Jailbreak Only: Spire Siri Proxies Go Head-To-Head. Which One Is The Best?

Ever since the release of Spire, the Siri port for older iDevices, people have had an issue looking for a working, fully functional, Siri server. The free options don't work and the paid ones seem too expensive. You don't get a free trial, so how do you know which one works best? In this article we will provide you with an in-depth comparison of the five most popular Siri proxy servers on the Web so you can make an informed decision. Before I begin the comparison, let's go over how you would setup Siri on an older iDevice: First, jailbreak your iDevice with Redsn0w. Once complete, launch Cydia and install Spire, which is available for free in the BigBoss Repo. After Spire has finished installing, the proxy server host you choose will send over the link to your proxy server as well as a provision profile (also called a certificate). Install the certificate by clicking on it and paste the proxy server address in the Spire settings in the Settings app. Restart your phone, turn on Siri in the general section in the Settings app and you are good to go. Now, here's the comparison: 1. SiriZone by iModZone URL: http://imzdl.com/siri/ SiriZone is one of my favorite Siri proxy providers. The service is one of the best primarily because they have multiple proxy servers setup in different locations. These include the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Canada. What does this mean for you? It makes the services a lot more reliable. If one server goes down, you can resort to the other four available. Also, because the servers are in different locations, if you connect to one that is closer to you, you are bound to get a much faster connection. Setting up SiriZone was a breeze, I just provided my UDID, was emailed certificates to install and then all I had to do was copy the proxy server URL into Spire's settings. It took at least five minutes for the server to start functioning, and I had to turn Siri off and restart my phone, then turn Siri back on again. After this slightly tedious process, Siri began working. Each request was answered within two to three seconds and sometimes, occasionally five seconds. On a very slow EDGE connection, the server worked just fine, but took a lot longer, ranging from five to 10 seconds. There was a point, for two minutes, where the server stopped responding for me, however, after pushing the Siri button once or twice with a request, it was back to normal. Switching between SiriZone servers was also fairly easy. After pasting the URL I had to wait approximately two to three minutes for the new server to start functioning. I think the device takes a little time to register with the server. As far as service availability and pricing is concerned, SiriZone is a bit more expensive compared to the other servers in this review. SiriZone costs $20 a year, and only accepts payment via a credit card (which can be an issue for some people). Furthermore, slots are not always available so it's a first come, first served thing. Summary:

Pros:

• Multiple servers
• Fast proxy
• Very reliable
• Easy installation

 

Cons:

• Expensive as compared to most services
• Payment via credit card may not be an option for some

  2. DoUSiri URL: http://dousiri.com/ DoUSiri is a service I was quite skeptical about at first, but when I was told that they have never had any downtime, I had to give it a spin. The service was excellent. On Wi-Fi it took approximately two to three seconds to respond and on EDGE it took up to 15 seconds; a little longer than SiriZone. Setting up the service is a breeze; install the certificate and then paste the proxy server URL. Unlike most of the services in this review, this proxy server responded within five seconds of installation. I did not need to restart or turn Siri off which was great. There was no point where the server stopped working for me, the only negative is that once or twice the server took a little longer to respond than usual. The downside to the service is that there is only one server which everyone will use. If the server were to fail everyone would have no alternative to connect to. The cost of this service is a one time fee of $15 which is payable via PayPal. I suppose the fee is lower due to the fact there is only one server. Summary: Pros:

• Fast service
• No hitches throughout two days of use
• Easy and instant installation
• Less expensive compared to other services

  Cons:

• One server

  3. Fast Siri Proxy URL: http://fastsiriproxy.com/index.php Fast Siri Proxy is one of the first Siri proxy servers established. Their main objective is to be the fastest so I tested it out. Setup was similar to the others; install the certificate and paste the URL. The service consists of five proxy servers, which not only means better speed if you connect to one close to you, but also reliability in case one collapses. The server is extremely fast. Within a second of requesting something from Siri, the server responded and I had my reply. On EDGE the server also responded within five seconds, which is quite impressive. Initially, however, the server was not picking up my requests and I had to delay the use of this service. This service is also quite expensive, it costs $25 per year via PayPal, but slots are almost always available. Summary: Pros:

• Fast service
• Easy and instant installation
• Multiple servers

  Cons:

• Expensive

  4. Spire Proxy Server URL: http://twitter.com/#!/spirepr0xy This is a fairly new Siri proxy server which I found through a Twitter search. The setup was slightly more complicated compared to the other services in this review; not only did I have to install a certificate, but I also had to replace a plist file in my phone's system directory. The service consists of five servers which greatly increases reliability. Throughout my testing the server worked perfectly, responding within the typical five seconds on Wi-Fi and about 10 seconds on EDGE. However, there was a point where the server was down for maintenance for an hour and Siri stopped working. The status was not on the Twitter page, but I received an email later mentioning the issue. Users that experience issues are granted two months of free access just for the inconvenience. There are several different payment plans available as well: $12 for one month, $15 for two months and $22 for lifetime access. Summary: Pros:

• Fast service
• Five servers
• Multiple pricing plans

  Cons:

• Complicated setup

  Conclusion: If you are looking for an inexpensive option that works great I highly recommend DoUSiri. Not only is it fast, but the support team is always available to answer questions, should you happen to have any issues. However, if you are willing to pay more, SiriZone would be my top choice. They have a very large customer base and all of them are quite satisfied. I found the service to be very reliable due to the multiple servers. And that's it! Tell us if you think Siri servers are worth paying for, and if you go for any of the above, let us know how it works out for you. Disclaimer: Each server was tested thoroughly for approximately two days on an iPhone 4 connected to a 10Mb Wi-Fi connection. As your experience may vary, AppAdvice is not responsible for any server issues.

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