Is FaceTime always pausing video calls on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac?

FaceTime is a great way to keep in touch with your loved ones, especially since you can use it across any Apple device. But for many users, FaceTime keeps unexpectedly pausing video calls from their iPhone, iPad, or Mac. 

We put together this short troubleshooting guide to show you why that happens and how to fix it.

Related:

• Why is my FaceTime not working in iOS 12 or iOS 13 and iPadOS? How to fix it
• Here are the biggest changes to Messages and FaceTime in iOS 12+
• FaceTime audio calls for iPhone, iPad, Watch and Macs, how-to

Pausing the video doesn’t end the call

Generally speaking, when FaceTime pauses the video during your calls you can still keep chatting over audio. It’s just that whoever you’re chatting to can’t see you anymore — they see a pause screen instead.

Pausing calls on an iPhone or iPad

There are a couple of situations designed to pause the video for FaceTime calls on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. 

The first of these is if you leave the FaceTime app to do something else on your device. You might want to browse the web, read a message, or look through photos while chatting on FaceTime. But as soon as you switch to a different app your FaceTime video is supposed to pause.

The second situation is when you start receiving a second call from someone else. When this happens, your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch gives you three options for how to manage the new call:

• End & Accept
• Hold & Accept
• or Send to Voicemail.

While you decide what to do with the incoming call, your FaceTime video pauses for the current one.

How do I stop FaceTime pausing the video on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch?

If FaceTime keeps pausing the video when it isn’t supposed to, you can fix it by going to the App Switcher, then returning to FaceTime.

Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle — or double-click the Home button if you have one — to go to the App Switcher. Then tap the FaceTime app to return to FaceTime.

If that doesn’t work, go to the Home screen — by swiping up or clicking the Home button — and tap the green bubble in the top-left. This should take you straight back to FaceTime.

Both of these options should unpause your video. If they don’t, contact Apple directly for one-to-one support.

Pausing calls on a Mac

On a Mac, the video for your FaceTime call pauses when you click the yellow minimize button to hide your FaceTime window. You can unpause the video by clicking the FaceTime icon in the dock to maximize the window again.

The only exception to this is that minimizing the FaceTime window doesn’t pause the video if you’re on a group call. Although it’s unclear why this distinction is made.

How do I stop FaceTime from pausing the video in macOS

For some users, their Mac keeps pausing FaceTime video calls even when they don’t minimize the window. Many of them were able to resolve this issue by toggling a particular FaceTime setting off and on: Always on Top.

Open FaceTime on your Mac. From the menu bar, go to Video > Always on Top. Turn the setting off, then restart FaceTime and turn it on again.

If that doesn’t fix your FaceTime pausing problems, click here to contact Apple directly.

Hopefully, these tips resolved your issues with FaceTime. Let us know in the comments if you still need more help. Or check out this article to find out how to make the most of the latest FaceTime features.

Dan Helyer( Senior Writer )

Dan is a freelance writer based in South West England.

He spent two years supervising repairs as a Genius Admin for Apple Retail and uses that knowledge to keep our troubleshooting guides up to date.

Long before that, Dan turned to Apple products from a musical background. Having owned iPods for years, he bought a MacBook to learn sound recording and production. It was using those skills that he gained a first-class Bachelor of Science in Sound Technology.