Siri

Siri is a voice assistant feature found in the iPad 3, iPad mini 1G, iPhone 4S, iPod touch 5G and their successors. Siri has been present since iOS 5 (with the iPhone 4S) A port to older devices has been completed by stroughtonsmith with the help of chpwn, and is available in Cydia as Spire. (Compatible only with iOS 5.0.1) There are other ports which are compatible with more iOS versions (iOS 5.1.1 through 6.1.5), but most of them are unstable, slow, incomplete, or a scam. Almost all of them are illegal.

As of iOS 6, Siri is supported by the iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad mini 1G, iPad mini 2G, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s and iPod touch 5G.

Files

Siri is an integral part as of iOS 5 for the iPhone 4S or any supported devices. Files and folders include:

Location	Type	Comments	iOS
			5.x	6.x	7.x
/Applications/Preferences.app/*.lproj/*Assistant.strings	Localization file	Localization for Siri preferences.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/Applications/Preferences.app/5.0~General Assistant.plist	PList File Format	Siri settings injection file.	Yes	Yes	No
/Applications/Preferences.app/5.0~Passcode Lock Assistant.plist	PList File Format	Siri Lockscreen settings injection file.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/Applications/Preferences.app/5.0~Restriction-Assistant.plist	PList File Format	Siri Restriction settings injection file.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/Applications/SiriViewService.app	Application	Presumably a Siri controller.	No	No	Yes
/System/Library/AccessibilityBundles/AssistantUI.axbundle	Bundle	Siri Accessibility plugin.	Yes	Yes	No
/System/Library/AccessibilityBundles/AXExtraExtras.axbundle	Bundle	Siri Accessibility plugin.	Yes	Yes	No
/System/Library/AccessibilityBundles/*-Assistant.axbundle	Bundle	Siri Accessibility plugins.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/Assistant	System Folder	Contains most Siri plugins or functionality resources.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/Assistant*	PNG or ARTWORK file	Siri images and ARTWORK file for iOS 5	Yes	No	No
/System/Library/DataClassMigrators/Siri.migrator	Bundle	?	No	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.assistantd.plist	Daemon	Handling communication between Siri (also Dictation) and Apple Server.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.assistant_service.plist	Daemon	Handling Siri plugins or trivial stuffs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.assistant.analyzer.plist	Daemon	Siri logging.	5.1+	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AssistantServices.framework	Framework	Resources for Mic sound, Location settings icon and the daemons.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AssistantUI.framework	Framework	Resources for Siri UI.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Preferences.framework/*.lproj/AssistantShared.strings	Localization file	Localization for "About Siri And Privacy" section.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SAObjects.framework	Framework	Resources for Siri objects.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SiriUI.framework	Framework	Resources for Siri UI/ARTWORK for iOS 7	No	No	Yes
/System/Library/PreferenceBundles/Assistant.bundle	Preference Bundle	Siri settings.	Yes	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/SpringBoardPlugins/Assistant.uibundle	SpringBoard Plugin	Mainly handling Siri UI in iOS 6, unusual for iOS 7	No	Yes	Yes
/System/Library/UserEventPlugins/AssistantUEA.plugin	System Plugin	Siri logging.	Yes	Yes	Yes

Although other devices are capable of running Siri, they do not (or partially) include the above files that are required for it to work.

Installation

An additional key in the capabilities section of /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/XXXAP.plist must be added for the device to enable Siri:

<key>assistant</key>
<true/>

An another key, "Raise to Speak" capability for iPhone only, that allow you to activate Siri when you raise your phone to your ear. (You don't need to add this key for iOS 5)

<key>siri-gesture</key>
<true/>

These capability keys can be added in iOS 5 and 6 only, since the Model definition file is move along in iOS 7, in a DeviceTree instead.

The installation of Siri (its filesystems) on other devices requires access to the iPhone 4S (or supported devices) filesystem, to copy over the files above to a jailbroken device running the same iOS version, with correct files permissions. Then assistant is enabled in the capabilities plist (iOS 5 or 6) as above, and the device is rebooted.

Holding down the home button for a second should activate the Siri tray at the bottom of the screen (iPhone/iPod/iPad with iOS 5), or at the area close with home button on screen (iPad with iOS 6), but saying anything will make it say it can't connect. This is due to the device requiring an identifier that the Siri servers generate every 24 hours for Siri-capable iDevices. SiriProxy can overcome this if you have access to those capable iDevices.

For iOS 5, the stock assistant images from the iPhone 4S are only available in Retina size. On non-Retina devices (iPad, iPad 2 and iPhone 3GS), this means many interface features may look different. The theme Siri Graphics for iPhone 3GS and iPad in Cydia fixes this.

Installing in iPad 3 with iOS 5 also causes buggy interface, because the system usually forces the assistant window as full-screen (iPad and iPad 2 too), in that case you have to edit the images to fix those by yourself.

Differently in iOS 6, assistant images are available both in Retina and non-Retina devices, due to the screen scale themselves, so you could copy the non-Retina images or artwork file from the jailbroken devices with non-Retina screen, it's iPad mini 1G, only one.

One last thing you have to do is about dyld_shared_cache injection, according to stroughtonsmith 's tweet, here's the steps to do that.

Because some of Siri binaries are there, without them mean Siri won't work, this is the purpose of cache injection, to make Siri works.

• Copying /System/Library/Caches/com.apple.dyld/dyld_shared_cache_armv7 from Siri-capable devices.

• Placing it in some directory in your target devices, take note for the location.

• Editing /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.SpringBoard.plist using some good text editor, by adding these section:

<key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
<dict>
    <key>DYLD_SHARED_REGION</key>
    <string>private</string>
    <key>DYLD_SHARED_CACHE_DIR</key>
    <string>THE FULL LOCATION OF YOUR DYLD SHARED CACHE HERE (FOR EXAMPLE: /var/mobile/folder_with_dyld_shared_cache_inside)</string>
    <key>DYLD_SHARED_CACHE_DONT_VALIDATE</key>
    <string>1</string>
</dict>

Note: you have to inject this the same with /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backboardd.plist and /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.assistant_service.plist too for iOS 6

• You have to find the proper Graphics driver binary for the ported devices because the cache also included that driver, specifically for that device. The cache we inject is commonly from Apple A5 devices, so the system won't be able to find the compatible graphics driver and causes massive animation lag if the target devices aren't iPad 2 or iPad 3. (Use the same driver with Apple A5 devices) (They don't need finding the binary) Apple A4 devices or lower need that, by copying binary named "IMGSGX535GLDriver" from Xcode-inside location:

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS[THE iOS VERSION NUMBER].sdk/System/Library/Extensions/IMGSGX535GLDriver.bundle/IMGSGX535GLDriver

Into your target devices /System/Library/Extensions/IMGSGX535GLDriver.bundle directory.

• Save it and reboot the devices to take effect. Wrong cache location causes your devices not able to boot up. (Infinite SpringBoard crashing)

dyld_shared_cache injection usually slow down your devices, much in Apple A4 devices.

Purpose for iOS 5 devices

• Add missing binary at /System/Library/Assistant/UIPlugins/SpringBoard.assistantUIBundle/SpringBoard

Purpose for iOS 6 devices

• Add missing framework binary at /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AssistantUI.framework/AssistantUI

The injection doesn't work with iOS 7 because Apple has patched the dyld. (CVE-2013-3950)

Changing Server

The server that Siri sends its data through can be changed in a number of ways. The most reliable method is to use a DNS server, as demonstrated by plamoni.

An easier approach is to edit the com.apple.assistant.plist file in the device's /var/mobile/Library/Preferences folder. It can be changed either on a jailbroken device with iFile, or via an iPhone backup reading utility. The hostname string simply needs to be replaced with the URL of your SiriProxy (i.e. your computer's IP address). This method could also allow for your SiriProxy to work outside of your Wi-Fi network, if you set up forwarding for port 443 to your computer in your router, and use your external IP address. However, some routers don't do port forwarding inside of their network, so you would need to change this setting yourself when you arrive or leave home. A static IP or dynamic DNS address (such as one from Dyn) is recommended.

The /etc/hosts file on a jailbroken device can also be modified. This can also be used externally, like the above method, though domain redirects are disallowed in host files, so a static IP is required. For instance, if you have a server which has the IP 192.168.1.5, enter this on a new line:

192.168.1.5 guzzoni.apple.com

Make sure there is at least one blank line at the very end of the file, or this will fail.

References

• stroughtonsmith
• iP1neapple
• SiriProxy repo
• Siri Port FAQ
• The Security Contents of iOS 7

See Also

• Siri Protocol