How to Switch from a Regular Phone Call to FaceTime - MacRumors
Skip to Content

How to Switch from a Regular Phone Call to FaceTime

by

ios12 facetime iconOn iPhone, if you're on a regular voice call to someone and they're also using an iPhone, you can switch in mid-call to a FaceTime video chat, without even hanging up. It's a handy feature to make use of if you're chatting to someone over the phone and they want to show you something.

The following steps show you how it's done. Remember, ‌FaceTime‌ is an ‌iPhone‌-only feature, so placing a ‌FaceTime‌ call to another person requires both users to have an ‌iPhone‌. If the person you're calling has an Android or other type of phone, you won't be able to switch to a ‌FaceTime‌ video call.

  1. Call someone on your iPhone in the usual way, using the Phone app.
  2. When you're on the call, take your iPhone away from your ear and look at the call menu that appears on the screen.
  3. Tap the FaceTime button to initial a ‌FaceTime‌ video call (if you're in a polite frame of mind, first ask the person you're chatting with if they want to ‌FaceTime‌).

phone
If the ‌FaceTime‌ button is greyed out in the call menu, you may need to enable FaceTime on your device.

Popular Stories

apple watch se red

Apple Releases watchOS 5 and watchOS 8 Updates to Keep FaceTime and iMessage Running on Older Apple Watches

Tuesday March 24, 2026 3:30 pm PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 5.3.10 and watchOS 8.8.2 for older Apple Watch models that are not able to run the current watchOS 26 update. watchOS 5.3.10 is available for the Apple Watch Series 1, Series 2, Series 3, and Series 4, while watchOS 8.8.2 is available for the Apple Watch Series 3, Series 4, Series 5, Series 6, Series 7, and original Apple Watch SE. According to Apple's release...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in September With These 10 New Features

Monday April 20, 2026 7:13 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not launching until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component will be moved under the...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple CEO Tim Cook Stepping Down, John Ternus Taking Over

Monday April 20, 2026 1:33 pm PDT by
Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple's chief executive officer, and hardware engineering chief John Ternus is set to take over, Apple announced today. Cook will continue on as Apple CEO through the summer, with Ternus set to join Apple's Board of Directors and take over as CEO on September 1, 2026. Cook is going to transition to executive chairman, and he will "assist with certain...