"Face Time": what is it? How to set up and use?

The Internet gives people unprecedented opportunities. Today, more than ever, we can turn to the Internet for any information and instantly receive it: in the hands of humanity, the world's largest collection of music, films and books. We are always up to date with the latest developments and store documents in the form of computer files. But, most importantly, the Internet erases boundaries and distances between people, allowing you to communicate online, regardless of location, which is why messengers and VoIP call services, such as Skype or Face Time, are so popular on the Internet.

"Face Time": what is it?

“Face Time” is a technology that allows you to establish video or audio communication between electronic devices that support it (meaning Apple gadgets).

The technology was first demonstrated during the presentation of the fourth generation iPhone. Right on stage, he showed how video chat works using the front and main cameras of the phone. At the same time, Steve said about Face Time that it was the highest quality and safest way to contact family and friends. Subsequently, this technology migrated to other company devices, including iPads of the second generation and older, Mac computers with a FaceTime camera installed, and players

The peculiarity of this service is unprecedented audio.

Initially, this service only allowed calls using Wi-Fi, which was extremely negatively received by the public, given the fact that 3G coverage was developed at the time of launch. Later, in 2012, at the presentation of the fifth generation iPhone, Apple announced that Face Time would work via the mobile Internet.

Another important moment in the development of technology was the appearance of audio calls, presented in 2013 along with iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks.

How to set up Face Time?

You must have an iCloud account to use this service. To create it, you just need to register an Apple ID, which all users without exception do to activate the device. You can create an account in iTunes or when you turn on the gadget for the first time.

Creating an account is enough to enable FaceTime in the future. On iOS, the setup process includes one more step. How to set up Face Time on iPhone? This service must be activated on your phone. To do this, go to “Settings” > FaceTime and turn on the enable toggle switch.

To establish a connection with a specific subscriber, you need to know his phone number (if one is attached) or Apple ID. “Face Time” also pulls up data from your address book: those users who are already using “Face Time” will appear in the corresponding application and will be available for calls.

Possibilities

At the moment, the service allows you to establish a connection between two devices using Wi-Fi, as well as 3G and LTE networks.

Face Time uses H264 and AAC (Apple Audio Codec) standards to ensure better communication quality, as well as RTP and SRTP methods to ensure maximum security for users.

The service operates free of charge, and clients only pay for Internet traffic.

Restrictions

Unfortunately, as is often the case with Apple, this technology has a number of limitations. These include:

• A maximum of two devices can participate in a conversation.
• Long connection times (planned to be fixed in 2016).
• Can't switch from video to audio call.
• Ban on use in a number of countries (Russia is not one of them).

Because of these shortcomings, one can often hear criticism of Face Time that it is just a pathetic copy of Skype. However, many users do not take into account the high quality of communication and full encryption, which is not available in most other services.

Instead of a conclusion

Now the reader has become aware of another useful and convenient service from Apple. After reading this material, there should be no questions left regarding Face Time: what it is, how to set up the service and how to use it. This means it’s time to move from theory to practice and call someone close to you right now, because it’s completely free.