Can't see the other person I'm talking to on Facetime

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Can't see the other person I'm talking to on Facetime

This question was brought up in January 2022 but the reply from Apple is totally outdated. There's a linked suggestion to an article and to look for the "If you have connection or sound quality issues with FaceTime"section. However, that section doesn't even exist on the page! Which means there is probably either a new way of fixing it or nobody knows how to fix it.

The issue is that lately (e.g. from November '22 - January '23), the one person I talk to regularly on Facetime either can't see me, or I can't see her. We can hear each other, but there doesn't seem to be a way to fix the video issue on either end. We are both using iPads. Hers is probably newer than mine - I have a 2017 iPad 9.7. The problem has been getting increasingly worse and since the other person I talk to is 93 yo and not tech savvy, trying to instruct her on what to try hasn't been very successful.

The only other articles I can find online deal with what to do if you can't connect to Facetime, which isn't the problem here. We're connected, we can hear each other, but one of us is just a circle with an initial inside it and we don't know which end is having the problem. What could be causing this? TIA

iPad, iPadOS 16

Posted on Jan 16, 2023 1:27 PM

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Answer 1

Vilas_S

Community Specialist

Jan 19, 2023 9:30 AM in response to BabyMac7

Hello BabyMac7,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. We'd like to help out with your FaceTime issue. So that we can better understand what is occurring, we'd like to ask some questions. That way we can provide you some solid troubleshooting steps you can try. If you FaceTime video with anyone else, does this specific issue continue to occur or is this only isolated to this one contact? If this issue occurs with multiple contacts, we can recommend the following steps:

1.) Close the FaceTime app

2.) Restart your iPad

These simple steps can help refresh things with your device. Additional steps you can try is to test this issue using a different reliable Wi-Fi network. This is a great step to take to further isolate possible network interference. If you have pending updates available for your device, install them. Keeping your device fully updated can help resolve various issues: Update your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

1.) Back up your device using iCloud or your computer.

2.) Plug your device into power and connect to the internet with Wi-Fi.

3.) Go to Settings > General, then tap Software Update.

4.) If you see more than one software update option available, choose the one that you want to install.

5.) Tap Install Now. If you see Download and Install instead, tap it to download the update, enter your passcode, then tap Install Now. If you don't know your passcode, learn what to do.

You might also want to share these steps with the contact you usually FaceTime with. These steps might be able to help them as well. Although the following resource isn't exactly the same issue you're experiencing, it has helpful steps we recommend you try. Click here: If you can't make or receive a FaceTime call on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Feel free to keep us posted on your results. Best of luck.

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Can't see the other person I'm talking to on Facetime

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