FaceTime

Today's iPhones and iPod touches carry a front-facing camera, and the main reason they do is to allow you to participate in video calls with friends, family members, and colleagues. Apple terms this video-calling technology FaceTime. To use it, each participant must have a compatible iOS device (iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, or 4G iPod touch, or iPad 2) and a Wi-Fi connection. Only two people can participate in a FaceTime call; conference calling isn't supported.

Note:
FaceTime works only over Wi-Fi, not 3G or EDGE. If you wander out of range of a Wi-Fi network, the video conversation ends, and on an iPhone, you're offered the option to redial the number to make a voice call.

Setting up FaceTime

To set up FaceTime, follow these steps:

1. Launch Settings.
2. Tap the FaceTime entry.
3. In the resulting screen, ensure that the FaceTime switch is set to On.
4. Do one of the following:
   • Tap the button labeled Use Your Apple ID for FaceTime if you'd like that email address to be associated with FaceTime.
     If you have an iPhone, you don't need to associate an email address with FaceTime. People who want to contact you via FaceTime can simply use the device's phone number. But tapping this button makes it easy to add the email address associated with your Apple ID.
     On an iPod touch, you don't have a phone number, so you must enter an email address. This address is the one that other people will use to contact you via FaceTime, so you'll want to be sure to pass it to your friends, relatives, and colleagues.
   • If you don't want to use the address associated with your Apple ID, tap the Add an Email field, and enter the email address you want to use.
     You can use more than one email address. When you do, a Caller ID entry appears at the bottom of the FaceTime settings screen. Tap it, and you can set the address that will appear on the screen of the person you're calling.

Making a FaceTime call

Now that you have FaceTime configured, you're ready to make a call.

Here's how:

1. Select a contact in the Contacts app or (on an iPhone) within the contacts area of the Phone app.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the contact screen, and tap the FaceTime button.
   The FaceTime screen appears, with the contact's name displayed at the top. (If the contact has multiple phone numbers and/or email addresses, a sheet appears first; you choose the entry associated that person has associated with FaceTime.)
3. Wait while the iPhone or iPod touch contacts your contact.
   If the number you're attempting to contact isn't associated with an iOS device, or if the person who has that number has blocked FaceTime calls (see the note at the end of this section), you'll see a message that your call has failed.
   If the contact chooses to answer the call (by tapping the Accept button that appears on his device's screen), his video image appears, taking up most of your iPhone's or iPod touch's screen. In one corner, you see a small picture-in-picture image of yourself, which lets you position yourself properly in the frame. You can drag that image to any corner of the display.
4. Hold the device so that the person you're speaking with can see you, and talk normally.
   FaceTime can use both portrait and landscape orientation, so you're free to rotate the device as you talk; the iPhone or iPod touch rotates the FaceTime image accordingly.

   Note:
   FaceTime uses the microphone that's built into the device, so be sure to avoid putting your finger over the mic. Also watch that you don't obscure the camera lens with a misplaced digit.

5. During the call, feel free to use any of FaceTime's in-call options:
   • Mute the call:
     You can mute the call by tapping the Mute button in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The person with whom you're speaking will still see you but won't hear you.
   • Switch cameras:
     If you want to show off what's going on around you, you can switch to the device's rear-facing camera by tapping the Camera Swap button in the bottom-right corner of the screen. To switch back to the front-facing camera, just tap that button again.
   • Switch apps:
     If you need to dash to another application during a FaceTime call-to look up a contact or make a note, for example- you can do that by clicking the Home button and then opening the app you want. This action interrupts the video portion of the call, but audio still works; you can hear and be heard. When you're ready to return to the video call, just tap the green bar at the top of the device's display.
6. To end the call, tap the End button.
   That End button appears on both devices, so either party can end the call.

Note:
There will be times when you're not ready to receive a FaceTime call. (Not all of us look our best at 6 a.m. on a Saturday, after all.) You can disable FaceTime easily by launching the Settings app, tapping the FaceTime preference, and switching off the FaceTime option. (You can also turn off FaceTime in the Restrictions section of the General settings screen.)