Disable Siri but enable dictation on iPads?

[DanJ_LRSFC]

Is it possible using Jamf with an iPad to have Siri disabled but still allow dictation?

The options for this do appear to exist in Jamf but it doesn't seem to work, the microphone icon is not available in the keyboard area.

Thanks,
Dan Jackson (Senior ITServices Technician)
Long Road Sixth Form College
Cambridge, UK.

[gj_mg]

It is possible to create a Config Profile that disables Siri but allows Dictation.You may still need to enable Dictation on the iPad, however. Make sure that Settings -> General -> Keyboard -> Enable Dictation is turned on. I believe this setting is off by default.

[DanJ_LRSFC]

@gj_mg there's no way to turn that setting on centrally via configuration profile?

also does that require a specific minimum iOS version? I don't think our problem devices have been upgraded to 12.x yet.

[gj_mg]

I did some testing and here is what I’ve found:

A freshly set up iPad on iOS 12.0.1 (with config profile that allowed dictation but not Siri) had dictation turned off in settings but still displayed the microphone on the keyboard. When tapped, the user was presented a prompt to enable dictation. However, once dictation was enabled, then turned off in Settings, the microphone disappeared. On an iPad running 11.3, I had the same results. I can't say for devices running an earlier version of iOS, as I don't currently have one available to test.

I was able to reset to the default state (microphone visible but dictation not enabled) by changing my config profile. I unticked “Allow Dictation,” pushed it out, then edited to re-allow Dictation and pushed out again. It's not ideal, but easier than manually enabling on numerous devices.