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Facetime = WiFi + 3G?

J

JReynolds

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 16, 2009
428
0
Where the Air Force sends me
I'm deploying in September and I plan on my wife and I both having iPhone 4's.

Currently she's is 38wks pregnant. When I leave my daughter will be around 3 months old.

I won't have cell service over there but I'm sure I'll find wifi. I know facetime says wifi only, but do I have to have cell service to initiate it? Will it work while my iPhone 4 is in airplane mode?

Thanks for the help!
 
JReynolds said:
I'm deploying in September and I plan on my wife and I both having iPhone 4's.

Currently she's is 38wks pregnant. When I leave my daughter will be around 3 months old.

I won't have cell service over there but I'm sure I'll find wifi. I know facetime says wifi only, but do I have to have cell service to initiate it? Will it work while my iPhone 4 is in airplane mode?

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

A question only Apple can answer. We have no details on Facetime yet or how to start it. Sorry.


robbieduncan said:
Airplane mode turns off WiFi.
Click to expand...


And Wi-Fi can be turned back on independently.
 
jav6454 said:
A question only Apple can answer. We have no details on Facetime yet or how to start it. Sorry.
Click to expand...

Yes we do. You can initiate FaceTime during a call, or independent of a call through your contacts list.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/facetime.html
Let’s say you want to start a video call with your best friend. Just find her entry in your Contacts and tap the FaceTime button. Or maybe you’re already on a voice call with her and you want to switch to video. Just tap the FaceTime button on the Phone screen.​


JR, thank you for your service.
Signs are pointing to being able to start a FaceTime chat through wifi only, independent of cellular service, but we can't be 100% sure until the phone comes out.
 
vizkiz said:
Yes we do. You can initiate FaceTime during a call, or independent of a call through your contacts list.
Click to expand...

It's not real clear that it's independent of a call, it says you can initiate it independently of a call. My impression was that it uses the call for audio and simultaneously routes the video over wifi.

I really hope this works for you, this is the kind of thing Face Time was meant for.
 
Heh, your situation is like the follow-up to one of the couples in the FaceTime commercial!

Good luck and get home safe, and thank you for your service.
 
vizkiz said:
Yes we do. You can initiate FaceTime during a call, or independent of a call through your contacts list.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/facetime.html
Let’s say you want to start a video call with your best friend. Just find her entry in your Contacts and tap the FaceTime button. Or maybe you’re already on a voice call with her and you want to switch to video. Just tap the FaceTime button on the Phone screen.​


JR, thank you for your service.
Signs are pointing to being able to start a FaceTime chat through wifi only, independent of cellular service, but we can't be 100% sure until the phone comes out.
Click to expand...

Awesome thank you for posting that.
 
vizkiz said:
You're welcome. But remember, like I said, we can't be 100% sure until the phone comes out.

Hopefully it doesn't need cellular service to initiate.
Click to expand...

I know that, but that is a best guess at best, the real definitive answer is held by Apple at this moment; which is why I refrain from guessing in such a complicated manner.
 
jav6454 said:
I know that, but that is a best guess at best, the real definitive answer is held by Apple at this moment; which is why I refrain from guessing in such a complicated manner.
Click to expand...

That was directed at JR, the person I quoted. According to what it says on Apple's website, that is most likely what we'll see.
 
Facetime = WiFi + 3G?

From the promotional videos and Apple's web site specs, to use Facetime you first dial the person as a regular contact from your Contacts. As expected, the call is routed through the operator's cell towers.

To initiate Facetime and use it with the counterparty, both have to be on WiFi. Does that mean the voice and audio will travel through separate channels?

While in the US everyone using Facetime is on AT&T and therefore no minutes are deducted for the call, in other countries the callers will be hit with minute charges while relieving the provider's network of data traffic by providing their own internet routing for the video stream.

Either way, it seems like an awkward solution - hope it doesn't lead to many out of sync calls.
 
I would think if it was 3g for voice and wifi for video there'd be weird out of sync issues... like a badly dubbed movie.

I assume what we will end up seeing is a small transition time while the phone call ends and the facetime audio/video takes over. You can make a facetime call from your contacts without first calling the person on the phone, so it's somewhat safe to assume that voice and video are sent over WiFi during facetime sessions. :)
 
Finding the whole thing a bit stupid, really. Myself and the other half live in different countries, so actually calling each other costs a fortune. Video calls over IP would be so much better, but we'd actually have to call each other to do a video call over wifi, which is a bit stupid.
 
Zcott said:
Finding the whole thing a bit stupid, really. Myself and the other half live in different countries, so actually calling each other costs a fortune. Video calls over IP would be so much better, but we'd actually have to call each other to do a video call over wifi, which is a bit stupid.
Click to expand...

Not if you are trying to set a standard and entice the carriers to endorse and use FaceTime.;) If FaceTime is free and bypasses the carriers then what in it for them except lost revenue?

jtara says it best.

jtara said:
Nobody knows.

Lots of people will know next Thursday.
Click to expand...
 
FaceTime both the audio and video are sent over WiFi. I don't think you actually dial the other person's phone number to initiate the call. I believe it's done over the internet somehow with something similar to iChat where you have a username or handle.
 
WardC said:
FaceTime both the audio and video are sent over WiFi. I don't think you actually dial the other person's phone number to initiate the call. I believe it's done over the internet somehow with something similar to iChat where you have a username or handle.
Click to expand...

That is not true. If both of your numbers are iPhone 4 numbers you can initiate a FaceTime call during a voice call or do it straight through your contacts. No set-up required.
 
Zcott said:
Finding the whole thing a bit stupid, really. Myself and the other half live in different countries, so actually calling each other costs a fortune. Video calls over IP would be so much better, but we'd actually have to call each other to do a video call over wifi, which is a bit stupid.
Click to expand...

No you don't.

You initiate a facetime call DIRECTLY from your contact list, that means no phone call prior to facetime.
 
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