Siri is a feature on iPhone 4S that some are calling the brain of the device. You can ask Siri a question, have it perform a task, and much more. However, one feature that Siri lacks is the ability to update your social networking websites. Despite Twitter integration in photos, YouTube, and even maps, Twitter and Siri haven’t made the connection yet. While we expect such a feature to be implemented sometime soon, for now users are looking for usable alternatives. Here are steps to help you not get the message “Sorry, I can’t help you with [Twitter or Facebook]” on your iPhone 4S.
Set Up For Twitter
To begin, You must sign into your Twitter account. After you are signed in, point your browser to http://www.twitter.com/devices. Once on the website, enter the required information and click start.
After verification and once your Twitter account is linked with your phone number, create a contact using 40404. When creating the contact, for the full integrated effect, name the contact “Twitter”.
All tweets sent from your iPhone associated with the phone number linked with your Twitter account to 40404 will automatically update your Twitter page.
Alternate Option: At the office or away from your computer, but want to take advantage of this workaround? No problem, there is a computer free way to this “hack”. Simply text “Start” to 40404. You will then be asked a series of setup questions, including your username and password. When complete, add 40404 as a contact (with the name “Twitter” of course) and you’re set!
Set Up For Facebook
For setup on Facebook, go to https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=mobile&t .
Add your country and carrier associated with your iPhone 4S.
To activate the service, text the letter “F” to 32665. From there, you should receive a text message from Facebook containing a confirmation code.
Enter the confirmation code on the page “Activate Facebook Texts (Step 2 of 2)”. Check or deselect the other options available on the page accordingly. Then, click “next”.
Facebook will give you a code that can be used for updating your Facebook through text messaging. Enter this code as a contact and save. Again, saving the contact as Facebook will increase the feeling of integration.
Alternate Option: Same as with Twitter, there is a computer free option to this workaround for Facebook. Send the message “Hello” to 32665. You will then be given a mobile-friendly Facebook link that will allow you to finish the set up process in Safari. Then, add Facebook as a contact and you’re ready to go. Even though this process isn’t completely done in text messaging (you will be pointed to Safari), it is still a good alternate process.
Launch Siri and Update!
Updating Twitter and Facebook with Siri is seamless after this quick setup process. When you feel a creative message coming on, simply launch Siri by pressing your home button until she appears. From there, tell Siri “Send a text message to [Twitter, Facebook] [your message]”. You will then be asked to confirm the message. With your confirmation, the message is then updated on the respective social networking service.
Things to Remember
This is the best workaround yet for updating your social networking website with Siri. Despite this, there are still a couple of experiences that still remind you that it’s not official or integrated.
For example, not saying “text message” in the command “Send a text message to [Twitter, Facebook]” will either give you the error message of “Sorry, I can’t help you with [Twitter or Facebook]” or it will attempt to launch email. This is a minor inconvenience, but using Siri through this method of updating is a lot quicker than updating directly from the website or application.
We must also remember that Siri is currently in a beta phase, this means that all of the problems are still being worked out. In addition, this also means that Siri isn’t available to third party developers. Once Siri is out of this phase, we can assure you that the social networking websites will be the first in line to offer integration with Siri.
Ari Simon has been a writer with Make Tech Easier since August 2011. Ari loves anything related to technology and social media. When Ari isn’t working, he enjoys traveling and trying out the latest tech gadget.
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