Facetime uses the microphone at the top of the iPhone that is normally dedicated to noise-cancellation.
You probably know that there’s a speaker and a microphone at the bottom of the iPhone used for most calls, but when you put the iPhone into speakerphone or Facetime mode, the device uses its proximity sensor to tell you’re not holding the phone next to your face and it switches which microphone it uses to avoid feedback.
Applecare has been $79 (slightly less at Amazon) BUT Apple has just raised renamed it Applecare + for iPads and raised the price to $99. My advice–pick up a copy of Applecare from a retailer while you still can before the stock runs out. Apple will honor the extended warranty and you’ll get a good deal while supplies last.
After upgrading my iPhone 4 to iOS5, people who were previously able to Facetime with me weren’t able contact me any longer. The calls just failed.
Turns out there was a change on my side of things that I wasn’t aware of. If people can’t reach you on Facetime, make sure that Facetime is turned on in your Settings on your iPhone/iPod/iPad.
Go to Settings > Facetime and check to make sure that you have the Facetime setting set to ON if you’re having a similar problem. Hopefully this will help someone else out!
In June of 2010 when Apple released Facetime on the world, they also unveiled a free service where you could call 1-888-FACETIME and get an Apple employee to pick up your Facetime call request. The number still works to call, but there’s no more video option. Kind of disappointing. I wonder if Apple or anyone else could set up an automated video response? When exactly did this service end?
If you don’t mind rolling up your sleeves and typing two lines of code on your Mac, Rob “the Corndog” Johnson has a great tip on how to set up Facetime on your home computer to auto-accept incoming Facetime requests from specified phone numbers or accounts:
1.) Open up the Terminal.app located in your /Applications/Utilities folder
2.) Type in the following to allow a specified caller for auto accept incoming calls:
defaults write com.apple.FaceTime AutoAcceptInvitesFrom -array-add <iPhone number, or AppleID>
Simple enough, right? Enjoy remote surveillance of your house, check in to see how your dog and cat get along when you’re gone, or make sure the babysitter isn’t making out with her boyfriend while you’re on your dinner date.
Yes, there is a workaround. A loophole, if you will. It involves tethering your iPhone to any mobile hotspot (which is in turn connected to a 3G cell network). From the guy who put it together:
I’m just putting two and two together here, so hear me out: if an iPhone 4 can only make FaceTime calls over WIFI like the iPad 2, could an iPad 2 make a FaceTime call over 3G by connecting to an iPhone 4’s Personal Hotspot feature which is WIFI?
Pretty cool, eh? It’s not quite perfect since it requires a hotspot, but if you have one, you can Facetime from anywhere a 3G network is available.
You know, it didn’t occur to me at first how Facetime could be useful for more than just talking with friends and family, until recently when I needed to crawl up in our attic. That space you see in the photo above is just large enough for a 6 foot 2 inch guy to crawl through on his belly to make it to the other side (which is exactly what I needed to do to take a look at some electrical work in my attic. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about wiring.
However, my dad does. He was visiting us recently and although I wouldn’t have considered making my dad crawl up in the attic to diagnose our electrical issues, it was no big deal to crawl up there with my iPhone and do a Facetime chat with him to show him, in real time, what the wiring looked like. He was downstairs and able to talk me through what I was seeing and guide me through the maze of electric wires draped throughout the attic.
So technically I *was* Facetiming with my dad, but it was for something other than fun. I guess this is the kind of reason I started this blog… to talk about what new possibilities open up with this technology. Coming soon… a top ten list of alternative ways to use Facetime.
2. Open Facetime for the first time and you’ll be prompted to create an account (email/phone number and password). Set it up once and you’re done!
3. Find a friend to call for a video chat!
Those are the basics! Of course for as simple as it can be, there’s much more to it. In the coming weeks we’ll take a look at the details and start delving out the tips and tricks for all the great ways you can enhance Facetime for your personal use. How do you plan on using Facetime?
