macOS Sierra breaks FaceTime

Question

Level 1

18 points

macOS Sierra breaks FaceTime

Hi there,

I just upgrade my 2012 MBP to macOS Sierra. Since then I am no longer able to begin or accept FaceTime calls.

If I call someone, I always receive a "Call failed". If I receive a video call, I only get audio. If I want to enable video, the FaceTime video window opens, but it is all black. I use the builtin iSight camera, no extra hardware.

Tried it a couple of times, reboots etc.

Also noticed it takes between 5-8 seconds of ringing before it appears on the receiving device (just tried it by calling my girlfriends iPhone and measuring the time).

When she accepts the call I get a "Call failed" immediately.

Anyone else with this problem? Currently cant find anything on the internet.

But it seems like some users had similar problems with El Capitan.

Maybe again another network / connectivity issue (having multiple Midi outputs involving AirPlay devices is also crashing the sys preferences pane or doesnt work at all. WiFi to the AirPort base station is also not reliable, but this is nothing new)

Pretty sad to see this constant decline in quality with Apple software...

Any help is appreciated

Tom

Posted on Sep 23, 2016 12:27 PM

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Answer 1

JimInCO

Level 1

4 points

Apr 10, 2017 5:33 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

Thank you soooo much, Carolyn! I don't have a cell phone so my wife is going to use FaceTime to contact me when her flight lands and she's ready to be picked up. Otherwise, I'd have to keep driving around until she appeared at the curb.

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Answer 2

xxyy88

Level 1

4 points

Sep 26, 2017 3:34 PM in response to TomTom.H

I had similar problem on a Late 2012 MacBook Pro. Initially Facetime showed

"Camera not found", but after an OS reboot, Facetime jsut showed a black screen.

I had to de-install Virtualbox and then reboot to fix the problem.

Virtualbox has 3 processes permanently running in background even if you aren't using it, which

could be reason they interfere with the OS X camera driver.

To de-install, download the .dmg from virtualbox.org, click on it and select the de-install script.

The script tells you the process IDs for the background virtualbox processes that need to be killed.

Note that if you used Virtualbox for Docker, they now suggest using HyperKit VM instead.

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Answer 3

Sep 23, 2016 12:31 PM in response to TomTom.H

Hi,

A Safe Mode boot deletes system caches than can help after an upgrade.

Follow these steps to start up into safe mode.

Start or restart your Mac.
Immediately after you hear the startup sound, press and hold the Shift key.
Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.

After the Apple logo appears, it might take longer than usual to reach the login screen or your desktop. This is because your Mac performs a directory check of your startup disk as part of safe mode.

To leave safe mode, restart your computer without pressing any keys during startup.

Then try FaceTime.

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Answer 4

TomTom.H Author

Level 1

18 points

Sep 26, 2016 12:11 AM in response to Carolyn Samit

Hi Carolyn,

thank you. Now it seems to work again. At least FaceTime.

Aggregated Devices in the MIDI setup is still broke. Even though you can configure them, there is no sound.

Dont know why none at Apples dev staff is listening to all the requests out there for multi device sound setup, especially as it is possible in iTunes and through 3rd party.

Kind regards,

Tom

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Answer 5

Nov 26, 2016 8:44 AM in response to TomTom.H

I have it, not finding any help

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Answer 6

omnial

Level 1

4 points

Nov 29, 2016 12:16 PM in response to TomTom.H

This fixed my FaceTime issue. I have a Mid 2012 MacBook Air. Ever since I upgraded to Sierra FT stopped working. The call would start but would fail as soon as the receiving party answered the call.

Thanks so much for the help!

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Answer 7

xxyy88

Level 1

4 points

Sep 26, 2017 3:37 PM in response to xxyy88

A clarification: Above problem appeared immediately after upgrade to High Sierra

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Answer 8

ravsal

Level 1

4 points

Nov 30, 2017 11:30 AM in response to xxyy88

Hi xxyy88,

Do you know if there is a fix for the isight camera issue with virtual box. I have read the virtual box community post, it seems like no one is addressing this issue.

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