Voice Control is an important accessibility feature introduced to the iPhone with iOS 13. Voice Control allows users to speak commands to make their iPhone launch apps, edit text, adjust volume, and even carry out pre-saved gestures. There are tons of tasks you can do on your iPhone with Voice Control, including unlocking your device.

Read on as we detail how you can use Voice Control to unlock your iPhone or iPad with just your voice.

How to Set Up Voice Control on an iPhone

If you’ve never used Voice Control on your iPhone, you’ll need to set it up before you can configure it to unlock your iPhone. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Head to Settings and then tap on Accessibility.
  2. Tap Voice Control and then select Set up Voice Control; your iPhone will download the necessary files.
  3. Once you tap on Continue, Voice Control will be set up and ready to use.

How to Unlock an iPhone Using Voice Commands

You can unlock your iPhone using your voice with a customized Voice Control command that will trigger an automatic gesture. It’s relatively easy to set up and will allow you to unlock your iPhone quickly. The trick is to set up a custom gesture that will tap the screen at the exact location as digits of your passcode.

Setting up a gesture can be troublesome if you have a long passcode, so we recommend using a four-digit passcode for simplicity. If your current passcode is longer, you can quickly change it through the Settings app. Moreover, you need to make sure that your iPhone is running iOS 13 or later.

Related: How to Change Your iPhone Passcode

Here’s how you can unlock your iPhone with a custom voice command:

  1. Launch the Settings app and then tap on Accessibility.
  2. Tap Voice Control and enable Voice Control by tapping the toggle button. You should now see a blue microphone in the status bar at the top of the screen, indicating that Voice Control is enabled.
  3. Select Customize Commands, and you will see a list of available predefined voice commands. Now tap Create New Command.
  4. In the Phrase text box, you need to enter the phrase that you will use to unlock your iPhone. Make sure this is a phrase you can say and avoid using generic commands such as “Unlock iPhone” or “Open phone” as they can pose a security risk.
  5. After you’ve decided on the phrase, tap Action and then select Run Custom Gesture.
  6. A New Gesture screen will show up, and you now need to tap on the exact location of the screen where your passcode digits usually are. Tap on the correct areas of the screen in the correct order of your passcode to set up the gesture. If your passcode is “4580.” you want to first tap in the location where “4” usually appears while entering your passcode. Repeat the same for the remaining digits of your passcode. It might take you a few tries to set up the custom gesture properly.
  7. You can even add a swipe-up gesture before the passcode digit gestures to avoid swiping up while unlocking the screen.
  8. Once you’ve created your custom gesture, tap on Save and then go back to New Command and finally tap Save.

You won’t be able to unlock your iPhone using a voice command if you have Face ID enabled, as it will unlock your iPhone before you can even speak the voice command. It’s recommended you disable Face ID after successfully setting up the custom voice command. instead

Once you’ve done that, you can easily unlock your iPhone by speaking a short phrase.

Is It Safe to Unlock Your iPhone Using a Voice Command?

While it is very much possible to unlock your iPhone using a voice command, it definitely poses a security risk. Anyone can use your secret phrase to unlock your iPhone and gain access to your data. And strangers can easily find out what that phrase is by listening to you say it.

If you decide to unlock your iPhone using a voice command, we recommend being wary of your surroundings before speaking your “secret” phrase.