If those aren't the problem, you can start troubleshooting.
Facetime unavailable update#
(You may have to update your device to get FaceTime in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.) With iOS 12.4 or later, FaceTime is available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch in Pakistan. Note: With iOS 11.3 or later, FaceTime is available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch in Saudi Arabia. Your device wasn't purchased in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, or the United Arab Emirates, including Dubai.FaceTime and FaceTime audio calling are available in your country, region, or by your carrier.In the meantime, cybersecurity experts are urging iPhone users to disable their FaceTime app.
Facetime unavailable upgrade#
The company promises a new and improved FaceTime app by the end of the week, which will be delivered as an operating system upgrade or update. “Apple prides itself on how secure their devices and products are,” says Hamdan, “And prides itself that they care about customers and consumers’ privacy, but this time they just totally dropped the ball on it.”Īpple announced Tuesday it was shutting down its FaceTime group chat server until a fix can be found. The security breach was as invasive as it was easy. iPhone users also discovered that pressing a volume button while making a FaceTime call somehow activated the camera on the recipient’s iPhone, allowing the caller to see, as well as hear, whatever was happening on the other end. “And as soon as they did that,” says Hamdan, “Even if the other party did not pick up the call, you would be able to pick up the audio from the other party.”īut the glitch only got worse from there. Somehow, adding the caller’s number to the FaceTime call triggered the iPhone on the receiving end of the call to activate the microphone, allowing the caller to hear the recipient, even when the recipient didn’t answer. “You use the app to call somebody, and you add yourself to the conversation.” “It did not really need anybody with technical skills to be able to find,” says the professor. In the offices of, a reporter named Nicole Nguyen accomplished the easy feat with a colleague, and became, by all appearances, the first journalist to break the story.Īnd here, in Utah, the cyber ripples are being felt, as people are attempting to call through their FaceTime app, and seeing a “FaceTime Unavailable” message.Ĭybersecurity expert, Professor Basil Hamdan of Utah Valley University, says what makes this latest security breach so scary is how easily it happened. Tuesday, others around the world re-enacted the accident. A guy in Chicago, who goes by the name “Baji Mobb” on Twitter, and who appears to be an artist, discovered a big mistake by the world’s largest computer company. It’s actually a rotten Apple app, discovered quite by accident. Their tool? The so-called “FaceTime Bug.” It’s the latest security breach. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) – iPhone users everywhere are out-smarting their smartphones, using them to spy on other iPhone users.