Ever since I got my iPhone 4, I have been a huge fan of the FaceTime functionality. I think the product is revolutionary, and even though people still say we have had “video calling” for years, this is NOT video calling. This is something bigger. Check out what my mate Anice Hassim, from immedia, had to say about it a while ago.
Before last night Apple had already integrated FaceTime into their latest iPod Touch models, and now it is available as a stand alone application on existing & new Macs it opens a whole new world. Now you can chat to someone who could be on the other side of the world, and they don’t necessarily need to have an iPhone. Now we can communicate, visually with each other.
To get FaceTime working on the Mac, you need to download it from Apple FaceTime site, and install the app on your Mac. You then need to either register an Apple ID, or use an existing one. Once you are in, you can call an iPhone 4 using the person’s cell number, or iPod/FaceTime for Mac using their registered email address.
A few people have asked my they haven’t been able to use it yet, so below are a couple of things to check:
- Make sure FaceTime on the iPhone is turned on. To check this go to Settings -> Phone -> And make sure FaceTime is switched on
- If you are trying to call a FaceTime number (iPhone 4) from your Mac, you need to ensure you have it in the international format. So +27xxxxx
- Check to see that you can call your FaceTime Mac from your FaceTime phone.
- Make sure that the WiFi(iPhone/iPod) or Internet(Mac), the following ports are open: 443 (TCP), 3478–3497 (UDP), 5223 (TCP) 16384–16387 (UDP), and 16393–16402 (UDP). (Apple Support Doc)
If you come across any other issues with FaceTime, leave a comment below, and I will try and see what I can dig up :)
3 replies on “FaceTime for Mac”
When I registered last night, I noticed the email verification link was “broken”. So I removed the ‘s’ from the ‘https://’ URL and it worked.
Could be wrong, but I don’t think it’s working on Macs with 3G (when not using wifi) so that cooed suck if they’re on the road….
As it is described that facetime will ‘ring’ on every computer you have it installed, and the adress book contacts are used,
I am wondering if it distinguishes between an iPhone 4 and the Mac facetime of one and the same user – as the phone and the Mac version will be connected by the same iTunes account.
Any experiences?