FaceTime Alternatives Do Exist As PTA Blocks FaceTime App on IPhone 6 & 6 Plus

By Masam Mahmood

What exactly is the FaceTime?

FaceTime is an Apple video telephony application that allows you to call, chat, and share your thoughts with any of your friends by using Apple devices. Apple’s FaceTime service is free to use but does require an Apple ID, Cellular connection (3G/4G) or a Wi-Fi connection.

Facetime in Pakistan:

PTA has restricted access, stopped all FaceTime features and notified all mobile phone companies (Telenor, Warid, Mobilink, Ufone) that have recently launched the IPhone models (6 & 6plus) to block FaceTime app. What this means is that if you purchase an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 plus, the FaceTime app will not work.

But if person purchases an iPhone model from grey channel or markets outside from Middle East (Pakistan/SaudiaArabia/UAE), FaceTime app will work perfectly. This is because access is controlled on the handset and coded for region specific hardware by Apple.

In UAE (United Arab Emirates), Facetime is blocked on the Internet but also is blocked in the iPhone hardware sold there. The UAE’s Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) restricts access to portions of the web as well as person- to-person video communication such as Apple’s FaceTime.

This is not controlled on the handset but rather via the country’s carriers. This is exactly what PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) are trying to implement. Carriers in Pakistan are offering UAE region based iPhone handsets which are most likely offering the same features and restrictions.

FaceTime Alternatives:

To help you find an alternative to FaceTime for iPhone, we have narrowed the selection down to the five best options.

  • Google Hangout
  • Skype
  • Viber
  • Tango
  • Zoom.Us

The author is a Electronics Engineer – Development by profession. He holds MSc. Intelligent Systems, degree from Sweden and works with a cellular company. 


  • i can enable facetime on any iphone model upto 4s till iphone 6 + whatever
    through jailbreak charges 600 rs fnf
    Catch me on twitter for additional details
    twitter : @humzagr8

  • And what exactly does the government wish to achieve with this useless move???? It will just create problems for the end user and that is all.

    • Because as per my knowledge apple does not allow Access to Their Server and Our intelligence agencies dont have access to it as well so they want it blocked so no one can use it in Pakistan.

      Please correct me if i am wrong…

      • You’re right that Apple won’t provide us with access to their servers. But neither would Google (Hangouts), BlackBerry (BBM), What’sApp, Viber, and a dozen other messaging apps. Which are great alternatives to FaceTime btw, and they’re not blocked.

        There’s no point in blocking something on the internet these days. People will find a way to access it. PTA is just throwing tamper tantrums like a child because they don’t have anything better to do and they think becoming a bully is a great past time.

        • we need some technical info on that why Facetime is block by PTA and why not others as per my “Bongi” Whatsapp etc are crack able .. :)

      • The real reason is that PTA had asked Apple to pay for the revenue which apple didnt pay.. Skype isnt blocked in pak because skype pays revenue to pta…
        Pta doesnt want to allow these services because unka revenue kam hota hai in free apps say

        • What kind of foolish reasoning is this? Facetime has been blocked since before Apple sold iPhones officially but only on iPhones.

          Facetime has never been blocked on iPods sold locally from Apple distributors.

    • We have to wait to real story. In UAE, if they block Facetime, they also block all others like Skype, viber etc. In Pakistan, all of the other are open then why so hard on Facetime. May be it is move from Mobile operators so that elite class who are supposed to be of more ARPU generators should not start using Facetime and deprive mobile operators of their revenue. Coz quality of facetime is very good and can be used as an alternative to voice calls.

      • While I would go for Android over iOS any day (I like the freedom, the root privileges, etc.. Compared to Apple’s walled garden approach), I can safely say that no app on Android can rival FaceTime in terms of quality. If your connection is up to snuff, the quality of FaceTime is unmatched.

  • Someone should take PTA to court on this nonsense….find something better to do…PTA is acting more like blocking a authority

  • oh, in alternate apps ka to kisi ko nahi pata tha aj se pehle…. ye itn genious Guest Author kon hai g? :-)

  • why they have blocked facetime only there are several messaging apps which uses end to end encryption

  • To be honest, non of above mentioned applications can compete with facetime/faceaudio because the quality of video and audio on facetime/faceaudio is unmatchable. Calls hardly disconnect on this service that is builtin the iOS/Mac OS…

    NOTE: I sent one cell phone from Middle East to my brother in Pakistan…as soon as he loaded Pakistani SIM in the iPhone, Facetime disappeared. So kindly verify your information before writing in the blog. Yes, jailbreak will cross all limitations and it works fine then.

  • Ye Pakistani qom hai… dekho… Doosro pr bari asani se tanqeed kr detay hai… khud nhi sochtay k ham kia kr rahe hain… Agar PTA aik facility block kr raha hai… to wo qom k fayeday k liye hi kr raha hoga… ya hamain waja pouchni chahiye phir… ye to nhi krna chahiye k baghair kuch samjhay koye zari’aa dhoond kr wo facility dobara kulwa di jaye… Saara mualmila ham awam hi say kharab hai.. khudara thoray hoshiar hojawo… shaoor se kam lo… aur mulki halat ko behtar banane me apna hisa dalo…

    • sahi bola i joined first time this page sab ke sab jahil hain baat karne ke tameez nahi he
      Allah insabko hidayat de
      Internet use karne se Aqal nai ate mere Bhaiyon
      leaving ths retard page
      ADMIN : you should bann offensive users

    • Qom ka faida. HAHAHA don’t make me laugh. Beta kal peda hue ho kya? Yahan sub sirf apni jeb dekhte hain. Kisne kabhi qom ka khyal kiya he? As for why, it’s PTAs duty to inform us, the citizens why they are taking such measures that effect the whole nation. Jis tarha newspaper or apni site per dosre public service announcements post kerte hain, ishi tarha iski bhi explanation dain.

  • wasn’t have particular information before this if i say as per whole article. Thanks author.
    Secondly
    We all would have such info in mind before but no one had dare to share in
    such elaborated way. So one shouldn’t criticize anyone in such bad
    manners who is trying to reveal things and leg pulling is worst thing in
    majority of our nation which prevents one’s to arise for inventions.

    Note: comments & sharing should be fruitful & helping for everyone Thanks.

  • another recommended app: FriendCaller, has 20+ million users and works like a charm in any country.

  • Can i anyone tell me what i should do i forgot my icloud password and it is locked now. I am talking about 5s

  • FaceTime one of the most important feature in Apple devices, but with some countries rules,FaceTime does’t support for some carrier like UAE,KSA,Kuwait and unfortunately this app is also not available in Pakistan as per PTA policy but those people who did not update their iOS on 8.1.3 and 8.2 can used FaceTime by jail break in Pakistan and rest of countries where it is blocked.

  • Many of you are eager to either get your iPhones jailbroken or are willing to jailbreak for a specific amount. But be very careful as there is new malware that hackers are able to access anything on any jailbroken iphone.


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