How to activate Toyota's voice system?
3 Answers
First, open the settings and enable the Smart Assistant. Then, turn on Smart Voice and enable Voice Wake-up. Adjust the wake-up sensitivity to the highest level, so that you can immediately activate it by voice if your phone is lost.
Just two days ago, I drove my friend's new Camry and realized how convenient Toyota's voice assistant is. There's a physical button with a small microphone icon in the multifunction button area on the right side of the steering wheel—just press it to activate. You can also wake the system by saying 'Hello Toyota' to the center console, and the recognition rate is pretty good. Using this feature while driving is especially safe—adjusting navigation or switching songs doesn't require looking down. Remember to set the system language to Chinese; it can understand Mandarin even with a slight accent. If it doesn't respond, check if the infotainment system needs an update—new models mostly support OTA. When parked, you can ask it to check the weather or tell a joke, which is much faster than manually browsing menus.
Activating the voice system in my RAV4 is actually quite simple. The most common method is to directly say 'Hello Xiao Yue' (some models may use 'Hello Toyota' as the wake-up phrase), and the system will immediately respond with a 'beep' sound. During long drives, I frequently use it to set navigation by saying 'Find the nearest gas station' to display the route. There's actually a hidden trick: after briefly pressing the voice button on the steering wheel to activate it, you can have continuous conversations for 20 seconds without needing to wake it up again. If there's no response, I recommend restarting the infotainment system by turning off and on the ignition, or checking if the microphone permission is enabled in the settings. The voice recognition is very user-friendly for seniors—my parents can accurately find playlists by saying 'Play Teresa Teng'.
