Video calling is one of the features that have made their way to modern smartphones. That’s why most high end mobile phones are equipped with two cameras (a font-facing one and a rear one) and come with software that supports video calls and improves their quality. The iPhone 4S is no exception. It comes with a VGA front-facing camera and an 8MP rear camera and with a software tool known as FaceTime that makes it easy to make video calls. The only downside is that FaceTime delivers support for video calls as long as both you and the recipient of your phone call are owners of an iPhone 4, an iPhone 4S, an iPad, a recent iPod Touch or a Mac. That means you won’t be able to video call with an Android phone owner while using an iPhone 4S. It’s true that Apple is trying to make FaceTime a video standard but until it achieves its goal, you will have to live with the situation as it is. The other downside is that in order to make FaceTime calls from your iPhone 4S or receive FaceTime calls you need to make available a Wi-Fi connection. FaceTime does not work over 3G if iOS 5 is not installed on both your iPhone 4S and the Apple device of the recipient.
FaceTime On iPhone 4S
Now that you know which are the main restrictions involved, if you are still convinced that FaceTime is worth using I am going to help you set it up. The first thing you are supposed to do is enable the feature. To do that you will have to launch the Settings app, choose FaceTime and make sure the mentioned option is set to ON. By setting that option to ON you will be able to start making FaceTime calls and switch to FaceTime mode right in the middle of an iMessage conversation or a regular voice call. All you will have to do is use the FaceTime button that will be displayed at the top of the conversation or within the interface of your phone call. What you won’t find is a special FaceTime icon placed on the screen. Such an icon is available only on iPads and iPods.
The possibility to make FaceTime calls also depends on some special settings that are automatically configured when you activate your iPhone 4S, so if you have entered accurate data you shouldn’t have to modify any of that settings when you start making FaceTime calls using your iPhone 4S. The first setting involves you Apple ID. That ID is the ID that you use in order to log into iTunes and the App Store and is the ID that identifies you as iMessage and FaceTime user. You can change this ID only if you are willing to restore the iPhone 4S you own as new phone. In addition, because the activation of FaceTime doesn’t require entering Apple ID credentials, you can activate this feature only on an activated iPhone 4S gifted with a functional SIM card.
Other important pieces of information that FaceTime needs in order to work properly are your phone number and e-mail. These are the two addresses that allow a FaceTime call initiated by your friends to know where you can be reached. Last but not least, in order to use FaceTime you will also need to specify a caller ID. This is the ID that the recipients of your FaceTime calls will see on their screens and can be your Apple ID or the phone number of your iPhone 4S. No matter what ID you choose you won’t be charged because like I said above, FaceTime calls are designed to take place over an Internet connection.
Now that you know all about the requirements and the settings involved, I can let you know the methods that you can use in order to actually make a FaceTime call. One first method involves dialing the number of the person of interest as usual as long as the recipient is an iPhone 4/4S owner. If the recipient is an iPod Touch, iPad or Mac user you will have to use instead the e-mail address of the person in question. After the call is established you will have to simply use the FaceTime button displayed in order to switch to FaceTime mode. Your actions will result in the display of Accept and Decline buttons on the screen of your conversation partner. If he accepts the invitation, in a matter of seconds you will see on your screen his face.
FaceTime On iPhone 4S
You can also initiate a FaceTime call by using the FaceTime button that’s continuously displayed inside any active iMessage conversation. If you use that button your conversation will be switched to the FaceTime window and you will see your own face until the recipient of your phone call hits the Accept button. From that moment on you will view on the FaceTime window both your face and the face of your phone call’s recipient. You will also notice a few interesting controls that you can use at any time: Mute, End and Switch to Rear Camera.
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