order for this command to work. Like with the previous command, there is no third-party support. When you’re browsing a website, you can use this command to add a new reminder in the “Tasks” list with a link to the website you’re currently browsing. Here’s an example:

That wraps things up for Siri Reminders Commands. Want to learn what else Siri can do on your iPhone and other Apple devices? Check out the 300+ Siri commands from 28 different categories via the series Keeping Up With Siri Commands.