I bought my parents a 3G iPad from verizon wireless so they can talk to the rest of the family since they live out of town. But I just noticed that the only way to use FaceTime is if you're hooked up to wifi. My parents do have Internet at home, hence the reason for buying them a 3G iPad.
iPad 2, iOS 5.0.1
Because FaceTime only works with WiFi. You could buy a wifi hotspot but then you are into another data plan. FaceTime will not work with 3G.
FaceTime will indeed only work over Wi-Fi. Perhaps you can arrange a time for your parents to visit the local Starbucks, library or some other spot with free Wi-Fi so that you can FaceTime with them.
Or return your iPad and get a Wi-Fi only version then get Wi-Fi for your parents.
Is an answer such as "Because FaceTime only works with WiFi..." the best we can expect? No real reason? No real technical explanation? Suggesting sending someone's parents to Starbucks? Really?
Of course technically it should work, 3G and WiFi are just IP connections.
I think for the prices we are paying for things, we should have an honest answer.
You already have an honest answer. Apple posts a big list of specification for the iPad. In that list it states Facetime only works on wi-fi. What more do you need? We are all users like yourself. We don't have access to Apple research, design, and marketing that would explain why Facetime is wi-fi only.
The real question is why people buy a product to use Facetime on cellular that says Facetime only works on wi-fi.
All we can do is speculate why it does/doesn't work, and we're not allowed to do that here. The simple fact of the matter is, Facetime works wifi only. You can try to get Apple to give you an answer, or you can google your question and get others' speculations but the fact of the matter is it wont' do what you want it to do.
Maybe instead of facetime you look into some other sort of video chat that can work.
Try a video chat program like SKYPE. I think it could replace your FaceTime, and it is free
fportac wrote:
Is an answer such as "Because FaceTime only works with WiFi..." the best we can expect? No real reason? No real technical explanation? Suggesting sending someone's parents to Starbucks? Really?
You do understand, don't you, that you're not talking to Apple here? We're all just your fellow users. We have no special insight into why Apple has made the decisions they have. Speculation about what Apple decides is actually prohibited by the Terms of Use.
Also, look at Tango.
Why cant I use FaceTime without wifi if I have a 3G iPad?
