FaceTime

bothfly · ‎11-29-2005

So I'm in the Dallas area and still can't get FT to work over LTE on my iPhone 5. Anyone getting it here yet?

I'm on the grandfathered unlimited data as well, but I read were everyone should be able to use FT over ATT.

wingrider01 · ‎05-26-2008

bothfly wrote:

So I'm in the Dallas area and still can't get FT to work over LTE on my iPhone 5. Anyone getting it here yet?

I'm on the grandfathered unlimited data as well, but I read were everyone should be able to use FT over ATT.

All I have ever seen where rumors, have not seen a official post from ATT yet, have you?

coryrohrback · ‎04-21-2011

It doesnt work for me either. AT&T doesnt care about us who have been with them for years. Its a shame.

Evandela · ‎03-23-2011

Hi guys!

Are you trying to use FaceTime over AT&T's network? If so, go to Settings > FaceTime and make sure Use Cellular Network is "ON".

Try it then and let us know how it goes.

~ Evandela ~

oz_1 · ‎10-25-2008

I am not sure I have ever heard of FT working on LTE but it has according to some on 3G.

Evandela · ‎03-23-2011

Well if that's the case too, you can also disable LTE on the iPhone and try it as well.

~ Evandela ~

GeekBoy · ‎11-06-2008

bothfly wrote:
So I'm in the Dallas area and still can't get FT to work over LTE on my iPhone 5. Anyone getting it here yet?
I'm on the grandfathered unlimited data as well, but I read were everyone should be able to use FT over ATT.

The latest word I've heard from AT&T is that you need to be on a shared data plan, or a tiered data plan to use facetime over cellular. When I try to enable the use of facetime over cellular on my iPhone 5, it tells me I need to call AT&T or go to their web site and change my data plan to enable it, and I'm still on the grandfathered unlimited plan (for now).

jane697 · ‎09-18-2012

Apparently you folks didn't see the thread I posted earlier this week:

http://forums.att.com/t5/Apple-Community-Discussion/Facetime-over-cellular-now-working-on-Individual...

And yes, it still looks like Facetime over celluar is not possible with an unlimited data plan, even if it's an LTE unlimited data plan--I just tried it again on my iPhone 5...I still get the message to contact AT&T.

Personally, I don't quite get the logic as to why AT&T won't enable Facetime over cellular for unlimited LTE data plan users; after all, such users will get throttled once they go past 5 GB--which for all intents and purposes effectively makes the unlimited LTE data plan much llike a a 5 GB tiered plan since anecdotal evidence has shown that usage at throttled speeds is so horrendous that it's near-unusable for most data needs--so it's not as if they'll be using up any more excessive data bandwidth than AT&T would care for them to use.

GeekBoy · ‎11-06-2008

I saw your message from earlier, and it even indicated that AT&T was allowing facetime over cellular for the tiered data plans. Unlimited plans are not the same as tiered plans, so I don't know why you would expect a feature of a tiered plan to work on an unlimited plan.

I keep my unlimited data plan, but to be honest, I am getting much closer to switching things around and getting rid of it with each passing day... (I know that AT&T would prefer I would get rid of it, and that is part of the reason I still keep it)

jane697 · ‎09-18-2012

GeekBoy wrote:
I saw your message from earlier, and it even indicated that AT&T was allowing facetime over cellular for the tiered data plans. Unlimited plans are not the same as tiered plans, so I don't know why you would expect a feature of a tiered plan to work on an unlimited plan.

I keep my unlimited data plan, but to be honest, I am getting much closer to switching things around and getting rid of it with each passing day... (I know that AT&T would prefer I would get rid of it, and that is part of the reason I still keep it)

Yes I know unlimited plans are not the same as tiered plans, but since unlimited plans are effectively capped at 3 GB (5 GB for LTE) due to throttling if the throttle threshhold is exceeded, it might as well be considered a tiered plan. Why shouldn't something like Facetime work on an unlimited plan, simply because it's a feature that's available only on a tiered plan? After all, tethering is another feature that's available on individual tiered but not unlimited plans...but even then it's not available on ALL individual tiered plans. So I ask again--what practical reason is there as to why Facetime over cellular should not be allowed on an unlimited plan?

Has anyone here not using an iPhone 5 and not on a Mobile Share plan confirmed whether they are able to use Facetime over cellular?

sandblaster · ‎08-15-2006

jane697 wrote:
GeekBoy wrote:
I saw your message from earlier, and it even indicated that AT&T was allowing facetime over cellular for the tiered data plans. Unlimited plans are not the same as tiered plans, so I don't know why you would expect a feature of a tiered plan to work on an unlimited plan.

I keep my unlimited data plan, but to be honest, I am getting much closer to switching things around and getting rid of it with each passing day... (I know that AT&T would prefer I would get rid of it, and that is part of the reason I still keep it)
Yes I know unlimited plans are not the same as tiered plans, but since unlimited plans are effectively capped at 3 GB (5 GB for LTE) due to throttling if the throttle threshhold is exceeded, it might as well be considered a tiered plan. Why shouldn't something like Facetime work on an unlimited plan, simply because it's a feature that's available only on a tiered plan? After all, tethering is another feature that's available on individual tiered but not unlimited plans...but even then it's not available on ALL individual tiered plans. So I ask again--what practical reason is there as to why Facetime over cellular should not be allowed on an unlimited plan?

Has anyone here not using an iPhone 5 and not on a Mobile Share plan confirmed whether they are able to use Facetime over cellular?

The only practical reason for not allowing Facetime over cellualr on the unlimited plan is the plan is no longer offered and quite frankly, AT&T would like to see eveyone get off that plan and move to a tiered plan. I myself still have unlimited and I'm on my third iphone and I've only once gone over 1GB in a month. The only reason I've kept the unlimited plan is that safety net of no overage charges but I'm seriously thinking of switching to a tiered plan to get the Facetime capability. If they'd only add mobile hotspot as well, I'd definitely switch.

Facetime over cellular for non mobile share plan users is limited only to LTE phones, meaning only the iphone 5.

I am an AT&T employee and the postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent AT&T’s positions, strategies or opinions.

oz_1 · ‎10-25-2008

I would gladly switch plans if it was cost effective but unlimited as far as I know is cheaper than the 5GB plan or at least the last time I checked.

GeekBoy · ‎11-06-2008

oz_1 wrote:
I would gladly switch plans if it was cost effective but unlimited as far as I know is cheaper than the 5GB plan or at least the last time I checked.

Yes, for one user and 1 iPhone, it is still cheaper to keep the unlimited data plan, if you use more than 3GB but less than 5GB per month. If you use 3GB or less, they are the same price (at least the last time I saw pricing at $30/3GB). Now, if you have 2 users with 2 iPhones, and one uses more than 5GB, and the oither uses less, as long as they both total less than 10GB, the price is about the same, but the one who uses more data deosn't get throttled (on a shared data plan).

This all assumes that you have the $59 voice plan which is the lowest plan that allows multiple phones in some markets (some may still have the $49 plan though) and you have unlimited text messages. If your vice plan is hoigher, you might save with shared data as it includes unlimited voice & text messages. I recently did a price comparison on this for my wife & I, and found that for two users a 10GB mobile share is $120 Data + $60 ($30 x 2 smart phones) or $180 before taxes. Configuring that on an existing muti-line family plan that would be $59 (550 voice minutes) + $10 additional line + $30 unlimited texts + $60 (2x $30 unlimited data) or $159 pre-taxes, or about $20/month less than the shared data, but that does give you face time capabilities over cellular that you don't get with the unlimited plan. Where this starts to pay off is when you have one the two of you who uses less than 2GB per month, and the other uses around 7-8GB per month. Combined you are still ess than your 10GB shared limit, but neither user gets throttled, and you both get the possibility to use face time over cellular. As you can see, I'm trying to convince myself that it's worth it to make the change, but so far, my wife's usage on LTE hasn't hit the 5GB throttle cap, although on her older iPhone 4 she hit the 3GB cap (more than once), but then again she's only had her iPhone 5 for just about a month now... Where this may pay off for us is that we should be able to buy an LTE "mifi" deivce for about $200, and add that to our shared plan for $20 per month, then be able to use the shared data on our [wifi only] iPads when we travel. If you go over the limit on a shared plan it does cost $15/GB for overages.

jane697 · ‎09-18-2012

sandblaster wrote:
jane697 wrote:
GeekBoy wrote:
I saw your message from earlier, and it even indicated that AT&T was allowing facetime over cellular for the tiered data plans. Unlimited plans are not the same as tiered plans, so I don't know why you would expect a feature of a tiered plan to work on an unlimited plan.

I keep my unlimited data plan, but to be honest, I am getting much closer to switching things around and getting rid of it with each passing day... (I know that AT&T would prefer I would get rid of it, and that is part of the reason I still keep it)
Yes I know unlimited plans are not the same as tiered plans, but since unlimited plans are effectively capped at 3 GB (5 GB for LTE) due to throttling if the throttle threshhold is exceeded, it might as well be considered a tiered plan. Why shouldn't something like Facetime work on an unlimited plan, simply because it's a feature that's available only on a tiered plan? After all, tethering is another feature that's available on individual tiered but not unlimited plans...but even then it's not available on ALL individual tiered plans. So I ask again--what practical reason is there as to why Facetime over cellular should not be allowed on an unlimited plan?

Has anyone here not using an iPhone 5 and not on a Mobile Share plan confirmed whether they are able to use Facetime over cellular?
The only practical reason for not allowing Facetime over cellualr on the unlimited plan is the plan is no longer offered and quite frankly, AT&T would like to see eveyone get off that plan and move to a tiered plan. I myself still have unlimited and I'm on my third iphone and I've only once gone over 1GB in a month. The only reason I've kept the unlimited plan is that safety net of no overage charges but I'm seriously thinking of switching to a tiered plan to get the Facetime capability. If they'd only add mobile hotspot as well, I'd definitely switch.

Facetime over cellular for non mobile share plan users is limited only to LTE phones, meaning only the iphone 5.

"Practical" doesn't always equate to "logical"/"sensible"; in any case, even given that unlimited data plans are no longer offered...then why would AT&T even bother distinguishing between "Unlimted for iPhone" and "Unlimited LTE for iPhone" data plans? IOW, what practical reason is there for AT&T to allow on the unlimited LTE data plan a 5 GB throttle cap instead of 3 GB, yet not allow it Facetime over cellular? If they're willing to allow that kind of concession on the throttle cap for LTE unlimited users, surely it won't kill them financially to allow Facetime over cellular as well--no? If AT&T really wanted users off the unlimited data plan, then they shouldn't have bothered allowing the 5 GB throttle concession in the first place...

GeekBoy · ‎11-06-2008

To be quite honest, the majority of the people I know who have iPhones on AT&T's unlimited data plan almost never go over 1GB usage per month, and they still keep their unlimited data plans. People like this are a profit margin for AT&T as they pay for data they don't use yet they are unwilling to give up this unlimited data plan.

I looked at my stats for last month and I used about 450MB cellular data on my iPhone 5, and I used about 8.2GB wifi data. I am lucky because I work in IT and can connect my iPhone 5 to the company "guest" wifi when I'm at work, so I am on wifi while at work, at home, and in about 50% of the places I use my iPhone when not at one of the two above places. My wife doesn't have the luxury of connecting her iPhone to her work "guest" wifi, and she uses closer to 3GB/month on her cellular plan, although she normally used about twice as much as me when on earlier phones (Blackberry, iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, etc.)

Right now for me, the data plans are such that the 3GB/$30 and the unlimited/$30 are teh same cost, so there is little reson for me to change. If I tried to go to the lower plan, I would be paying $30 or $45 per month due to overages, so that would cost me more money than having the $30 plan where I don't use most of my available bandwidth. In general people are more concerned about a consistent monthly bill than looking at a data plan that best fits their usage. For teh longest time, I had the 1000 text messages for $10 because with my usage, the occassional overage was still less than paying for $20 for unlimited every month. I had one month in a year where my overage for texts was $11.xx so that one month it was more expensive than unlimited, but I had 4-5 months with no overages, so in the end, I saved money even with paying overages most of the year. Now with iMessage, I only use about 100 text messages a month, but with the text rates, I have to keep the unlimited plan because $0.25 * 100 = $25 which is more than the $20 unlimited text messages. Few people are willing to sit down and do the same caculations about their data usage.

jane697 · ‎09-18-2012

GeekBoy--I did similar financial math like you, with my current account setup; after all was said and done, it made little--if not completely no--sense for me to switch/upgrade from my current voice and data plans (Family voice plan, combo of unlimited and individual tiered data plans) to any of the Mobile Share plans. I say "little" sense because IF I were to calculate the feasibility based solely on the least amount of data that has been used on any of my data plan lines, then I might be better off from a monthly cost standpoint if I switch to the least-expensive Mobile Share plan...but barely. However, it is hard to give up a $30 unlimited (LTE) data plan when I have effectively 5 GB allocated to it at my disposal; no other AT&T smartphone data plan currently offers a better bang for the buck when it comes to cost per amount of data.

oz_1 · ‎10-25-2008

I would bet that the majority of unlimited contracts would change to a 5GB plan if it was priced the same just to pick up the options of tethering,hotspot and Facetime until then it makes no financial sense.