Apple Fixes FaceTime on Older Versions of OS X, iOS 6 Still Not Working

facetime_ios_iconApple tonight released an update for FaceTime on OS X [Direct Link], which resolves connections issues and is recommended for all FaceTime users currently running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. The connection issues are presumably related to the problems reported last week which affected both older versions of OS X and iOS 6 versions of FaceTime.

Apple, however, has not yet addressed the problems with FaceTime that are in iOS 6. While it is encouraging that Apple released an update for FaceTime for OS X 10.6, Apple support's recommendations for iOS 6 users has been to upgrade to iOS 7. One user has quoted Apple support as saying that the only fix for iOS 6 is to upgrade to the latest version of iOS 7, with no current plans to release a fix on iOS 6 or iOS 5.

According to Apple's updated FaceTime troubleshooting page, users who are still having trouble with the application are recommended to update to the latest version of iOS or OS X.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
ipad blue prime day

iPad 12 Rumored to Get iPhone 17's A19 Chip, Breaking Apple Tradition

Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup. Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...
studio display purple

Apple Studio Display 2 Code Hints at 120Hz ProMotion, HDR, A19 Chip

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities. According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...

Top Rated Comments

mw360 Avatar
152 months ago
Welp I guess no more FaceTime for me. It was fun while it lasted guys ✌

In the UK at least, you can still connect and use a 100 year old pulse dialling telephone.

With Apple we're supposed to grateful if something still works after 3 years. Progress :rolleyes:
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spyguy10709 Avatar
152 months ago
As an iPod Touch 4 owner, this really sucks. The iPT4 never got an upgrade to iOS 7, and was heavily marketed as an inexpensive way to FaceTime. Thanks, Apple! :mad:
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BBCWatcher Avatar
152 months ago
In terms of iOS devices, the earliest devices to support FaceTime are the iPhone 4, iPod touch 4th generation, and the iPad 2.

The iPhone 4 and iPad 2 can be updated to iOS 7.x, and that's a solution. The iPod touch 4th generation cannot, at least not unless Apple changes its mind and gets an iOS 7.x out the door for that device. It appears to be the only FaceTime-capable device unable to upgrade to iOS 7.x.

As I write this, Apple is still selling refurbished 4th generation iPod touch devices in many of Apple's online stores around the world. These devices are prominently advertised as supporting FaceTime. In many countries Apple's failure to fix FaceTime would be illegal especially given these continuing sales direct from Apple.

I think Apple is going to fix FaceTime on the 4th generation iPod touch and rather quickly. I don't think Apple wants the lawsuits they'd probably lose. It'd also be at least the polite thing to do to add FaceTime Audio to the 4th generation iPod touch to set a common, baseline service level. Or at least figure out how to produce a more sensible error message ("You are trying to contact a person with a device that does not support FaceTime Audio. Would you like to try FaceTime Video instead?") on iOS 7+ devices attempting to contact 4th generation iPod touch users via FaceTime Audio.

Live by the cloud, die by the cloud. If you go into the utility business, Apple, you better act like a (premium) utility. And it's not as if there aren't competitors on Apple's own platforms. Microsoft with Skype, notably -- and Microsoft would be delighted to welcome FaceTime refugees.

Steve Jobs himself did not tolerate this sort of fumbling with MobileMe, and I'm sure he wouldn't tolerate these FaceTime failures either.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ouimetnick Avatar
152 months ago
It got an update to iOS 6 (and bug fixes through February 2014). A lot of people didn't think it would make it that far. It only has 256MB RAM, and no device supported by iOS 7 has less than 512MB of RAM.

The original iPad has similar hardware and runs quite a bit faster, but was dropped at iOS 5.1.1.

Thats also not a valid excuse. Who was cheap and put only 256MB of RAM in the iPad and 4th gen iPod touch? Yup, Apple did!:rolleyes:

Those devices even when they ran iOS 4 (not even the max OS allowed) still sucked when using tabs in Safari. Constantly reloading, some sites wouldn't load with out Safari crashing thanks to the lack of RAM.

Apple could have doubled it to 512MB like the iPhone 4 for pretty much nothing.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dave.UK Avatar
152 months ago
So does this apply to devices that cannot upgrade to iOS 7 or is it just those devices that can run iOS 7 but users have chosen not to upgrade? If it's the former they for sure need to fix it. If it's the latter you're probably screwed. But staying on iOS 6 indefinitely is pointless IMO because the ship has sailed and you're not getting an iOS 6 style UI back. So if iOS 7 bothers you that much then I guess it's off to Android or Windows Phone for you. Or you keep the phone you have and don't upgrade.

If someone wants to stay on ios6, then good for them. A software upgrade dosent automatically mean better to everyone. Its the magical word "choice".
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apolloa Avatar
152 months ago
Hahaha, so Apple makes the software itself, makes the hardware itself, and it still breaks.
Have the ios team all fallen apart without Forstall?

As its Apple we will never know.

----------

It's really time users running iOS 6, update to iOS 7.
Yes, yes that's right, its time all those people threw their iPod Touches in the bin and upgraded :rolleyes: how dare they keep them and complain about something that worked perfectly fine last week is broken this week.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)