Using FaceTime overseas
 

I have an iPhone 4, and use Facetime here in Canada with no problems. However, when I travel, I remove my sim from the iPhone so that I don't accidently incur data roaming charges (I have a UK cell phone as a phone instead) but still use the iPhone essentially as a Touch (watch movies, use wifi etc). But when I do this, it won't let me use FaceTime (like you can with a Touch). I guess it is something to do with the sim, but I don't know why the Touch itself works (the person I facetime with has a touch, no sim) and mine it seems to need the sim?

Is there a way around this? Would obviously have wifi when I wanted to use Facetime.

Thanks

iPhones use their mobile number as a unique identifier for FaceTime service. When you remove the SIM, the phone no longer has a number that it can use to identify you to the FaceTime service.

Try taking out your SIM at home, connecting to your home wifi network, and viewing a contact whom you know has a FaceTime-compatible device. I think there's a "FaceTime" button in the contact info - click it and see if it works.

If it doesn't work, I think there's a standalone FaceTime app for iPads and iPod Touches that uses email address as the unique identifier. Try downloading that. You might need to re-add contacts or some such.

I did this before.

Keep the sim card in the phone, never take it out. Once you take it out, it recognize that and needs to get Facetime activated. In order to get Facetime activated, it needs to send SMS.

What you'll need to do is when abroad, turn the airplane mode on, and turn wifi on. This will keep facetime available and use your #.

My worry is that I know people who have used the airplane mode, assuming as you do that will prevent the problem, and for whatever reason, whether it is when the turn the phone off, or use certain applications, data has turned back on again and they have ended up with seriously high roaming charges.

Thank you! I tried the first bit, wifi, Facetime contact, and it just didn't work. I shall give the second suggestion a go - I figured there was probably some way, as the Touch doesn't have a phone number associated. An app with email sounds like a simple solution and there are only a couple of people I would need to add, so not too much hassle either! Thanks!

If it doesn't work, the solution about leaving your phone in airplane mode is quite viable. Just be sure not to turn on the cellular radio.

To ensure you don't get hit with any data charges (even if you turn on the cellular radio), create a new dummy APN and set the phone to that. It will try to route all data over the dummy APN and as a result won't be able to send any data.

I have traveled internationally extensively with my i-Phone (both myself and my SO). We always use airplane mode and explicitly turn on Wi-Fi when needed.

We have never, ever incurred a single solitary roaming charge. Ever.

I think removing the SIM card is way overkill...

Regards

The only problem (that I know of) with doing the airplane mode + enable Wi-Fi is GPS. In that setup, the GPS receiver does not work, so Location Services can only use Wi-Fi to determine one's location. Granted, without a data plan, getting turn-by-turn navigation would be a bit difficult anyway, but something to consider.

This is a really dumb question, but why not use Skype or Qik instead of FaceTime? They support video on the iPhone, Macs, plus PCs and Android phones.

When the iphone first came out there were some issues, but now they a cellular data setting you can turn OFF when you want to turn it OFF, or you can leave that ON and turn Data Roaming OFF and that should prevent any excess data charges when you are roaming.

Removing the SIM is overkill. And if you are paranoid, use the suggestion of leaving it in airplane mode with wifi ON.

-David

Oh yes, I accept I am paranoid - but only because it has happened to people I actually know in real life, who are far from dumb about technology. Glad to hear it seems to be an older problem, with the newer ones more reliable at actually staying turned off. Thanks.

Never heard of Qik, Skype I have used, but not a video version. Do you know if it would work on a Touch as well as an iPhone? Thanks.

Thanks, it is all a bit greek to me, but I suspect that if I show this to someone a little more tech savvy than me, he will know what you mean and make my phone magically do it :) I like magic tech people!

Skype video calls work on the iTouch and pretty well at that. [I am not speaking to camera image-related or processor speed-related distinctions, but it works well enough for me in comparison to the iPhone 4.]

While I haven't compared the newest iOS iTouch against my iPhone 4S, I have been comparing my Skype video calls where my iPhone 4S is communicating with people using the (pre-latest iOS) iTouch or the (pre-latest iOS) iPhone 4. Both generally seem to work out just as well as each another when communicating with my iPhone 4S, although the iTouch video images sometimes seem more jumpy than the iPhone 4 video images I see (on my computers and/or iPhone 4S).

I loaded the new operating system on the iTouch and iPhone 4 last night, so not sure what if anything that may have changed when comparing it to my iPhone 4S Skype video calls. I'll check it out later today and get back. I expect it to work just as well as it did earlier in the week.

Thanks, appreciate the detailed response. Both devices are on the newest iOS.