How to Send a Custom Ping with Siri

To send wording that changes each time, ask Siri to run PingRoom’s Send a Custom Ping shortcut. Choose the Room, dictate the update, and review Siri’s prompt before it sends. The Room must allow custom Pings, and your account must have permission to send there.

That makes Siri useful for details that do not deserve a permanent button: Collection is at the side entrance today, for example. Save a Quick Ping when the words repeat; use the custom shortcut when the detail is genuinely one-off.

What you need first

This workflow uses PingRoom 1.5.4 or later on an iPhone running iOS 17 or later. The current App Store listing confirms that Siri can offer a custom message in Rooms that allow it.

Before speaking to Siri:

1. Sign in to PingRoom and open the app once so your current Rooms can load.
2. Choose a private or public Room that permits custom Pings.
3. Confirm that your role is allowed to send in that Room.
4. Pick harmless test wording that the recipients will recognize as a test.

Personal Rooms do not accept custom messages. Siri also cannot grant a permission that the Room or your role does not have.

Use the unambiguous shortcut

Say “Siri, send a custom Ping with PingRoom.” Siri should ask which Room to use, then what the Ping should say. You can also include the Room in the request, such as “Siri, send a message to Workshop Crew with PingRoom.”

PingRoom also exposes a general Send Ping shortcut. That route is useful when you want to choose among saved Quick Pings: Siri asks which Ping to send and, in an eligible Room, can include Custom message as a choice.

There is one detail worth knowing. If a Room has exactly one eligible Quick Ping, the general shortcut can send that single saved action without asking you to choose. When your intention is unsaved wording, start with Send a Custom Ping instead.

Apple’s iPhone guide to Siri app shortcuts explains the general voice workflow. The Room choices and message permission still come from PingRoom.

Run one harmless test

Use a message that describes the test rather than an urgent real-world event. For an illustrative workshop Room:

Siri, send a custom Ping with PingRoom.

Choose Workshop Crew, then dictate:

Test: collection uses the side entrance today.

After Siri finishes, open the Room and check that the wording, destination, and sender are correct. Ask one intended recipient to confirm that the Ping reached the expected Room. A successful test establishes this setup on your device; it is not a delivery guarantee for every future notification state.

Pingo the Pigeon, PingRoom’s fictional Chief Marketing Officer, has arrived at the side entrance early. He did not dictate or send the Ping; the person using Siri chose the Room, wording, and moment.

If Siri cannot find the Room or send the message

Check the smallest likely cause first:

• The Room list looks old: open PingRoom while signed in, let the Rooms load, then try again.
• Siri chooses a saved Ping: ask for Send a Custom Ping, not the general Send Ping shortcut.
• Custom message is unavailable: check that the Room allows custom Pings and that your role can send.
• The destination is a Personal Room: choose a private or public Room instead.
• The message is too long: shorten it to the decision or update someone needs now.
• The shortcut needs the app open: unlock the iPhone and follow the prompt. Apple notes that shortcuts which must open an app can require unlocking.

Do not use a voice shortcut as emergency communication or as proof that someone completed a safety-critical task. If the consequence of a missed update is serious, use the appropriate confirmed channel and procedure.

Custom wording or a saved Quick Ping?

Use a custom Ping for a changing detail: a different entrance, revised pickup point, or one-time delay. Use a Quick Ping for wording the Room sends repeatedly, such as Doors open or Ready for collection.

For a repeatable physical cue, connect a saved Quick Ping to an NFC tag. If you would rather place the action on the screen than use your voice, add a Ping to the iPhone Home Screen.

Choose or create the destination in your PingRoom Rooms, allow only the people who should send, and test one calm message before using the shortcut in a busy moment.

Illustrations are AI-generated editorial scenes featuring Pingo the Pigeon, PingRoom’s official mascot and fictional Chief Marketing Officer, with fictional approved PingRoom avatars. The workshop is an example, not a customer story. The human team is responsible for product claims and decisions.