Apparently Apple's new Siri assistant does not work on weekends. Scores of iPhone 4S early adopters have been unable to make a meaningful connection with Miss Siri due to network overload issues on Saturday.
An Apple Store Specialist confirmed to me by phone that the company is having connectivity problems due to immense demand from new users.
"The Siri network has been getting swamped," said one Apple Specialist. "We are currently working on getting it fixed."
My own Siri tests produced a non-response after dozens of attempts all morning. The Siri icon would just spin indefinitely after receiving a command. But shortly after 2 PM PST, Siri began to function again for me as expected on my AT&T connected iPhone 4S device. Apple may have finally solved their network issues.
Other users on Twitter are reporting a Siri message that reads "Sorry I cannot connect to the network right now" which is different from the non-response I've been battling with. A fix for the network connection error was posted by one user; let me know us if it works for you.
How to Fix Siri Network Connection Error:
- Click on Settings>General and disable Siri Feature
- Reboot (re-start) your iPhone 4S
- Now enable your Siri voice command feature through Settings>General
UPDATED 10-17: Siri appears to be unable to make a connection again this morning delivering the message; "Sorry I am having trouble connecting to the network".
Apple Support indicated that they're not calling the inability to connect with Siri "an emerging issue". The Apple support representative called the problem "a network issue", pointing blame at either my cellular network or my Wi-Fi, which are the only ways that Siri can connect.
"It's actually a network issue," Apple Support told me. "The resolution is check your network connection or try again later."
Post your Siri issues in comments. I'll update this post as more info becomes available.
