Group FaceTime Bug Fix Included in iOS 12.2 Beta 3

The third beta of iOS 12.2, released to developers this morning, includes a fix for the Group FaceTime bug, which also reenables Group ‌FaceTime‌ on devices running the iOS 12.2 beta.

Apple addressed the Group ‌FaceTime‌ bug in the iOS 12.1.4 update released on February 7, but there has been no new iOS 12.2 beta until today, so the Group ‌FaceTime‌ feature has remained unavailable to iOS 12.2 users because the server has been offline.


The ‌FaceTime‌ bug allowed someone to spy on you without your permission or knowledge. By exploiting the bug, a person could initiate a Group ‌FaceTime‌ call with you and then add themselves to the call again to force a Group ‌FaceTime‌ connection, as demoed in the video below.


When the Group ‌FaceTime‌ connection was forced using this method, the bug caused the person to be able to hear the audio on your end, even if you did not answer the call. In fact, on your end, it would continue to look like the standard incoming ‌FaceTime‌ call interface. In some situations, if you pressed the side button to silence a call, it would even give the person access to your video.

Given the severity of the bug, Apple took its Group ‌FaceTime‌ server offline while preparing the iOS 12.1.4 update. Group ‌FaceTime‌ was reinstated on devices running iOS 12.1.4, but it does not work on iOS 12.2 beta 2 or devices with iOS 12.1.3 or earlier installed.

It should be noted that Group ‌FaceTime‌ is still somewhat broken following the update. In iOS 12.1.4, there is no option to add a person to a one on one Group ‌FaceTime‌ call because the "Add Person" button is grayed out. Group ‌FaceTime‌ calls need to be started with two or more people at the current time.

Other users have been unable to use Group ‌FaceTime‌ at all, and have had trouble adding additional people even during a call with more than one person. Apple is presumably working out these bugs and will have further fixes available in the future.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Popular Stories

election results 2024 live activities

Track 2024 U.S. Election Results Live on Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday November 5, 2024 5:02 am PST by
Apple News is providing Live Activities support for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, allowing iPhone and iPad users to track electoral results in real time directly from their Lock Screen. The feature is rolling out for U.S. users over the course of Election Day, November 5, providing continuous updates of the electoral count. So if you're interested, you don't need to repeatedly check...
ios 18 2 chatgpt plus

iOS 18.2 Beta 2 Shows Siri ChatGPT Limit, Offers 'Plus' Upgrade Option

Monday November 4, 2024 10:54 am PST by
With the second beta of iOS 18.2 that's available for developers today, Apple has further fleshed out the ChatGPT integration that's available with Siri. In the Settings app, there's now a section that shows the ChatGPT daily limit, and offers an option to upgrade to the paid ChatGPT Plus plan. The beta includes an Advanced Capabilities section with a "Daily Limit" reading that shows up as...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

10 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Thursday October 31, 2024 9:42 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well. ...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 2

Monday November 4, 2024 12:34 pm PST by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 updates to developers, and Apple is continuing to refine the Apple Intelligence capabilities. There are also a handful of smaller features that are worth knowing about. Find My Find My has a new option to Share Item Location with an "airline or trusted person" that can help you locate something that you've misplaced....
best early black friday deals

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals

Friday November 1, 2024 8:21 am PDT by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 29 in 2024. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment,...
M4 M4 Pro vs M4 Max Feature

When to Expect New M4 MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro Models

Monday November 4, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Apple's fall 2024 Mac announcements have included new iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro models, all of which debuted with variants of Apple's M4 chip. Apple intends to update the rest of its Mac lineup with M4 series processors over the next 12 months, which will make it the first time that Apple has used the same chip generation across all of its Macs. This means we can expect new M4...
M4 Pro on Blue

M4 Pro Chip Benchmark Results Reveal an Extremely Impressive Performance Feat

Thursday October 31, 2024 7:06 pm PDT by
The first Geekbench 6 benchmark results for the M4 Pro chip surfaced today. Impressively, the results that are available so far show that the highest-end M4 Pro chip is faster than the highest-end M2 Ultra chip in terms of peak multi-core CPU performance. Here is a comparison of the results: Mac mini with M4 Pro (14-core CPU): 22,094 multi-core score (average of 11 results) Mac Studio...

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
75 months ago
The FaceTime bug allowed someone to spy on you without your permission or knowledge. By exploiting the bug, a person could initiate a Group FaceTime call with you and then add themselves to the call again to force a Group FaceTime connection, as demoed in the video below.
Always great to see that FaceTime bug demo video again! However, I'm not sure if it's optimally attention-grabbing. Sure the all-caps "MAJOR" is a nice start, but it could still use more work. Maybe something like…

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fairuz Avatar
75 months ago
What device(s) is iOS 11 slow on?
Everything I've seen, and 12 is supposed to be faster. I've only got an iPhone 6, and family members reporting have 8 and X.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pat500000 Avatar
75 months ago
Yeah okay...whatever apple. Just fix it and release it. Just be prepared to fix another bugs once this is out.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)