FaceTime not working unless I’m connected to WiFi

So i got it to work after having the same issue, what I had to do was go to Settings<Cellular<Network Selection, I turned off automatic and choose the network. In my case it was two that said T-Mobile, I clicked the first one, tried facetime, issue persisted, then I clicked the second one that said T-Mobile and tried facetime, it worked. If I had to guess its a bug with Apples automatic network selection when trying to make a facetime.

Hello alexxia56,

This page can help out with issues making FaceTime calls: If you can't make or receive a FaceTime call on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

1. Make sure that your device has a Wi-Fi connection to the internet or a cellular-data connection.

* Learn more if you're using router, firewall, or security software that restricts internet access.

2. If you're trying to use FaceTime over cellular, make sure that Use Cellular Data is on for FaceTime. Go to Settings and tap Cellular or tap Mobile Data, then turn on FaceTime. If you're using an iPad, you might see Settings > Cellular Data.

3. Go to Settings > FaceTime and make sure that FaceTime is on.

* If you see "Waiting for Activation," turn FaceTime off and then on again. Learn what to do if you can't activate FaceTime.

* If you don't see the FaceTime setting, make sure that Camera and FaceTime aren't off in Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Allowed Apps.

* Make sure that you have the correct phone number or email address listed.

4. Go to Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically.

5. Restart your device.

6. Update your device to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS.

Be sure to also check in Settings > Cellular that FaceTime is enabled here. With it only happening on cellular, it can also be beneficial to try testing it out in a different location than the current one, to see if it may be related.

Cheers.

I have T-Mobile and I have had this issue since the last update. I just got off the phone after two days with the engineers at Apple with them recording a log as I tried to make a cellular FaceTime call and it was a glitch on their FaceTime server after resetting my phone I made two cellular data calls video and they went through fine, go to settings, general, down to the bottom, where it says trans or reset iPhone, hit reset, reset network settings. If this was on their server, then video calls should be working just fine on cellular data data right now.

just like the other guy. This fixed my issue. I have been dealing with this for 2 months. Nobody could help me!! Finally I switched my network from automatic to T-Mobile. I’m a metro pcs user in Utah. It gave me the option to switch from metro pcs to t mobile or Verizon. I tired all of them. And found the T-Mobile one worked.

“Settings<Cellular<Network Selection, I turned off automatic and choose the network. In my case it was two that said T-Mobile, I clicked the first one, tried facetime, issue persisted, then I clicked the second one that said T-Mobile and tried facetime, it worked. “

hey guys! just spoke with apple and t mobile after a 2 month battle. they said this issue is an issue going around mostly with t mobile customers, but that the next update will contain a fix for the issue.

I just updated to iOS 17.1.1 and it fixed the issue for me and several of my coworkers who were also having the same issue. Hopefully it fixes it for everyone.

So Happens to me too.

T mobile, in Utah.

if I use a different VPN it works.

Spent hours with Tmobile and Apple. Both absolutely horrible CS.

basically we have to deal with it till they figure it out or we make a switch to Android or Another network.

This is a problem with the T-Mobile network. I went to the Apple Store and almost bought a new phone but the people at Apple are cool and he told me not to buy a new phone because the problem is with T-Mobile. He says they know about it and are trying to fix it.

So after trying every darn fix I could find online and also scouring forums and discussion threads, The One and ONLY thing that worked for me was to turn on my VPN and make myself appear to be in another state. I live and work in Colorado and as soon as I set my VPN on my phone to look like I was in Albuquerque, and made a call and it worked immediately. Tried other states on vpn as well and those worked too. Not sure if this is an isolated issue to T-Mobile customers in Colorado. But it's definitely frustrating.

Went to the Apple Genius Bar and they said they’re waiting on Apple for another update to fix the issue but not everybody’s asking /calling about it so it’s not a at the top of the list….

From my own experience this is a bit of a conundrum. Facetime for me and all friends and family is currently useless on cellular and from what I have read all over the interwebs neither Apple nor T-Mobile identify it as being their problem.

My wife and I rely on this feature for our kids to be able to reach us from our family iPad when we are away from home. I have tried every possible combination of suggested remedies to this issue (checking permissions on screentime, turning Facetime on/off, hard rebooting, you name it I have tried it) and none of it remedies the issue.

I cannot call anyone on Facetime over cellular, regardless of network. I am a T-Mobile customer and do not wish to move networks just to get this feature working, especially since I am grandfathered into a Military & Veteran's plan from years ago. However if this issue cannot resolve I may have to make a hard decision and move providers or abandon Apple.

We recently upgraded to iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max phones and ever since then it has not functioned. I would really appreciate Apple helping out all those affected by this and dig into it until it is resolved for good.

If anyone finds a solution to this ( beyond manually changing which network band you are on on T-Mobile which only sort of works for a single time ) I would greatly appreciate the advice and help.

The latest update to iOS 17.1 made the issue worse than it was. Now a Facetime call from my phone while on cellular immediately disappears, it doesn't fail it just literally disappears as soon as I place it. Calling from the iPad to my phone (while on cellular) causes the facetime call to show up on my phone but only show "connecting" for about 2 seconds before the call just disappears, yet on the iPad it continues to ring as if the call is going through but it never does.

I await and pray that someday either Apple or T-Mobile can figure out what is causing this issue for so many customers.

ios 17.1 made it worse for me too. Now I call someone and it immediately tells me they are unavailable. I have been arguing with T-Mobile and Apple for a month now and all they do is the blame game. I’m sick of them telling me to what steps to try when I’ve literally tried them all over and over and over. For now I am forced to use Facebook messenger to make video calls when I need to, say like when I’m at the grocery store etc. iOS 17 has made FaceTime useless. I still don’t know if it’s a T-Mobile issue or an Apple issue. I have seen some posts from people on ATT and VZW saying they have the same issue but I’d say 90% of the posts I see about this problem are from T-Mobile customers. I just want a fix! I have escalated the issue with senior advisors at Apple but once again their answer was to erase and reset my phone up as a new phone. Which I’ve already done twice. So frustrating.

Thanks all for chiming in on the thread. I noticed that a few replies were from people in UTAH and Denver; could the issue be regionally based as I am in Utah also?

The solution shared to turn off "automatic network selection" to a manual one worked for me also but my concern is that if I'm not on the T-Mobile network when in an area and my FaceTime needs to run on a roaming network, what happens then? Have any of you experienced trouble in that scenario?

Regardless the workaround is not a solution...I'm going to retry Apple and T-Mobile Support to ensure it is till reported as a bug, but would love to know if any of you have an issue with FT on a roaming network.

Cheers!

AT&T customer here. New phones and iPads. "NumberSync" - which is WiFi calling on iPad, Mac, and Watch - has been flaky and infuriating for years. I've had to remove and re-add it about a dozen times, and it often breaks.

NOW, with iOS 17.1 (and macOS Sonoma 14.1), it's completely broken.

3 hours on the phone with AT&T, and gotten nowhere. I can make calls when connected - basically BLUETOOTH CALLING - but the WiFi calling is 100% absolutely broken. I'm angry, frustrated, tired, and AT&T pointing at Apple, and Apple at AT&T, makes this worse.

I'm going to smash my devices and put my fist into a wall.

I spoke to soon. After updating to ios17.1.1, it worked on cellular for maybe half a day then it went back to bot working at all again. I have 3 support tickets open with Tmobile. Tmobile keep insisting its an apple issue and telling me FaceTime is an apple service so its their issue to fix when its broken. However, I know people who are also using ios17.1.1 and an iphone 15 pro max who are on Verizon or ATT and they are able to make FaceTime calls so it has to be a tmobile issue.