Why FaceTime is not working in UAE

Facetime is blocked on the Internet in the UAE, but also is blocked in the iPhone hardware sold there. If it was not, Facetime could easily be activated once the iPhone owner was outside of the UAE, but that is not the case. The MacWorld article refers to the use of devices purchased outside of the UAE but subsequently brought into that country.

*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.

Hello everybody!

Just to make things clear with regards to the facts of life and facetime in the UAE.

Before anyone replies with attacks about not reading the thread, please note I speak from firsthandn experience.

-iOS devices sold by the two local telecoms (DU and Etisalat) and on the local UAE online Apple store do not have facetime enabled on them.

-If however you insert another sim card where facetime is NOT blocked for any reason in another country, the facetime toggle appears in the settings' tab and you CAN activate it. (I have not tried this on WiFi ios devices, I have only tried it on SIM enabled devices.) to be more specific, I sent my brother an iPhone 5 bought from Etisalat which DID NOT have facetime, but once he activated it using HIS account in JORDAN, we use facetime all the time.

-which brings me to the point of does facetime work in the UAE?

You can get facetime to work in the UAE if you use Du's network. Works over both, 3g/lte and wifi. If you're on Etisalat's network, it will NOT work without a VPN.

-Facetime works perfectly on all Mac computers in the uae either on Du's network OR through using a VPN on Etisalat.

-If you buy your iOS device from abroad and it has facetime, you WILL be able to make facetime calls on Du's data network. (wifi/3g/lte)

-there are "other ways" to enable facetime, but those would void the warranty.

hope this helps 🙂

k

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

If you're in the UAE or KSA and it's not working, there's not much we can suggest. Since it's illegal there, we can't advise you on how to commit a crime.

Understand, but advice how to get Facetime back, in countries where it is not illegal would be appreciated.

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.

Thanks KiltedTim

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.