FaceTime Problems

Question

Level 2

188 points

FaceTime Problems

For this discussion, I’m restricting my questions to FaceTime connections involving iPhones and Mac laptops, because that’s all I have in my household. My wife and I both have an iPhones 4S and MacBook Pro (OS 10.6.8). Thus far, I have tested establishing FaceTime connections from iPhone to iPhone and from laptop to laptop. I consider myself to fairly computer savvy, but I have to say that FaceTime has always baffled me.

FaceTime seems to work from iPhone to iPhone, but it’s a bit quirky. First, I initiate a voice call from my iPhone to my wife’s iPhone. Then, after she answers, I press the FaceTime button. On my phone, it indicates that a FaceTime session has been started, but my wife doesn’t always see the prompt to accept, so the FaceTime connection doesn’t always get established. It works sometimes, but not always. I have also tried calling my wife and then having her press the FaceTime button, and that seems to work all the time. This is strange.

But the major problem happens when I try to establish a FaceTime connection from my laptop to my wife’s laptop. First, we both start the FaceTime application. Then, I find her in my Contacts list and click on her email address. What happens is that her iPhone starts ringing! I believe if she answers the call on her iPhone, a FaceTime session will be established between my laptop and her iPhone, but that’s not what I wanted. I haven’t been able to find a way to establish a FaceTime connection from one laptop to the other laptop. I did check FaceTime preferences on both laptops and verified that FaceTime is turned on and that our email addresses are listed under “You can be reached for calls at”.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8), 2.8 GHz

Posted on Feb 20, 2014 9:58 AM

Reply

Answer 1

pedro d

Community Specialist

Feb 22, 2014 9:40 AM in response to ldamario

Hello there, idamario.

The following Knowledge Base article offers up some practical steps to review for troubleshooting issues with FaceTime on a Mac:

FaceTime for Mac: Troubleshooting FaceTime

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4185

Troubleshooting FaceTime for Mac

You can make FaceTime calls using the FaceTime app. You can call FaceTime users whose contact information is in Contacts. You can add contacts and edit contact information in either FaceTime or Contacts. To place a video call, you may use a phone number or email address.

If you encounter issues making or receiving FaceTime calls, try the following:

Verify that FaceTime is enabled in FaceTime > Preferences.
If the issue persists, or if you see the message "Waiting for Activation", try toggling FaceTime off and then on.

Verify that the Date, Time, and Time Zone are set correctly:

From the Apple () menu, choose System Preferences > Date & Time > Date & Time.

Enable "Set Automatically".

Click the Time Zone tab and confirm the closest city is correct.

Verify that both parties are connected to an active broadband Internet connection.

See Mac OS X: Troubleshooting a cable modem, DSL, or LAN Internet connection.

Consult Using FaceTime behind a firewallfor necessary ports to open in firewalls, security software and routers.

If you encounter issues using a Wi-Fi network, use standard Wi-Fi network troubleshooting to resolve interference and other issues.

Verify the phone number or email address being used is the correct one activated for FaceTime.
You can verify that you are using a valid Apple ID at appleid.apple.com. You can also create an Apple ID or reset your password from this website.

Verify that both parties have installed the latest software updates for their Mac and/or device. See:

Mac OS X: Updating your software

iOS: How to update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.

Cheers,
Pedro.

Reply

Answer 2

ldamario Author

Level 2

188 points

Feb 22, 2014 9:56 AM in response to pedro d

I have already checked all the things you listed. Apart from some problems with completing the connection for iPhone-to-iPhone sessions, the major problem I am having is that I cannot establish a computer-to-computer session. Whenever I try to do this by clicking on the recipients Apple ID or a different verified email address, what happens is that the recipient's phone rings. It's as if FaceTime has decided that if it knows about a person's iPhone phone number, it always uses that for the connection. I even tried initiating a computer-to-computer session with FaceTime on the recipient's iPhone turned off. I that situation, the iPhone doesn't ring (obviously), but the recipient's computer still does not receive a prompt for the FaceTime session. I am stumped.

Reply

Answer 3

Jan 31, 2016 2:41 AM in response to ldamario

I just upgraded El Capitan to 10.11.3 and it works

Reply