Hey Siri pinging Apple continuously?

[iMore Question]

Hi. I have an iPhone 5 and am on Optus cable in Australia. I understand with my iphone5' 'hey Siri' only works when I am charging the phone. What I don't understand is with hey Siri active and the phone on charge, why my cable modem internet activity light rapidly flashes continuously (example all thru the night' ie 'forever', and my other devices seem to loose nearly all bandwidth. When I turn 'hey Siri' off, the problem seems to stop. Is 'hey Siri' continuously pinging apple?. I usually have about 20 down and 1 up. Thanks for any advice. Glenn.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Great question, but one I cannot find an answer to. Hopefully, someone who can will reply soon...

 

[Jaguarr40]

I do know this, Since our new update w/o the phone having to be plugged in for "Hey Siri" to work I am assuming Siri sits in the background and "Listens" for the words "Hey Siri" and then answers. It may be directly connected since it has to be connected on internet to work. Just a guess on my part.

 

[Rob Phillips]

I do know this, Since our new update w/o the phone having to be plugged in for "Hey Siri" to work I am assuming Siri sits in the background and "Listens" for the words "Hey Siri" and then answers. It may be directly connected since it has to be connected on internet to work. Just a guess on my part.

I believe "Hey Siri" while on battery power is only available on the 6s/6s Plus. I'm not sure it's Siri that's constantly causing internet activity, especially because it seems that would hinder battery life (once the new models are released) and, simply put, there's no real reason for Siri to be continuously querying Apple's servers.

Perhaps it's your phone backing up to iCloud or some other process that only takes place when the phone is plugged in?