How to Fix iPhone Voice Control Error: Failed to Download Necessary Files

Are you encountering the error message “Failed to download necessary files, turn on voice control“when trying to use the Voice Control function on your iPhone? This feature is part of the accessibility options provided by iOS. In this guide, we will discuss what Voice Control is, the reasons for this error, and how to effectively resolve it.

Understanding Voice Control and the Error Message on Your iPhone

Voice Control is an accessibility tool on your iPhone that enables you to navigate and execute various tasks using just your voice. It’s particularly useful in situations where you can’t physically interact with your device but still need to perform specific actions.

While this feature generally works seamlessly on iOS, it requires downloading language data from the server to function optimally. Currently, it supports six primary languages, with numerous dialects available. If you attempt to use Voice Control before these language files have completed downloading, you may see the error message “Failed to download necessary files, turn on voice control“.

Solution: Change Siri’s Language and Reactivate Voice Control

Resolve this issue by following these three simple steps on your iPhone: disable Voice Control, change Siri’s language, and then re-enable Voice Control.

Step 1: Disable Voice Control

Start by turning off the Voice Control feature.

Step 1: Navigate to the Settings menu and select Accessibility.

Step 2: Locate the Voice Control option within the Accessibility menu.

Step 3: Toggle off the Voice Control feature.

Once completed, exit this settings page.

Step 2: Update Siri’s Language

The next step involves changing Siri’s language settings.

Step 1: Revisit the Settings menu.

Step 2: Access the Siri settings.

Step 3: Next, go to the Languages section.

Step 4: Change the language to English (United States).

After updating Siri’s language, you can now proceed to the final step: reactivating Voice Control.

Step 3: Reactivate Voice Control

The final step is straightforward—just enable the Voice Control feature again.

Step 1: Open the Settings menu and head back to Accessibility.

Step 2: Select the Voice Control option once more.

Step 3: Finally, toggle it back on from this menu.

You should no longer encounter issues with Voice Control. Test it out to see if the problem is resolved!

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