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FaceTime issues - Cant use because I visited a country where it was banned

SaffaYork

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So I used to live in the Middle East. During my time there, I bought 2 iPhones - 1 iPhone 5S and 1 iPhone 6. When I bought these phones, both had FaceTime, which worked perfectly. At the time, I was living in Kuwait, which DOES NOT BAN FaceTime. When I came to the UK on holiday, my FaceTime was still working with a UK sim card. Went back to Kuwait, put in the Kuwait sim, and again, no issues with FaceTime.



I moved to the UAE, and upon inserting a UAE sim card, both phones lost FaceTime. At the time, I assumed that this was because the UAE bans FaceTime, assuming that when I returned to the UK, I'd be able to use FaceTime again.



Now that I have returned to the UK, FaceTime is still missing from my phones and according to the Apple Genius people, there is nothing that can be done.



Should it be allowed that a drawcard to the phones for me was FaceTime can now not be used? I am now in a country that FaceTime is not banned? It was on my phone, and then disappeared.



Its actually a poor show on Apples part - I paid for a fully working phone (x2!), with all options. The fact that one country doesn't want me using an option should not impact on me using it in the rest of the world. Thats like selling a 6 cylinder car that works perfectly in one country, driving to another country that only allows 4 cylinders, leaving that country for a 6 cylinder country again, and not being able to use the remaining 2!



BS as far as I am concerned.
 
Welcome to iPhone Forums!

FaceTime is not restricted by Apple, but by the carrier of the UAE, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Did you insert an UK SIM card, to get back FaceTime?

Take a look at your restrictions:
Make sure FaceTime isn't restricted, and also take a look at Camera. If that's restricted, you can't use FaceTime.
 
Got a UK sim in my phone right now, set it up as a brand new phone, multiple times already, and still no luck...Camera isn't restricted and there is no option for FaceTime...
 
One more suggestion: restore your devices, and use iTunes (computer) for this task. I hope this will help.
 
Already done, a few times too... Doesn't help at all. I've tried different service providers too, also, no help...I've just finished doing a DFU restore, with no result.
 
Did you update the iOS version on the iPhones while you were in the UAE?
 
No, I updated in Kuwait (where FaceTime worked before AND after the update,) as well as here in the UK..
 
Maybe when you were using the iPhone in the UAE, the carrier you were using updated the carrier settings on your iPhone to turn off FaceTime?
 
Well, thats what I'm thinking, however, with the UK carrier settings, DFU restores, etc, nothing works, and Apple refuse to help, saying that phones made for one market will not work anywhere else either.
 
Do you still have the Kuwait SIM card? If so, do a factory restore and use the Kuwait SIM card to activate the iPhone after the restore. Let us know if that works.
 
So, I put in the Kuwait sim - FaceTime appears! Remove the Kuwait sim, put in the UK sim - FaceTime disappears straight away!
 
There's likely something in the carrier settings that turns on FaceTime when the Kuwait SIM card is installed. The UK SIM card doesn't contain the setting to turn FaceTime on. I'm thinking that any iPhone sold in the Middle East has FaceTime turned off by default and Middle East countries that allow it can turn it on through carrier settings. Turning FaceTime off by default was likely one of the terms that Apple had to comply with in order to sell its devices in the Midfle East and other countries that ban FaceTime. If that's the case, you will unfortunately not be able to do anything to fix the problem.
 
BTW, I've deleted the post on this same topic that you posted in another thread as we only allow one thread for each topic. Multiple posts in different threads on the same topic are not allowed.
 
No way of changing carrier setting here in the UK?
 
In the UK, as in most of the world, there are no restrictions on the use of FaceTime, so the carrier settings likely have no provision to turn it on if it's currently turned off.

A workaround, inconvenient as it is, may be to insert the Kuwait SIM card and use FaceTime on WiFi to make your calls. You'd then re-insert the UK SIM card to resume regular operation.

Your long term solution would be to upgrade your iPhone and purchase a new iPhone in the UK.
 
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