Why FaceTime is not working in UAE

*sigh

So even my iphone has facetime enabled still I wont use it..

It is because I plan to go on a vacation in Dubai. I will bring my iphone 5 along with me.

If it really doesn't work then what are the other services that i can use beside skype, viber and tango?

Can I use Wechat? Line? Kakaotalk?

Please suggest

If at all i use the same phone in india where there is no restrictions on facetime will it work.

Becos on my new i5 with ios 7 i dont even see the tab called facetime

So when i go to a country like india will it automatically appear or just becos we r using a i5 from uae we r banned to use facetime no matter where we are.

Lordterion wrote:

So when i go to a country like india will it automatically appear or just becos we r using a i5 from uae we r banned to use facetime no matter where we are.

No, it will not automatically appear. If you had read the thread, you would know that if you bought the phone in UAE, it does not have FaceTime, and will never have Facetime.

Dear kyounis,

Your efforts are much appreciated and your response were really helpful to the OP.

Can you please confirm whether your brothers ip5 was activated for the first time in Jordan or have you activated and used it in UAE before formatting and sending it to Jordan.

Kind Regards

Shahid

Hi!

Cannot remember. I think I switched it on to make sure it was working. Not sure if I activated it though.

However! I didn't believe this was possible back then. So to double check, I went to iStyle (local UAE apple authorized reseller). Checked their display iPhone 5. It did not have FaceTime enabled. Once I put it my Jordanian SIM card, the FaceTime toggle magically appeared! The sales person was in shock :p

Again, I have not checked with the iPhone 5s/c.

Best

K

Dutch, with an iPhone bought in the Netherlands, was able to use FaceTime for several month in Dubai. Until I installed the latest ios software, necessary for security reasons. Now FaceTime is not working anymore on all my devices, even when I use a VPN. It looks like my Apple devices have been down graded. And I have to say Apple support let me down on this. Probably I have to reinstall complete Os when I get back in any other part of the world

You may have to restore it, or possibly even do a DFU mode restore, once you're back in a country where it isn't banned, though it should appear automatically once you're using a SIM from a country where it isn't banned.

Hi, I also speak from a firsthand knowledge. I have an iPhone 5s bought from Apple Store UAE. It was activated for the very first time in a country where FaceTime is not banned, with a SIM card of a company in the same country and FaceTime does not work...

When an iPhone is built, it is initially configured depending on which country it is intended to be sold.

Of course, devices built to be sold in UAE do not support FaceTime and it doesn't matter in which country you activate your iPhone nor the SIM card you use.

You can check your model in 'Settings/general/about/model'.

Sometimes, if they run out of 'official' UAE iPhones, they sell devices with a different regional configuration. You still won't be able to use FaceTime if you use an UAE SIM card. But, if you travel abroad, you will be able to use FaceTime by using a SIM from a company which does not ban FT (maybe restore is required).

So the key is, what regional configuration has been applied to original settings (see model).

For the ones complaining about the OP continue discussing this topic, you should be more tolerant. This topic is relevant for a bunch of people that may bought an iPhone while travelling to the UAE, which by the way is my case, therefore there's no reason to keep saying "it won't, bla bla bla". Please stop being ignorants, a forum is a good place to discuss and share experiences, which produce valuable knowledge when open minded people are available to talk. If you are satisfied with an answer "it wont work", ok, be in silent. This discussion is not for you anymore, your answer was already posted here, ok? So, just don't bother.

I boughout an iPhone 5S in Abu Dhabi-UAE, at the airport (duty free, Sharaf DG) during a connection flight there while travelling to India. I switch the cellphone on only in Hyderabad, India, and have activated it using my SIM card from Brazil (where I live). Facetime option was there, working.

Then, I travelled back to Brazil, with a stopover again in Abu Dhabi. I stayed there for 3 days and have bought a pre-paid local sim card from Etisalat, called Visitor Line, made for travellers/tourists going there. My phone received a Carrier Update, and I unfortunately have accepted it without thinking. Guess what, facetime have disapeared. By the way 3G have not worked during the time I was there, making pointless to have get that sim card while there, but that's another issue.

So, I'm back home, using my local carrier in a country that have no restrictions with facetime/imessage.

But the Facetime option have gone. And I tried. Factory reset. Carrier update. Pray. Throw against the wall. Nothing have restored the dam* Facetime icon/option back.

Apple Support suggested me to call local service provider and they are going to replace the phone for a new one but produced locally, only because the model sold in UAE is the same sold here A1457. Since we don't have an Apple Store that could do the exchange, I'll have to wait like 2 weeks without phone to receive a replacement. I'm only planning to do it in a time which I can stand without my phone for that long.

Anyways, this is my experience regarding this problem. I hope this information can clarify (and calm down) someone who may be in a similar situation. Because, honestly, I freaked out when I discovered my iPhone had Facetime "purged". Eager to have it fixed.

Thanks again for the ones that shared valuable information here.

For the "haters", well, they gonna hate anyways...

I am a US resident living in Dubai and will be returning to the US in a few months.

I am excited about the iPhone 6 and would like to buy it in UAE, but I understand that iPhones purchased in UAE via an authorized apple reseller does not have the Facetime App or the functionality (via contacts).

My apple id is registered in the US (with my US address and credit card info). I currently have a iPhone 5 purchased in the US which has Facetime. Although the carrier blocks Facetime, I am able to use it, if i turn on my VPN service.

My questions are -

1 - Since my apple id is registered to the US, if i reinstall iOS (US version. Maybe use VPN if that helps), will it have facetime?

2 - If i restore from backup (iPhone 5 backup which has Facetime), will I get Facetime in the iPhone 6 ?

3 - In the event that #1 is not possible, Can i get Facetime when i switch the sim card to AT&T when i return to the US.

Thanks

Where your Apple ID is registered is irrelevant.

Restoring a backup is irrelevant.

Switching SIM cards is only relevant for an iPhone purchased where FaceTime is allowed.

If you buy an iPhone sold in a country/region where FaceTime is not allowed, then it is a hardware configuration. It has nothing to do with software or SIM cards or Apple IDs.

You can buy iPhones in UAE with Facetime, but not through Etisalat or DU.

Even at Sharaf DG they once asked me which one do you want? with Facetime or without Facetime? I am sure at the shops in the malls they have both.

I bought a 5s for my wife from a shop in Burdubai and that is with Facetime (it is clear from the power adapter's AC pins that its not meant for UAE), which infact works inside and outside UAE with UAE and outside sim. i activated it first inside UAE w/etisalat sim.

The otherside: My iP4 from Etisalat doesn't have facetime; within UAE and outside, with UAE sim and outside sim.

Hope this helps atleast someone who is yet to buy one.

hello,

some information here isn't right. My ipad mini has facetime and i use it most of the time. my friend has an iphone 5 and facetime works perfectly on it.

im aware that it is blocked by uae gov but there is still a secret about it. I was planning to buy iphone 6 from outside uae. but now that i've read this thread.....

Hi all ,

recently I have bought an Iphone 6 in UAE , from thier apple store web page with free delivery. I was not aware about this facetime issue , however I have activiated it using my apple store ID from Poland while still in UAE but with a Polish sim card that does not have any restrictions in the country of origin.

I am back in poland now , and the facetime option is not available at all in the device , however the imessage is under "settings/messages"

and i was able to use it for a couple of messages . after 2 hours I wanted to imessage again and got a message "facetime and Imessage --> your carrier may charge for SMS messages used to activate Facetime and IMessage"

so after reboot the issue persists , the imessage icon is enabled however the comment beneath it states " activating ......" and pops with th e error message mentioned above.

so in my opinion if it is a hardware issue then the imessage would not have worked from the first place , however it is there but not working anymore ...nevertheless it did for 3 hours. it makes me wonder if in my case If I restore it in Poland perhaps it will work.

I will give it a try and let you know guys.

Sodaboy1978 wrote:

Need to be connected to wi-fi and have internet connection. If your signed in it may be possible that the firewall in the router is blocking the port.

Sodaboy,

Take a look at the other posts pointing out that FaceTime is not included on iOS devices sold in the UAE because the government prohibits its use.