iPhone Cellular Calls option is missing on iPhone 5, iOS 8

Catalin81 seems to confirm your theory but there are still some incongruences as far as can I see.

This is the situation at my place, also in the light of your theory:

My iPhone 5 is the only device I own that can have Continuity (until I upgrade my Mac to Yosemite) so it is logical for “iPhone Cellular Calls” not to show BUT the same should happen with “Handoff” and does not.

My wife’s iPhone 5c is the only device she owns that can have Continuity because she’s got an old Retina iPad which indeed does not qualify for the feature (“iPhone Cellular Calls” is not there, Handoff is not there) BUT the option “iPhone Cellular Calls” is showing on her iPhone and should not.

So, before I can confirm the solution of this issue (when Yosemite becomes available for download) I would have a question to Catalin81 (coming in the following post)…

Did you activate “iCloud Drive”? The two things should not be related to each other but you never know… I do not turn it on because I cannot use it on my Mac until I upgrade to Yosemite but my wife did it because she can use it with her “old” Retina iPad which is also running iOS 8.

Could you have a look today whether or not “iCloud Drive” is active on your mother’s devices?

Should “iCloud Drive” play no role in this matter, I think this could be the description of what happens:

A device with iOS 8 will show no Continuity options if it is not compatible with them (see my wife’s iPad).

If it is compatible, it will show “Handoff” while “iPhone Cellular Calls” will only be shown if it detects by Apple that its owner has got another one or more devices with the latest OS, that are registered with the same Apple ID. It will not check if the other devices are “active” (in the same network, for instance) or if they are effectively compatible with the new features. That would explain why my wife’s iPhone is showing the “iPhone Cellular Calls” option even if she cannot use it (because her iPad, running iOS 8, is not compatible with Continuity at all). A bit inconsistent (because Handoff should at least be treated the same way) but plausible.

Anyway, let’s wait and see what you find out today with your mother’s devices…

Thank you Catalin81. Let's wait and see what Apple Forever still finds out...

After doing some tests and thanks to your help I now have a clear picture of what happens.

I installed the last preview of Yosemite on a disk partition of an old iMac (which is still capable of running it).

If I log into FaceTime on the Mac with my Apple ID without signing into iCloud, there is no possibility to receive and make calls (and the “iPhone Cellular Calls” option does not appear on my iPhone).

But if I also sign into iCloud on the Mac, both options (there is one on the Mac in the FaceTime Preferences too) magically appear. Finally “iPhone Cellular Calls” is visible (and on) on my iPhone and I can make and receive calls from my Mac. It works!

As soon as I sign off iCloud on the Mac, both options disappear.

So every device you own (signed into your iCloud account) checks with Apple if there are other devices running the latest operating system (iOS 8 & OS X Yosemite) on which you are also signed into iCloud with your Apple ID. It does not check if those devices really support Continuity features. That explains why the option is visible on my wife’s iPhone, although her iPad cannot make and receive calls. That was the missing link.

The devices must be on the same network to communicate with each other but the main thing for the options to appear is that they are all signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID. At first glance it seems odd that the Handoff feature is treated differently (regardless of the existence of more devices) but there must be a reason, of course.

Greetings to all.