Whether you’re new to the Apple ecosystem with your first iPhone or are already experienced with its devices, you might wonder about the cost of using FaceTime. This video-calling service, which is integrated into all Apple devices, has become a key application for communication.
Now, the question of whether FaceTime has a cost is important to many users. Going deeper into this topic, it is key to note that FaceTime is free in that it does not require a subscription or payment for the use of the service itself. However, FaceTime does require an internet connection. If you are not connected to a Wi-Fi network, it will use the data from your mobile plan, and depending on the rate you have contracted, it could end up incurring an extra cost.
What is FaceTime?
FaceTime is an audio and video calling service native to Apple. It comes pre-installed on most of its devices, and to access it you only need the Apple ID. In practice, it works like a phone that uses Wi-Fi connectivity or mobile data connection instead of the traditional line. The best thing is that you don’t need to use an iPhone, since you can make these types of calls on the Mac or iPad. In fact, Apple now allows people with Android or Windows devices the option of connecting to video calls through a link. In any case, the host will have to be someone with an Apple ID and from an Apple device.
FaceTime is free. And, as we said, it comes installed by default on all Apple products that support it. However, you may need to activate it if you’ve never used it. The way to check if FaceTime works for you is very simple, although it varies depending on the device you’re going to check it on. We analyze it below:
On an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
- Open Settings.
- Go to the FaceTime tab.
- Check if the tab is green or not.
- If it is not: activate it by clicking on it so that it turns green.
- If so, you can now enjoy FaceTime for free.
On a Mac
- Open the FaceTime app.
- If it opens correctly and its usual interface appears, it will already be activated.
- If not, follow these steps to activate it:
- Enter the email address associated with your Apple ID or your phone number.
- Enter the password if prompted.
- Click OK.
Is FaceTime paid?
Most people think that FaceTime, being an Apple service, is completely free and only requires an internet connection to work. However, it is worth noting that in order to activate it, you will need to receive an SMS message. Nowadays, almost no telephone company charges for receiving them. Still, if in doubt, it is a good idea to contact your carrier to rule out any unexpected charges. In the unlikely event that this happens, it tends to be just a few cents, so it should not be a big deal.
However, there would be a charge from the phone company if it existed. FaceTime is free. It always has been, and there’s no reason to believe that will change in the future. Apple doesn’t charge a cent to use this service, as it is included when you purchase your Apple device.
FaceTime is free from Apple
If you’re already enjoying FaceTime on your devices, you should know that making and receiving calls doesn’t cost anything. It’s a completely free feature, as there will be no charge for call setup or anything similar. It works via WiFi or mobile data, so in the end its price will be included in it like any other internet feature such as browsing the web or watching videos on YouTube. To sum it up: FaceTime is free.
If you receive a charge, it is not from Apple
When you first set up FaceTime, your mobile carrier may charge you a fee, but this is rare. It’s not a common practice, and many carriers no longer charge fees for this service, though there are still exceptions. This fee may be incurred when you activate FaceTime via text message (SMS) , depending on your carrier’s policies . It’s worth noting that Apple does not charge a fee to activate FaceTime. However, if your phone plan has limitations or additional fees for sending SMS, you may see a small extra charge.
This charge for receiving an SMS to activate the service is usually low, typically between 40 and 60 euro cents. It is advisable to check with your operator to confirm the exact price of this activation via SMS. Although the amount is not high, it can be annoying if you need to activate the service on several devices or if you need to restore your iPhone. There is the alternative of activating FaceTime using an email address, a viable option, especially for devices such as the iPad. In that case, the telephone company would not be able to charge us any fee or commission. So if you have doubts, this may be your best option.
Check if you have been charged when activating
Once you’ve confirmed that FaceTime is now activated on your iPhone, we recommend checking to see if your carrier has charged you for the activation. The process varies from carrier to carrier, but the easiest way is to check your monthly bill. If you don’t want to wait, you could contact them to find out if they’ve charged you the fee and, if so, how much it was. As we mentioned, this is very unusual, so most likely there won’t be any charges.
It’s that easy to check if your carrier has charged you for having FaceTime activated on your devices. We think it’s a service that’s worth it if you have several Apple devices and if you know other people who have them. In any case, if you’re worried about the charge, contact your carrier as we mentioned in the first section of this article.
We insist that Apple will not charge us anything for activating or using the FaceTime service. These charges we are talking about are conditions that each operator imposes in their contracts, and could occur if we request activation via SMS. To check if FaceTime has been activated, a notification message will appear on your devices, indicating that your Apple ID and/or your phone number will be using FaceTime and the iMessage service.
Using FaceTime with mobile data
FaceTime video calling can be used over Wi-Fi, over wired internet, or, in the case of iPhones and iPads with a cellular connection, over mobile data. And it is precisely in this case that charges may occur, in some very specific situations. These charges, however, will never be from Apple or FaceTime. There will be charges passed on to you by your telephone operator. So let’s see how these situations could occur, and what you can do about them to prevent them.
When we run out of data
One thing that often happens is that we completely use up the mobile data limit included in our contract, and this could lead to additional charges from our service provider. Some set up bonuses that are automatically contracted if we exceed the limit, and they are not cheap. Video calls via FaceTime consume a significant amount of data. Therefore, if we use FaceTime after we have used up our data package, we could end up incurring additional costs that we had not anticipated at the beginning. For this reason, it is advisable to check regularly how much data we have left, in order to avoid surprises on the bill.
Beware of Roaming abroad
The second scenario has to do with traveling abroad. If you are a resident of the European Union, you should know that many countries have eliminated roaming costs. However, there are certain exceptions where using mobile data is very expensive. Andorra, Switzerland or the United Kingdom are some examples. These are countries that are outside the EU, so using mobile data there will depend on the international roaming rates of our operator, and they are not usually cheap.
If we travel to another continent (the same thing happens the other way around), where our operator does not have an established agreement, using mobile data will be very expensive. Therefore, the most suitable option is to contract a data plan to use during the periods that we are away. And, in the case that we have to spend a long period abroad, we could contract a voice and data plan from the country in which we are located.
If you use FaceTime in a place where mobile data is particularly expensive, it is clear that using the service will cost you a lot of money. But, as we have said before, under no circumstances will FaceTime or Apple charge you for using this service. FaceTime is free, but the mobile data that we need to use it is not.
The best way to ensure that FaceTime usage is free when you are in a country where you do not have data at no additional cost through Roaming is by connecting to a Wi-Fi network and making sure that data is turned off. Only in this way will you be sure that data is 100% off and therefore you are not at risk of incurring additional costs.
Let us know in the comments if you use FaceTime on a daily basis on iPhone, Mac, or iPad.
