Will AT&T support FaceTime over cellular?

Yes, they will--as long as you have adopted one of the Mobile Share plans you'll be able to use FaceTime over their 4G network.

AT&T's policy is restrictive and Apple is wrong for allowing it & crippling an otherwise good feature. Specifically, I've got a "traditional" AT&T family plan, and the other line is grandfathered in with unlimited data. The other line holder will not give that up & I don't blame him. AT&T will not turn on cellular face time on my line unless the other line gives up his data package. This is a restrictive, and being polite, a garbage policy.

Apple has nothing to do with the carriers policy.

It is the carriers network and their policy.

If you have a problem with the carrier's policy, express your concerns to the carrier and the FCC.

I am glad to see that this is getting noticed. I went thru this today

AT&T wants to charge for it. Also caution: If you are "grandfathered" into an unlimited data plan and switch to a new "termed" data plan just to get face time available without wifi your unlimited data plan is no longer valid. Also note that AT&T no longer offers an unlimited data plan at this time so you cannot get it back

I downloaded IOS6 and turned my wifi off and tried facetime. It advised that I need to contact AT&T to make sure I had the applicable data plan.

I had an interesting conversation with AT&T today. They told me that I had to sign up for a new plan.

They fully admit that Facetime is interent based and goes over the internet when connected to wifi. I responded that when wifi is turned off, it goes thru the internet on the phone which is data. Since I have unlimited data they are now restricting my unlimited data. They won't deny that. They only state that AT&T offers a new plan which allows you to use facetime without wifi. I believe it was called "mobile sharing"

I escalated to three different supervisors until there wasn't a higher one present. They commited to have someone call me back tomorrow. I asked that take this as a formal complaint. I also advised that I would be contacting the BBB as they have stepped over the bounds of ethichal behavior.

texobs wrote:

If you are "grandfathered" into an unlimited data plan and switch to a new "termed" data plan just to get face time available without wifi your unlimited data plan is no longer valid. Also note that AT&T no longer offers an unlimited data plan at this time so you cannot get it back

The unlimited data plan has not been offerred for about 3 years. AT&T wanting to get customers off the unlimited plan is nothing new, but they have yet to do anything to force people off the plan. All I have ever had to do when upgrading my device or making changes to my plan is ensure to tell the rep involved to not touch my data plan as I want to keep the unlimited plan.

As for Facetime over cellular, do you really need it? I do not. I've used Facetime all of two times...could care less if it only works over Wi-Fi without switching to another plan.

I realize some people care about this... but the Apple user to user technical support forums is really not the place to discuss AT&T's policy.

I believe you are incorrect. Apple has allowed this by not allowing the feature to be turned on without AT&T's ok. Therfore Apple gave tacit approval to this "policy". AT&T's policy is wrong as texobs pointed out - data is data, and if it is unlimited they should not be limiting it. I don't think I'd use cellular facetime extensively, but if the feature is there I should be able to use it, and that's the point. I own the phone, not AT&T. And, yes, I've complained to AT&T and am in the process of registering a complaint with the FCC.

Consider this - the Mobile Share plan is just an attempt to make people pay more than they were before. There is no other point to it. I'm not on the unlimited plan, so if I used cellular facetime over my tiered limit I'd be charged more. And that's what AT&T wants, so why are they sayng "no"? As was pointed out, how much celluar facetime would be used anyway, especially by a diminishing number of legacy unlimited plan holders? Lastly, Apple should not allow this by AT&T and that is why this is the place to discuss it

Apple has no say in how AT&T or any carrier manages their network. Why is this such a difficult concept to grasp?

All carriers determine whether they support SMS/MMS, Tethering, Visual Voice Mail, or FaceTime over Cellular and what the requirements on their network are for these features.

Many carriers that are "official supported carriers" of the iPhone do not offer tethering, Visual Voice Mail, MMS, or FaceTime over Cellular. Should Apple dictate to them how to run their businesses?

Apple is not a religious deity. They do not have final say in how any other company operates.

In the end, if you're not happy, vote with your wallet and take your business elsewhere.

With respect, you are missing my point. However it's a minor issue, and after posting this, and filiing with the FCC, I'm done with it. Overall I'm very pleased with IOS6 (I've got a 4S) and am quite happy with it. I'm fully aware of the maps flap, but for me in my metro area it's been flawless. It's the only mapping program that gets me from a specific point to another specific point exactly the way I would go. Every other program goes a different way. And I have no battery problems either. I must be in the minority. So, not, I won't vote with my wallet and go elsewhere.

You've made no point.

All the features you say you're pleased with are carrier agnostic, they are a part of iOS6 and not dependent upon a network.

Your gripe was with AT&T's policy.

Sorry, but you seem to be the one that is confused and missing the point.

If FaceTime over Cellular is important, terminate your AT&T contract and go elsewhere or get the Mobile Share data plan.

If it's not... stop bringing the issue up and move on with your life.

You can use Skype for free and video call works over cellular with no further requirements from carrier. It is unfortunate the much anticipated FaceTime over cellular feature is restricted by the carrier service plan requirements.

Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't thought about that. Apparently I'm not the only one with this issue. Click on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/att-facetime-net-neutrality_n_1895113.h tml For me, it's not that I want to do it, its that I should be able to do it without hassle as it is a phone feature. again, thanks.