iOS 15-How to Face Time using Android or Windows – Apple likes to keep its apps exclusive to iPhone and iPad to dissuade its users from switching to Android. It’s why Apple never brought iMessage to Android, for instance. With iOS 15, Face Time users will be able to video chat with friends or family on Android phones, Windows PCs, or really any device with a functioning browser.
Face Time remained an Apple-only technology for over a decade, but iOS 15 (and iPad-OS 15, and mac-OS Monterey) changes all that. For the first time ever, you’ll be able to have Face Time conversations with those on Windows PCs or Android phones. In this article, we are going to show you how to Face Time using Android or Windows:
How To Create a Face Time link
Before you can chat with someone using Windows or Android, you need to make a link for them to join.
- Open the Face Time app on your iPhone or iPad
- Tap Create Link
- The share sheet will open. You can tap Copy to copy the link and paste it wherever you like, or choose an app or person to share it with.
- When you’re done, you’ll see the Face Time Link call in the main history list under “Upcoming” calls.
The call hasn’t started yet, and it won’t until you tap that upcoming “Face Time Link” callogramme and then tap “Join” in the upper right.
Tap the info button (i) on the call if you need to share the link again or if you want to delete it. The link should remain active until it’s manually removed, so you can add it to a calendar event a month away or schedule a Face Time call.
See also: How to Access the Facebook Marketplace On iPhone, Android And Desktop
How To Remove a Face Time link
Those Face Time Link calls stick around until you delete them, which isn’t such a bad thing, really. It allows you to create a call for a future date, even if it’s only going to be used by Apple devices.
To delete a future Face Time Link call, just:
- Swipe left on the event.
- Tap Delete.
- A confirmation message pops up, warning you that the link will no longer work for anyone you’ve sent it to. Tap Delete Link to confirm.
iOS 15 – How to use Face Time in chatting with Android or Windows users
Anyone joining from an Android phone or Windows PC will be directed to their default browser, where they will join a Face Time progressive web app in their browser window. It works pretty well, but it is of course with limited options and features.
When those users join the call, they’ll first have to type a name to use during the call. Importantly, they do not need an Apple ID.
After the Windows/Android user enters their name, the Apple user who created the link will get a notification that the person is waiting to be let in. While they wait for them to tap the button to admit you, they won’t see the contents of the call, only a “waiting to be let in” message with their own live video.
Once you let the person in, you’ll chat like a regular video call, though the Windows/Android users won’t have nearly as many options. You can switch cameras and use an external microphone or earbuds, or change the view if more than one person is on the call. You’ll also be able to share the link with anyone else you’d like to invite.
When you’re done with the call, you can press End or the person on the other end can tap Leave.
Read also: