How do you facetime for the first time? Explained

Last Updated on April 18, 2023 by Kennedy

How do you facetime for the first time on iphone, ipad or Mac computer.

This is the very first question that comes to the mind if you are new to apple products.

Let me guess, you switched from android to iphone, and as facetime is quite popular especially in US and Canada, you don’t want to waste time using the app.

Right here I will explain in details how you can get started with facetime and start using it to make and receive calls on your apple device.

Before I proceed, please bear in mind that there’s no long process getting started with facetime on your iPhone.

Here are the requirements;

Your device probably an iphone.
An active internet connection like Wi-Fi or cellular data.
FaceTime must be enabled on your iPhone.

In order not to waste your time, let’s head over to why you’re here.

Table of Contents

How do you facetime for the first time

To facetime for the first time, you have to make sure that facetime is enabled and activated on your iPhone, afterwards you open the facetime app and get started making and receiving calls from facetime.

This is just an explanation, now let’s go in details on how you can facetime for the first time on your iPhone.

1. Check if Facetime is Enabled

This is the first and foremost thing to do.

To do so, open the Settings App on your iPhone call and scroll all the way down to Facetime and tap to open.

Now you’re on facetime Settings page.

By default, facetime is enabled on all iphones but you have to check and confirm it.

So right there you will see the facetime button, make sure it is enabled on your iPhone. Below is a typical example of when facetime is enabled on an iphone.

Once your facetime is enabled as shown in the above picture, then you need to proceed to the next step.

2. Check if facetime has been activated on your iPhone

This step is very essential because if facetime is not activated on your iPhone, you won’t be able to use FaceTime to make and receive calls.

When talking about facetime activation, I want you to know that facetime activate on it’s own along with iMessage.

As long as you have an active internet connection on your iPhone, facetime will activate on it’s own.

FaceTime will activate on your phone using your apple ID and phone number.

In a situation whereby you don’t have a sim card or an eSim in your iPhone, facetime will only activate using your apple ID.

As long as you have an internet connection on your iPhone, facetime will automatically activate on it’s own along with iMessage.

To check if facetime has been activated on your iPhone, open the settings app once again, scroll down to facetime and tap to open.

You will see the option that says You Can Be Reached by Facetime At, and Caller ID you should see you phone number and Apple ID in these options.

For privacy sake I blurred the phone number and email address. But yours should have your phone number and Apple ID shown to you.

So once you see these options available, then you should know that facetime has been activated on your iPhone.

Remember, this option that says;

You Can Be Reached by Facetime At: Simply means that someone can call you on facetime on any of your phone number or Apple ID. So please make sure to select the two options.
Caller ID: This option means that you can call someone on FaceTime using your phone or Apple ID. You have to select one option and I recommend using phone number unless you don’t have a sim card or eSim in your iPhone.

In a situation whereby you don’t see any of you apple id and phone number shown to you, but instead what you’re seeing is waiting for activation, i recommend you turn of your data or Wi-Fi (internet) and turn off facetime.

Turn off or disable facetime on your iPhone.

Wait for few seconds, enable internet by turning on Wi-Fi connection or cellular data. Make sure that internet is active on your iPhone, then you have to enable facetime on your phone.

Wait for few minutes and should activate.

In some cases whereby you’re experiencing facetime waiting for activation, you can enable airplane mode or switch off your phone to fix the problem.

Once facetime has been activated on your iPhone, then you should proceed to the next step.

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3. Open facetime app

As you’re set and ready to use FaceTime, open the facetime app on your iPhone.

Now you’re on facetime app page or homepage.

Being a firstimer, you won’t see any calls or dialed numbers as your facetime page will look like this;

Now you’re ready for the next step and that is making a video or audio call using facetime.

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4. Making a facetime call

To get started making a facetime using facetime app, tap on the option that says New Facetime.

Next is to enter the recipient phone number or Apple ID, or you can tap on the add icon as shown below to get the recipient contact.

Tap on the recipient contact and below you will see a call icon, go ahead and tap on the call icon or the video call icon and it will initiate a call right away.

If you want to make a video call, you should tap on the video icon that says facetime, but if you want to make an audio call, then you should tap on the call icon as shown in the above picture.

Remember that you must have an active internet connection before you can make and receive facetime calls on your iPhone.

For Audio Facetime Call, it will look like the below picture.

When you initiate a facetime audio call on your iPhone, it will look exactly like the above picture.

Once you dialed a number that is activated with facetime, the call will go through as long as you have an active internet connection on your iPhone.

Afterwards, you will see the call log on your facetime homescreen.

Next time you want to call the phone, simply open the facetime app, beside the contact tap on the details icon.

It will take you to the contact information. You will see where it says facetime and which shows the video icon and a call icon.

From the there you can easily call the person on any of your preferred call feature.

Going to contact app will also display facetime option if a contact on your iPhone is using facetime.

5. Receiving a facetime call

To receive a facetime call, you simply need to make sure that your iPhone has internet 24/7 or when you’re not sleeping or busy at at work.

As long as your phone has be activated with facetime using your apple ID or phone number, you can be reached on any of the contact information.

You can give your caller your apple ID or the phone number activated with facetime and that’s all.

Asking about how do you facetime for the first time, this is what it involves using a facetime for the very first time.

Does your iPhone have to be activated to FaceTime?

The answer is yes. iPhone have to be activated in order to use FaceTime simply because it requires a he of apple ID or phone number.

If an iphone is not activated, you can’t use facetime and iMessage on such iphone.

You must activate the phone before you can use any of facetime or iMessage.

On Ipad

Here are the steps to use FaceTime on an iPad:

First, make sure your iPad is connected to the internet, either through Wi-Fi or cellular data. FaceTime requires an internet connection to work.
Open the FaceTime app on your iPad. You can find it on the home screen or in the app drawer.
If this is your first time using FaceTime, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your Apple ID and password. You can also use your phone number or email address for FaceTime.
Once you’re signed in, you can start a new call by tapping the “+” button in the top-right corner of the screen.
Next, you’ll need to select the contact you want to call. You can do this by typing their name into the search bar, or by scrolling through your contacts list.
When you’ve selected your contact, you can choose whether to make a video or audio call. Tap the corresponding button to start the call.
During the call, you can mute your microphone or turn off your camera by tapping the corresponding buttons at the bottom of the screen. You can also switch between front and rear cameras by tapping the camera icon.
To end the call, tap the “End” button at the bottom of the screen.

On mac computer

Here are the steps to use FaceTime on a Mac:

First, make sure your Mac is connected to the internet, either through Wi-Fi or Ethernet. FaceTime requires an internet connection to work.
Open the FaceTime app on your Mac. You can find it in the Applications folder or by using Spotlight search.
If this is your first time using FaceTime, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your Apple ID and password. You can also use your phone number or email address for FaceTime.
Once you’re signed in, you can start a new call by typing a name, phone number, or email address into the search bar at the top of the screen. Alternatively, you can click on a contact in the left-hand pane to start a call.
To make a video call, click on the video camera icon next to the person’s name or phone number. To make an audio call, click on the phone icon instead.
During the call, you can mute your microphone or turn off your camera by clicking on the corresponding buttons at the bottom of the screen. You can also switch between front and rear camera icon.
To end the call, click on the “End” button at the bottom of the screen.

All these is how to facetime for the first time on iphone, ipad and Mac computer.

How to set up facetime for the very first time

To set up facetime for the very first time, you need to make sure that facetime is enabled on your iPhone and that you have an active internet connection.

Once you have an active internet connection, and your iPhone is activated with an apple ID, facetime will activate on it’s own using your Apple ID.

If you have a sim card or an eSim in your iPhone, facetime will activate using your apple ID and phone number.

And with this, I come to the conclusion of today’s question of the day, how do you facetime for the first time.

How do you facetime for the first time? Explained