How can i get facetime on my UAE iphone 4s?

up until last summer I had no idea they even made different phones for different countries. Just curious why apple would show it was a UAE phone. shouldnt it have pulled up a facetime unlocked country when they looked it up? or does it just show the country it was sold in?

Guys it is very simple iphones with the AE/E model or part number will not have facetime working on it, do not trust on any other theories of the ppl out here.

At the same time I got a iphone shipped from USA with the Model/ Part number LL/A works fine with the Facetime so it the hardware plus the operator lock that blocks it from working.

The only way it to work is to have the carrier bundle changed and that can only be done by the operator via OTA.

I have experimentated with both the mobile rite on the table.

AGAIN I SAY IT IS THE OPERATOR LOCK ON AE/E VERSIONS, ITS SO SWEET AND SIMPLE, I REJECT ALL OTHER THEORIES IN THE FORUM.

problem solved. looked up my model # and it was hong kong. still wonder why apple told me it was UAE unless it looked up the carrier I set it up with.

Probably because you told them that was where you got it... It doesn't matter where it was from. It it came from any country other than the US, then Apple in the US can't touch it.

RajaRani wrote:

http://www.axiomtelecom.com/mobiles-apple

Yes I did and the link prooves nothing. A lot of gray market stores sell Apple products including iPhones. That they have iPhones on their website for sale is no proof that they are an authorized Apple IPHONE reseller.

As you have by now learned, you bought a gray market phone in UAE.

I suggest you look at the official Apple UAE website, wherein it clearly states that you can only get iPhones from the UAE carriers and the Apple online store. The other resellers in the UAE are authorized to sell OTHER Apple products but not iPhone.

Hello FelipeV,

Please visit this link

https://www.apple.com/ae/iphone/compare/

As shown in link "AE" means its for United Arab Emirates. It has clearly mention "Facetime" as a video calling feature? Now either apple should update its website or they should enable Facetime as most of the video calling softwares are already working in UAE like Skype, Viber.

HasanAVD wrote:

Hello FelipeV,

Please visit this link

https://www.apple.com/ae/iphone/compare/

And I suggest you look at the fine print at the bottom of the page before posting:

Some features may not be available for all countries or all areas. Click here to see complete list.

If you want to complain, doing it here will get you nowhere. Complain directly to Apple:

www.apple.com/feedback

Dear,

Please read the link you mentioned before posting it here. This link doesn't have "FACETIME" 🙂 ... it has maps, siri, dictation, itunes store and app store. And none has "FACETIME" mentioned in it. Secondly, I already bought a US made Iphone so I don't have to fight for it but when you are talking about rules that its mentioned everywhere that facetime won't work and blah blah so I am just correcting your information and trying to say that stop being an Apple's advocate 😀

Thanks!

The page does say FaceTime, is a feature but if you would take the time to ACTUALLY READ the ENTIRE page you will see the disiclaimer in fine print at the bottom:

Some features may not be available for all countries or all areas. Click here to see complete list.

That message is referring to the features included on the page does list FaceTime. So the above is meant to imply that FT is NOT available in all areas The page is confusing, granted. If it really bothers you, complain to Apple in the link I posted above. If that fails, call a lawyer.

Have a nice day.

I own a UAE iPhone 5S, which I have bought from Du (licensed operator) Model is ME***AE/A. This was actually part of a corporate rollout at my company. None of the phones obviously had FaceTime, as expected.

My business travels took me to Bahrain, where I bought a Nano SIM from Bahraini operator and to my surprise, FaceTime icon showed up and I was able to use it. The icon disappeared upon returning to Dubai.

However a coworker went to visit the UK and replaced the SIM but no FaceTime showed up.

Leads me to believe some operators enable it regardless of origin of the device and some uphold the restrictions based on model number. The iPhone on the network is easily detected as a phone made for UAE, but the operator OTA settings vary and can overcome the restrictions if they chose to (e.g. Bahrain).

<Personal Information Edited by Host>

Facetime is not actually banned in KSA UAE or any GCC country. Just don't buy iphone from the network providers of those countries, like Mobily in KSA where I'm currently connected. You can buy iphones here in Jeddah that are factory unlocked/with facetime and are of UK or US origin - this you will know by looking at the bottom of the iphone box where you can see only English language - if it is blingual English/Arabic then that iphone is intended for the GCC network providers and most likely will not have facetime but still factory unlocked.

I bought here in Jeddah my UK iphone 4S where facetime app is not locked, and when I put a local sim card from Mobily, facetime still works fine.

However, when I purchased an Iphone 5S from Mobily network itself, I have expected that facetime will be blocked - whcih it was. The network said that facetime will be available after six months which is when the contract finishes - yes even if i purchased in full cash value and have a pre-paid sim card - im under contract with them for 6 months - though I can use other sim cards in the 5S - just that I will not have facetime.

MikePogi wrote:

Facetime is not actually banned in KSA UAE

Yes. It is, actually.

You can buy iphones here in Jeddah that are factory unlocked/with facetime and are of UK or US origin

That's correct. They have been illegally imported and re-sold.

What Happened for me was very strange, me and one of my friend bought Iphone 5s same day from Jumbo big electronic store in UAE. Both phones have face time and we used it. once the stupid software release 7.1.1 came and we both did the update, I lost face time but my friend still have it. by the way we are using the same carrier and the phones have AE in the model. the only difference is AppleID mine is UAE and his is Egypt.

Can anyone explain what that means? since i bought a device which already had face time, would it be possible to get it back?

Elshebeeny wrote:

What Happened for me was very strange, me and one of my friend bought Iphone 5s same day from Jumbo big electronic store in UAE. Both phones have face time and we used it.

They were grey market phones intended for sale in some other country and imported to UAE.

-> iPhone: Wireless carrier support and features

Please review the footnote.

*5.FaceTime may be unavailable if your device originates from this region and becomes unlocked or is used in another country.

Go to Settings > Restrictions > Facetime should be green