Blasted Siri voices and Voiceover! They're always deleted!

On behalf of everyone who would like the option, I wish you good fortune and success in your endeavour!

And I still have my BrailleNote Apex, even as I sold off (gave away really, since it was stolen from me by the buyer) my PacMate Omni, in no small part owing to the former's support for UK2004 Braille, and the option to indent every new paragraph by two blank cells! Spare me not this newfangled UEB nonsense! Etc.

What Sebby said. ☝🏼🤨

Ever since you can set multiple timers on the iPhone; you cannot have a default tone for the timer. The default tone as of now is something I can easily dismiss as a notification tone from some random app asking me to buy something they have to offer. Like I said earlier, I am just fed up and I give up until they can get me an IOS version that addresses these challenges. I am out of trouble shoot mode

and I still keep losing my preferred Siri voice, and I'm sure not using Samantha. Well, whaddaya know, my Siri voice has remained the same for a couple of days, I just checked, so I hope that Apple has fixed the problem.

Sorry you are having issues. I wish that iOS 17.3 fix them but I am not holding my breath.

Blasted SIRI voices always deleted seems to be fixed.
Knock on wood or whatever you say in English.

Last night I did get and instal the update, but cannot assure if this has fixed the bug of the voices getting deleted. Have to put my phone for a charge to check, not accessible right now. However, my automation that was to speak text with a Siri voice was choppy and broken. An issue I faced earlier too. I am going to stop complaining and be ignorant to the situation

I feel for you. Do not lose hope iOS 18 is coming and maybe, it will be fix. Lucky for me the only issue is that VO reads the time whenever I get a notification.

I do not remember if anyone (myself included) ever asked, but how do you have Notifications displayed i.e. Stack, List, Etc?

Like always as a list. This was not an issue in iOS 16 for me. I know some do not have this issue. Is driving me nuts. Nuts I tell you.

I'm charging my device right now.
Yep, I'm on iOS 17.3 and last time I charged after upgrading to iOS 17.3 my siri voices was still there.
We'll see in a few minutes...
On another note: what happened to the U.S. siri voices?
They're all become very small in size - only around 65-70 MB.
I saw that when I started to use my iPhone 14 and I set it up as a new device.
I didn't transfer anything from my old iPhone XR.
However, on my XR all US siri voices is still 450+ MB.

You're right Bingo Little.
Just checked now and my default voice has been deleted and replaced with the default compact Norwegian voice.
For English I'm currently using Zoe Premium (US) and Jamie Premium (UK) and they were not deleted of course.
I wish there were more choices for Norwegian voices...

I wish I knew what was so different about my iPhone SE2, because as I think I have mentioned before, I have not experienced this. The only time a voice auto deletes for me is if I manually change to a different voice. 🤷🏼‍♂️

First for the non-Siri voice deletions...

I used my Spoken Content settings for checking if my (non-Siri) VO voices were indeed being deleted before un-selecting them in the VO settings each time they change back to defaults, which is necessary to re-download and get them working again. I first confirmed that whatever VO voices I've downloaded in the VO settings show up as also being downloaded in Spoken Content. My non-Siri VO voices get deleted every couple of weeks. I've now comfirmed that they also appeared deleted in the Spoken Content before un-selecting them within the VO settings.

Now here's the bonkers part -- Whichever (non-Siri) VO voices that I'd downloaded but were not in use either as primary or rotor languages did NOT get deleted. That is, ALL THE VOICES IN USE BY VOICEOVER GOT DELETED BUT THOSE NOT IN USE REMAINED DOWNLOADED!! You'd expect the opposite, as experienced by Brian on his SE2 above. I'm on an iPhone 11.

Now for the Siri voices...

The Siri voices within VO are different in both size and download state when you compare VO to Spoken Content. For example, my US Siri voice 3 is listed as 62.7MB in VO and 79.9MB in Spoken Content. And if I download a Siri voice in one place it appears not to be downloaded in the other. They seem to be completely unrelated to each other. Also, I think they are getting deleted from VO much more frequently than the non-Siri voices.

I'd love to know if all this is reproduceable and consistent with other users who are using non-Siri voices and having them occasionally deleted... and how that relates to their Siri voice auto-deletions, if at all.

Look, we need to be clear about this that VO voices are the default voices that you can use for VO. apple has additionally provided you the Siri voices that you can also use for VO. You should note: All VO voices need to be downloaded from: Settings/ accessibility/ vision/ Voice Over/ Speech. If you downloaded any Siri voices from Settings/ accessibility/ Spoken Content/ Voices/ System Voices. They will not be available to be used with VO. (Very confident, prove me wrong)

Where are the voices downloaded from Settings/ accessibility/ Spoken Content/ Voices/ System Voices used? You can use these voices in Siri Shortcuts/ automations where you have an action that says speak text. Now please don't confuse yourself, your Siri voice, the one that speaks to you when you call for it is downloaded when you make the selection in Settings/ Siri and Search and this voice is reflected as downloaded under Voices/ Spoken content.

Be mindful here: when you go to Spoken content/ voices/ English. Say you open the Siri voice and hit the edit button on the top left the voice you are using for Siri will say Siri 1 (Used by Siri) and with VO when you go to the voice and hit the edit button you will see e.g. Samantha (Used by VoiceOver) read out to you.

As of 17.3 voices downloaded from Spoken content, still disappear when you charge the phone and all the voices used in any shortcut or automation under the speak text action if they were set to Siri, will default to a non-Siri voice.

Experiment: I have faced this issue, go to Settings/ accessibility/ Vision/ Voice Over/ Speech and select the voice you are currently using for VO, if you have a second voice in that list download it and select it. Then hit the edit button check if both the voices show (used by VoiceOver) e.g. I have mine set to Samantha, but even if I select samantha Enhanced as VO and hit the edit button both show (used by VO)

I know that took a lot of patience to write the previous comment but I had to say what had to be said. If you downloaded the Siri voice from Settings/ accessibility/ Vision/ Voice Over/ Speech you will not have them in your speak text action as a voice (I observed strange behaviour here too!) Try the experiment in my comment, please. This seems to be a bug related with Siri and VO, they are killing them both for us

Wow, apologies for a post that seemed to require so much clarification! Like Bingo, I also assumed we are all talking about VoiceOver here.

I was following up on an earlier post related to the traditional (i.e. non-Siri) VoiceOver voices getting deleted, and the results of some experimentation that I'd promised.

My experience is that my preferred (non-Siri) VO voices are randomly changing once every couple of weeks or so, reverting to their defaults for each "language." So my primary VO voice is Serena (UK) and it changes to Daniel. My Spanish (Mexico) rotor voice changes to Paulina. The "Bingo work-around" does not apply in this case, since the deletions of the non-Siri voices occur night or day, charging or not charging.

Hello,
If you listen to the Audible version of any of the PJO--Percy Jackson and the Olympians--books, you'll notice they're narrated by Jessy Bernstein. I sware that the fifth SIRI voice sounds like him, so is it? Anyway, why not use the names of the possible people who recordd these voices instead of numbers, sseems really generic for some reason. Also, do we know if these people are still alive to help improve their synthesized voice profiles?
Thank you,
Ashleigh Piccinino
P.S. wouldn't it be cool to have James-Earl Jones or Jeramy Irons, possibly Jim Dale--narrator of the Harry Potter books?

From now on, we shall now address the UK English thing as "Bloody English".

Regarding the 'work-around', why not just turn off iCloud backup? Or am I misunderstanding?

I have too many items backed up on iCloud, turning off iCloud BackUp isn't the solution I would look for, it's a compromise that I will have to make. I am not ready for such compromises, already dealing with my looks that I had to compromise with, for no fault of mine!

We need a fix not a compromise!

The reason I asked was because Bingo mentioned having to "manually" do an iCloud backup. I was asking if iCloud was the cause of this entire auto-delete issue. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I've tried putting my phone into aeroplane mode / flight mode or whatever it is called in English.
Sorry, too lazy to google translate right now grin.
This means no wifi or mobile data connection, so the phone can't sync to iCloud servers etc.
Didn't help at all -- all siri voices auto-deleted.
The only workaround is the Bingo way: restart your phone and then start charging but do not enter pin-code to unlock your device.
I'm currently trying out another workaround.
The last couple of days I tried out a theory that it is actually VoiceOver that is causing this behavior or at least that VO have a role in it.
So, I toggle VoiceOver off before putting my phone on charge.
I've done this twice and when I feel it's done charging I toggle VoiceOver on again.
Guess what?
So far so good, all siri voices still there.
However, I'm not completely sure this will work going forward because these blasted siri voices auto-delete right out of the blue.
I'm currently at 29%, so the need for a charge is fast approaching.
Crossing fingers.

Switched off VO.
Started charging at 23%.
Just checked after approx 45 minutes by toggling VO on and my default siri voice still there and battery level at 80%.
Disconnected my phone from the charger.
Third time in a row this approach worked out fine for me.

There is a nifty little script/shortcut that will speak aloud when your iPhone is fully charged. Does not use VO.

Tutorial:
https://www.idownloadblog.com/2021/08/23/how-to-get-notification-iphone-ipad-fully-charged/

It’s incredible to me that notone of you has come up with the idea to actually do a system reset. Not one of you has come up with the idea to reset all settings. Even if that doesn’t work, you have an obligation to actually do that level of troubleshooting. It’s absolutely repulsive that people have the freedom to come on this and other websites and talk about what they’re sick of and what they’re frustrated by and don’t do simple troubleshooting. Many issues do in fact get resolved with a reset. If you’re talking about accessibility and upgrading your devices, then you also have to take on the hard work of doing that. It’s literally part of the process of testing and using software.

I am going to try this, I created an automation that will turn VO off, when I plug in my phone to power up and turn VO on once it is unplugged. I down loaded the Siri Voices from Settings/ accessibility/ Spoken Content/ Voices before plugging in my phone for charge let us see if that works

I've already tried resetting my device to factory settings.
Deleted all content and all settings and set up as new.
Didn't help at all and if you had the patience to read the whole thread you would know that at least some of us have tried that.
In fact I have just recently gotten myself a new device of which I also set up as new - transferred absolutely nothing from my old iPhone XR but siri voices still kept on auto-deleting.
I agree that this is getting old but also interesting to figure out what's going on.

I can't count anymore the number of times I have reset all settings, restored from back-up and banged my head against the wall until I ran into this conversation and laughed heartily that I am not the only one that is being plagued by this issue

Thanks Bingo.
My system language and region is set to Norwegian and over here we call it "Flymodus".
So, aeroplane mode is flymodus in Norwegian.
There you go, your first Norwegian word (tears of joy).
Sorry about that quick language lesson LOL

Please refer to my earlier comment automation set voices were not deleted

The fact is that most of the people on this forum do not do the most basic troubleshooting steps. One or two people might. Most won’t. Coming on this website to talk about something that nobody can fix this pointless, especially after something like 90 comments stating that there is no apparent fix. It’s more important to leave all these messages with Apple accessibility. Hammer them with emails and messages. If you guys actually gave one damn about improving accessibility, then you would be sending 56 messages to Apple directly instead of coming on this website to complain and put other people down. And yes, I’m putting many of the people on this website down myself. That’s because I am sick of the behavior and negativity. I am also very sick of the lack of self-awareness and effort to do the most basic troubleshooting.

Again, I feel for all of you. Even she who should not be name feel for you. No issues with my 13 pro. I use Tom for VO. Do not use Siri voice for VO but just siri 4 for regular Siri. Hope in iOS 18 this is fix. I think this will not be address in iOS 17. If Apple has not done it yet, it might be for the next iOS. Hope.

Hello,
I agree with Bing here, yes, Bingo, that is. Anyway, I think Ash's rein should end, but I love that you're treating her like Lord Voldemort--she who must not be named, so here's another one, You-Know-Who. All my SIRI voices are still there, and I just used number five--whom I terribly think is Jessy Bernstein, narrator of some books on the Audible app. Anyway, all my voices seem to be present/having to redownload Alex, though.

Firstly can’t let ash’s observations that people who don’t reset their settings are repulsive go without saying how absolutely charmed I am. Ok so the potential fix. Please forgive if this has come up. I tried emailing Bingo a week or so ago but I don’t think it got through. Anyway, I wasn’t having the problem in this thread with only one voice on my phone and no other languages. I felt for those who were but I escaped this one. Then I thought I would have another go with some alternative voices to see if I could get on with anything as well as I do Siri Australian voice 2. It’s a game I play from time to time but never results in me changing my VO voice. I downloaded a couple of voices the usual way, adding languages and downloading voices in those languages so I’d be able to switch them via the rotor. Next time I plugged in my phone to charge, it deleted my Siri voice. Hmmm I thought, I wonder if I go back to only one voice on my phone with no other languages, would the problem go away. Well it did. The problem is resolved again and I’m a happy camper. Well was until I saw the usual vitriol decorating the pages of this fine website. So my point is. For me at least, only having 1 Siri voice on my phone and no other languages is what decides whether or not I have this problem. I don’t know if that helps anyone else. I hope it does but if not, I’d appreciate not having my value as a human being questioned as seems standard in these parts. Oh and I haven’t read all 90 comments to see if this has been previously discussed. I’m just saying what worked for me when the problem came knocking.

She is about a cat that people do not wan to hear about. Nothing else.

Complaining does absolutely nothing when all you’re doing is screaming at the wall and then padding each other on the back about how clever you think your clips are. The point of an obligation is to consider that you have to go through a certain process to figure out why any issue is occurring. And resetting is a part of that process. Because the first thing that engineers ask is what troubleshooting steps did you go through? People at Apple might look at these threads. But they don’t take these threads seriously. And mainly because there’s so much difference in people use cases. Many of the people that post on this website don’t really have much in the way of credibility. That’s why Apple employees are literally told that it’s OK to come on this website and take a look around, but not to post, and not to use the information here as anything that can be used to troubleshoot/problem solve. Although I will say that the main team that works at applevis does a very good job at reporting issues and discussing what issues remain. I am glad to come on the website whenever there is a new software release to look at the applevis Team findings. The commenters… Generally not so much.

I have no problem with people venting. I have a problem with people venting for weeks and months without any pause and literally changing nothing. This is not meant to be the primary place to report bugs. This is a place to coordinate understanding of these bugs and then work together to reach out to Apple. More than that, this is a place to discuss what accessible apps might exist.

Instead, this is a website where people put down developers for daring to create an app. This is a place where people are negative and stubborn and think they’re being clever.

I could care less if anyone on this website likes me. I have no interest in being anyone’s friend on this platform. I compliment those that have good points/ideas and challenge Those who I believe are getting nowhere. It doesn’t matter to me if you think I’m a man or a woman. It doesn’t matter to me if you guys try to hide your distain with quote jokes. My goal is the same as it’s always been. I fundamentally care about improving accessibility. And I personally work very hard to make things better. Some things, I’ve been able to personally help improve. Some things I’ve coordinated with other people to help improve. Some things I’m still working on to improve. I don’t post that much on this website because fundamentally, I don’t really like being around visually impaired and blind people. I find no community in this quote community. It’s mostly just a bunch of stubborn negative people Who quit very easily and would rather anonymously complain about pretty much everything and anything. Maybe one out of every 30 or 40 posts has something worthwhile. There are maybe a few people that come on this website who I value and believe have something worthwhile to say. The rest are fluff. It just frustrates me that I have to go through all that fluff to get the one or two posts that mean anything

But the thread is quite entertaining lol, it has been a fun read so far. I’m interested to know where this thread will head next.

You may be onto something. I have mentioned above that I do not experience this particular issue. In fact, I have been using Siri Voice 1 (US) since iOS 17. For both VoiceOver, Siri, and Spoken Content, because I am dirty like that.

In fact the only time I have noticed an auto-delete to my VO voice, is when/if I manually change to a different voice; the first voice I had been using auto-deletes. Also mentioned this above in an earlier post.

So, is it happening only when we try to use multiple voices with VO? Would narrow down the issue if that is the case. . .

Thoughts? 😃

All this while I am thinking that we are trying to address the issue with Siri voices being deleted/ removed from Settings/ accessibility/ Spoken Content/ Voices when one puts their phone for charge. However, the thread conversation now also talks about VO voices being deleted. Did anyone try out the experiment I was talking about in one of my comments?

P.S. I have reported this issue on apple.com/feedback and also to the mail ID for apple accessibility. However, this is not an issue with accessibility but do believe it has something to do with VO users facing this challenge. I did all the basic trouble setting steps i.e. Airplane/ Restart/ Force Restart/ Reset all settings/ Restore etc. but I believe this is surely something needs the intervention of apple to address. Sorry, I have too many custom settings and resetting the phone is not a good idea for me as I have to end up setting all my settings all over again and that requires a day or too and I have to do it inbetween multiple commitments in a day.

We as users have limited or no knowledge on how to trouble shoot some situations but the thread did have some interesting suggestions that I tried. The one that said turn VO off before charging worked last night but failed this morning, so this does not solve the challenge. Waiting for a fix from apple. Thank you all, have a good one!

I shall attempt this endeavor. . .

The original post(OP) stated that they were experiencing an issue where their Siri voices were being automatically deleted, or auto-deleted during a charging cycle.

I believe the miscommunication is in the title of the OP versus the post itself. While Bingo Little is talking about Siri voices, I do believe he is referring to the Siri voices found in VoiceOver. He may or may not also be eluding to actual Siri as well, but again I believe the focus is on the Siri VO voice options.

Of course, as all threads do here at AppleVis, it has devolved into a den of debate, discrimination, and debacle.

See: Dumpster Fire)

Hope that explains things a bit. 😇

This issue is very strange indeed.
I'm only talking about VoiceOver and siri voices.
All worked just fine until 17.1.
Only one voice/language may have something to do with this darn issue.
Sad but true.
My current setup is:
VO voice: Norwegian siri 1.
English Zoe Premium and Jamie Premium in my rotor to quickly switch between Norwegian and English as needed.
SIRI itself use Norwegian siri 2.
I used to have U.S. siri 4 and UK English 3 in my rotor but got really tired of re-downloading all siri voices every time I charged my phone.
For me it's only siri voices used with VO that are auto-deleted.
I have never experienced other voices (non-siri) auto-deleting.
I don't use the spoken content feature, so can't comment on that.
PS: I'm sorry to see that all your siri voices auto-deleted again, Mister Kayne.