It’s more important than ever to keep connected to people far away from you. One of the best ways to maintain those relationships is with Group FaceTime chats. These let you enjoy calls with up to 32 people at once!
If Group FaceTime isn’t working on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac you can fix it using the troubleshooting steps below. We’ve also answered common questions, like how to start a call without activating your camera.
Common Problems With Group FaceTime Calls
Lots of people ask the same questions when Group FaceTime isn’t working. We’ve pulled together some frequent questions below to give you quick answers to your problems.
If you can’t find your question, take a look at the troubleshooting steps beneath this FAQ.
Why is there a triangle with an exclamation mark in Group FaceTime calls?
An exclamation mark usually indicates connection issues.
This icon appears when your Internet connection is too slow to maintain the Group FaceTime call. It’s a good idea to connect to broadband over Wi-Fi or to make sure you have a strong cell signal.
Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap Wi-Fi.
Under the Networks section, select the Wi-Fi network you wish to join.
Enter the Wi-Fi password.
Tap the Join button in the top right corner.
If you’re already using Wi-Fi, stop other people from downloading or streaming music and videos on the same network. You might also need to restart your router or contact your Internet service provider.
There’s a chance the poor network connection is down to a problem with Apple’s systems. Check Apple’s system status online to find out.
Why Isn’t the Camera Working for People in my Group FaceTime Call?
FaceTime allows video and audio calls. If one of your contacts doesn’t want to use their camera, they might have be using audio-only, with their camera turned off.
When this happens, you usually see their initials or their profile picture rather than a live video stream. It doesn’t mean Group FaceTime isn’t working, only that they turned their video off.
To fix it, that person needs to tap the camera icon in FaceTime on their device to turn the video stream on.
Tap the camera icon to disable the camera or the microphone icon to mute yourself.
How Can I Join a Group Facetime Call Using Audio-Only Without Video?
When starting a brand new Group FaceTime call, you can choose to use video or audio-only. However, you don’t get the same choice when joining a FaceTime call that’s already in progress.
Instead, you need to tap the camera icon in FaceTime on your device after joining the call. When you tap this button it disables your camera, making you an audio-only participant. You can still see other people, but they won’t be able to see you.
Can You Quickly Start a Group FaceTime Call With Many People?
If you already have a group chat in Messages, you can use that to start a Group FaceTime call with everyone.
Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
Locate the Group Chat that you want to use to create a Group FaceTime Call.
In the top right corner, tap the FaceTime button.
From the drop-down menu, select one of the following:
FaceTime Audio.
FaceTime Video.
From here, the FaceTime call will commence, and unlike previous versions, you won’t need to still manually add those in your Messages group the call. However, in the event that you want to add more users, you are able to with the steps below:
With the call active, tap the participants at the top of the screen.
From the menu that appears, tap the Add People button.
Enter the contact’s name, phone number, or email.
Tap the Add People button.
It’s important to remember that the people that you add to the call won’t be able to be removed. Instead, the only way for the participants to be removed from an ongoing call is for them to end the call themselves on their own device.
Why Can’t I Start a Group Facetime Call With all of my Contacts?
There are plenty of alternatives to FaceTime for group video chats.
Despite FaceTime being around for years, and even having the ability to add up to 32 people at a single time, it took Apple until iOS 15 to allow for non-Apple participants. However, the fact remains that even if they are part of a group chat, you won’t be able to easily create a Group FaceTime Call.
This may not be much of an issue for some, but the reality is that it’s not like the entire world relies on Apple devices or the iPhone for their personal computing needs. Thankfully, Apple has finally made it possible for you to use FaceTime with an Android user, it just requires a bit more setup.
Open the FaceTime app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Tap the Create Link button at the top of the page.
From the pop-up menu, tap Add Name to name the FaceTime.
Select a method from the Share Menu to send a FaceTime Link to a non-iOS user.
On the other end of the line, the person receiving the link should be able to do so from whatever platform the message was sent. Then, you’ll be taken into Chrome or whatever other browsers you are using on Android. Simply enter your name, confirm permissions to use your camera, and then tap Join.
Troubleshooting When Group FaceTime Is Not Working
A lot of problems with Group FaceTime calls not working are easy to fix with some basic troubleshooting steps. We’ve listed each of the steps you need to follow below, which include checking FaceTime’s availability and testing your iPhone microphone.
Are You Using a Device Compatible With Group FaceTime?
Your device might not work with Group FaceTime even if it’s running the latest software. Not all hardware is compatible because a large group call demands more power from the processor.
Here’s the list of devices that Apple states is compatible with Group FaceTime:
iPhone 6s or later
iPad Pro or later
iPad Air 2 or later
iPad mini 4 or later
iPad (5th generation) or later
iPod Touch (7th generation)
The minimum software requirement provided by Apple states that you need one of the devices above running at least iOS 12.1.4 or iPadOS. Unfortunately, if you aren’t using one of the compatible devices, the only way you’ll be able to use Group FaceTime calls is to do so as an audio participant.
Find out Who Is Causing the Group FaceTime Problems
Consider the possibility that Group FaceTime is not working because of a problem with someone else’s device. Add people to your call one by one and try to find out if the same person causes problems each time.
Whoever is the common link—whether that’s you or someone else—needs to follow the troubleshooting steps below to fix FaceTime.
Do You Have the Latest Available Update Installed?
Check for new software updates to your Mac.
Although one-to-one FaceTime calls work on much older software, Group FaceTime requires iOS 12.1.4 or later. That means you should update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the latest software to work with Group FaceTime.
From your iPhone, open the Settings app.
Tap General.
At the top of the page, tap Software Update.
Wait a moment for the page to finish refreshing.
Once the update is available, tap the Download and Install button.
After the update is finished downloading, follow the on-screen steps to install the update.
Here’s how you can update your Mac to the latest software version:
Open the System Settings app.
In the sidebar on the left, click General.
On the right side of the window, click Software Update.
Wait a moment for the page to finish refreshing.
If an update is available, click the Download and Install button.
After the update is finished downloading, follow the on-screen steps to install the update.
Make sure FaceTime works in your country
Unfortunately, Group FaceTime is not a global service and doesn’t work in every country or region. Most places are supported, but you should check on Apple’s website to see which Apple services work in your country.
You may need to use a VPN to trick FaceTime into thinking you’re in a different country.
A VPN lets you access the Internet as if from another country.
Restart FaceTime and your device
It’s always a good idea to restart your device when something stops working, but you should also restart FaceTime itself.
On an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > FaceTime and turn FaceTime off at the top of the page. Then restart your device and return to this Settings page to enable FaceTime again.
Turn FaceTime off from the Settings.
On a Mac, open the FaceTime app and go to FaceTime > Preferences in the menu bar. Uncheck the box to Enable this account, then restart your Mac and check the box to enable FaceTime again.
Stop using FaceTime effects
Turn off any FaceTime effects.
Part of the fun of a Group FaceTime call is adding Animoji, Memoji, stickers, and other effects to your face. But these effects could be the reason Group FaceTime isn’t working properly.
Try making a call without activating any of these effects to see if it helps. If so, simply refrain from using the effects until Apple releases a more stable update.
Sign in to FaceTime again
Sign out of FaceTime, then sign back in again to make sure there are no problems with your Apple ID account. If two people are trying to use the same Apple ID account from different devices, only one of them can join the call. They need to create a second account from the Apple ID website instead.
On an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > FaceTime. Tap your Apple ID username, then choose to Sign Out. Sign in again from the same page.
On a Mac, open FaceTime and go to FaceTime > Preferences from the menu bar. Click Sign Out, then sign in again from the same page.
Sign out of FaceTime temporarily if it isn’t working.
Test your speaker, microphone, and camera
Open the Camera app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and record a short video. Watch the video back the make sure the camera and microphone are working on your device. You should repeat this using both the front- and rear-facing cameras to test each of them.
On a Mac, open the Photo Booth app to record a short video of yourself.
If there are any problems with the camera or microphone on your device, speak to Apple Support about getting a repair.
You may need to visit the Genius Bar for a physical repair.
Other FaceTime problems
Of course, all the troubleshooting steps in this article focus on what to do if Group FaceTime isn’t working. But there are plenty of other troubleshooting suggestions for one-to-one FaceTime calls as well.
If FaceTime doesn’t work at all—whether attempting a group call or not—check out our other FaceTime troubleshooting guide to find more solutions to try.
Dan writes tutorials and troubleshooting guides to help people make the most of their technology. Before becoming a writer, he earned a BSc in Sound Technology, supervised repairs at an Apple Store, and even taught English in China.
There is no add person button on the facetime app for group calls. I have tried all of your fixes and nothing is working. Also when we are trying to be added to a facetime call my name is greyed out and when I try to start a group call after adding the first person it’s greyed out ! The phone is the iphone 11 And I have the most recent Ios 14 software update !
I have tried all the troubleshooting and suggested fixes and none is working
Is this a problem with iPhone 11 because I can see other people complained and you have refused to respond to their queries
I tried having a FaceTime with two people and it does not work – using iPhone 12. Once I choose the people, I get the message Diane waiting and Valerie waiting, but neither of the two phones ring for a FaceTime.
There is no add person button on the facetime app. I have tried all of your fixes and nothing is working. Also when we are trying to be added to a facetime call our names are grey our friends told us. The phone is the iphone 11
We often see this problem when another app is using the camera you want.
Try closing all your open apps, then test FaceTime again.
Close an app
1. On an iPhone or an iPad with no home button from the Home screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause slightly in the middle of the screen
2. On an iDevice with a home button, double-click the Home button and swipe right or left to find the app that you want to close
3. Swipe right or left to locate the app you want to close
4. Swipe up on the app’s preview to close it
Faith says
There is no add person button on the facetime app for group calls. I have tried all of your fixes and nothing is working. Also when we are trying to be added to a facetime call my name is greyed out and when I try to start a group call after adding the first person it’s greyed out ! The phone is the iphone 11 And I have the most recent Ios 14 software update !
I have tried all the troubleshooting and suggested fixes and none is working
Is this a problem with iPhone 11 because I can see other people complained and you have refused to respond to their queries
Joseph Horvat says
I tried having a FaceTime with two people and it does not work – using iPhone 12. Once I choose the people, I get the message Diane waiting and Valerie waiting, but neither of the two phones ring for a FaceTime.
lili harris says
There is no add person button on the facetime app. I have tried all of your fixes and nothing is working. Also when we are trying to be added to a facetime call our names are grey our friends told us. The phone is the iphone 11
taylor harris says
there is no add person button on my facetime for my iPhone 11 i’ve tried all of your fixes and nothing is working.
Bev says
Can anyone tell me how to turn the camera on for face time , it just won’t switch on when pressing it on my I phone 6
Elizabeth Jones says
HI Bev,
We often see this problem when another app is using the camera you want.
Try closing all your open apps, then test FaceTime again.
Close an app
1. On an iPhone or an iPad with no home button from the Home screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause slightly in the middle of the screen
2. On an iDevice with a home button, double-click the Home button and swipe right or left to find the app that you want to close
3. Swipe right or left to locate the app you want to close
4. Swipe up on the app’s preview to close it