“Hey Siri, Turn on the Fan.” What If Your DIY Project Could Listen?

We talk to our devices every day.

“Hey Siri, call Mom.”

“Hey Siri, set a timer for 10 minutes.”

Voice assistants help us complete small tasks without touching a screen.

Now imagine saying:

“Turn on the fan.”

And a fan that you built yourself starts spinning.

Not a commercial smart appliance.

Not a ready made kit.

A device that you wired, programmed, and connected to the cloud.

This project shows how to control a motor fan using Apple Siri, micro:bit, and cloud communication.

When you say “Turn on the fan,” the command does not go directly to the micro:bit.

The command does not go directly to the micro:bit.

The flow works like this:

Siri → iOS Shortcut → IFTTT → Smarthon Cloud → IoT:bit (WiFi) → Motor turns on

Each part passes the command to the next until the motor responds.

For the hardware setup, connect the motor module to P1 of the IoT:bit board. Once you're done with the setup you can open the link, click Edit Code, and modify it based on your own WiFi settings or hardware configuration here:

https://makecode.microbit.org/S40911-39605-55147-37667

The program:

1. Initializes the OLED display and IoT:bit module
2. Connects to WiFi
3. Displays the Device ID after connection
4. Listens for cloud commands
5. Turns the fan on when the command is turn_on_fan
6. Turns the fan off when the command is turn_off_fan

IFTTT connects your voice assistant to the Smarthon IoT cloud. Without this step, the voice command will not reach your micro:bit.

Download the IFTTT app from the App Store and log in.

1. Tap Create to make a new applet.
2. Tap If This “Add” → select iOS Shortcuts → choose Shortcut automation started.
3. Tap Then That “Add” → search and select Smarthon IoT (micro:bit).
4. Choose Control Command.Enter your Device ID and the command name shown in MakeCode.
5. Tap “Create Action”.

1. Open the Shortcuts app and Tap + to create a new shortcut.
2. Add a new action and choose IFTTT from the app list.
3. Then select the Trigger Applet. Choose the applet you set up earlier in IFTTT.
4. Rename the shortcut at the top of the screen. This name is the command you will say to Siri.
5. Save the shortcut.
6. Repeat the same steps for turning the fan off.

1. Go to Settings → Siri → Talk & Type to Siri.
2. Turn on:
3. Listen for “Siri” or “Hey Siri”
4. Press Side Button for Siri

Both options should be enabled.

Now it’s time to test the complete setup.

Activate Siri by saying:

“Hey Siri, turn on the fan”

or

Press and hold the Side/Home button, then say:

“Turn on the fan”

If everything is configured correctly, the fan should start within a few seconds.

Next, say:

“Turn off the fan”

The motor should stop immediately.