Making calls in FaceTime

 

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Making calls in FaceTime

A couple waving to their children using Facetime on their laptop

What's coming up?

In the last activity, you looked at how FaceTime contacts work. In this activity, you'll learn how to use your contacts to make FaceTime video calls.

Start activity
A close up of the FaceTime app icon on an iPad screen

Starting FaceTime on an iPad or iPhone

If you have an iPad or iPhone, the first thing to do is start FaceTime.

To start it, just tap the FaceTime icon on your tablet or phone’s Home screen. Ask a friend or family member for help if you get stuck.

This activity will focus on using FaceTime with an iPad, but don't worry if you have an iPhone or Apple computer, the process will be very similar and you will still be able to follow along with your device.

A close up of the FaceTime search bar and contacts list on an iPad

Making FaceTime video calls

To start a video call in FaceTime on an iPad, you first need to find someone in your contacts list to call.

Tap on the FaceTime icon and then tap the Search bar. Now, type the name of the person you want to call using the onscreen keyboard. FaceTime searches your contacts list to find the name you've searched for.

Making the call

If that person has FaceTime, you’ll see a video camera icon below their name. Tap it to begin the video call.

A close up of the FaceTime video camer icon that will display underneath a contact name if they have FaceTime
A tablet screen suggesting that Mary is calling

Answering a call

The other person’s iPhone, iPad or Apple computer will ring, just like if they were receiving a phone call. They can tap the green answer button to accept the call.

What it looks like

Like most video calling apps, FaceTime shows the person you call at the full size of the screen, and you as a small picture within the screen.

A tablet showing the person that has been called taking up most of the screen and the caller in a smaller window
A close up of the FaceTime call control buttons, with the red end call button highlighted

Ending a call

When you're ready to hang up, tap the red end call button.

Turning off your microphone

During a FaceTime video call, you can mute the sound of your voice by tapping the microphone button.

This can be useful if you don't want others to hear background noise from your location, or if you need to temporarily do something else.

Tap the microphone button again to turn your microphone back on.

A close up of the FaceTime call control buttons, with the microphone button highlighted
A close up of the home button on an iPad

Turning off video

If you want to turn video off during a FaceTime call to, say, look at another app whilst you are talking, you can.

Just press the iPad's Home button, and the person you're calling will continue to hear you, but not see you. You will continue to hear them, also, but not see them.

You can tap the Touch to resume FaceTime bar at the top of your screen to go back to the normal video call.

Congratulations!

You've completed the Making calls in FaceTime activity.

In this activity you learnt about how to make, answer and end calls, as well as how to mute calls and turn off video during a video chat.

Coming up next, if you have registered and are logged into the Be Connected website, you'll now be able to take a short quiz to finish the How to use FaceTime course. If you're not registered, you are now at the end of the course.

Two boys happily using FaceTime to chat to their cousins