I had my factory unlocked iPhone 4 shipped to me a few months back, and did a complete review about it, including a video showing the FaceTime working perfectly with my Etisalat Micro Sim. Upon changing my particular device (due to an issue with the iPhone 4's proximity sensor- which still remains a problem to this day) I was unable to activate FaceTime on my new device, and I feared the worst- that Etisalat had somehow managed to block the service on the newer phones. A reader of this blog however, sent me an email about a simple step to reboot the device, and I was able to use my FaceTime again, without any problems. Even today, as the official iPhone announced through the 2 service providers has the option to videochat disabled, my existing iPhone 4 has FaceTime working with ease. In essence what the Carriers have done is encourage new users to buy their phones from the parallel or gray market. Yes, the Carriers provide packages for users who want to be able to own and use the device without paying for it fully upfront, or without having to pull strings to get the product brought in from one of the countries who provide factory unlocked phones. However, they have also left the door wide open for those people who would rather buy a locked unit from the US for as low as 500 USD, and find software on the internet that allows to do a software unlock of the device. Either way, the motivation for a person to buy an officially sourced iPhone 4 is very little. As an electronics retailer that prides itself on providing original products, bought from the distributor or licensed seller of said product with local warranty, etc, I can't help but be upset about this decision, while wondering about the motivation behind it.
Since Apple does not seemed to have blocked FaceTime on the iPhone 4 in any other country, it would seem that the decision is one made by the Telecom Carriers than the manufacturer of the phone. The reason for that decision could be either the ability to freely enable any social mingling between the sexes, or the fact that the FaceTime works over WiFi and hence generates no revenue for the carries. And since Videoconferencing via 3G has been around for quite a few years now, and that too is a function that has been advertised by handset manufacturers as well as the service providers for that time, it is unlikely to be the former reason. Which only leaves me with one explanation...
What is also strange is that Apple has chosen to include FaceTime on it's newest iPod Touch devices, which I saw in person before traveling back to Dubai- they are sleek devices that are half the size of the iPhone4 while including the Retina display as well as all the other bells and whistles of the iPhone. It will be interesting to see if the Touch is launched with FaceTime available on it in the UAE, and whether it'll work then. I wouldn't be surprised if the service providers found a way to block my existing FaceTime too, but since it will be activated on the iPod Touch's via email, the Carriers will have no way to block it there even if they wanted. Like I said, it is something we will have to see in due course of time and I'm interested in seeing how this plays out.
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UPDATE!!!- After reading this post I got a few messages from my readers that shed more light on the situation. Someone advised me on Twitter that a possible workaround could be to create a US App store account and sign into iTunes with that, and then reset the phone to factory settings. Another friend of mine got insider info that neither Etisalat or Du had anything to do with FaceTime missing from the phone. It didn't quite make sense to me and I didn't believe it till another reader sent me an email telling me that on receiving the phone, FaceTime is an option, and only gets disabled upon upgrading to iTunes 4.1. The OTA Carrier update does NOTHING to the phone (as I thought it would) and the phone works perfectly, with FaceTime and everything, as long as an update isn't made, and the phone is left at iTunes 4.0.
This is quite a mind boggling discovery as it would seem FT is being blocked by Apple themselves. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.
I'm going to try to contact someone in Etisalat or Du to give me an idea on what's going on as I'm just very curious at this point.
Please do leave me a comment if this workaround works, or if you have any other information on the same. Thank you!
Aaaand a further UPDATE!!- I just found out from a reliable source who chooses to remain unnamed that either one or both the Carriers almost did not launch the iPhone 4 as Apple had requested for all their stock to be shipped back to them. This decision was only reversed at the eleventh hour. Seems like Etisalat, Du or TRA indeed had nothing to do with it. Weird!
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15 comments:
even the soft-key to enable faceTime is not there! i think they are locking it at their counter only soon after issuing the device to the individuals. somebody can try his luck by skipping this counter and activating @ home by itunes (pay n purchase the device get the micro sim and leave the the office;dont ever approach the other counters.revisit etisalat only if you cant activate it at home.
it all happened after i upgraded to OS 4.1. Facetime was active before i upgrade the OS, i remember!
Thanks sunfaz'... I just posted an update to my post from yesterday saying the same thing. The 4.1 seems to be the problem and not Etisalat or Du.
Thank you for posting and do let me know if you discover anything else.
I suggest after updating to 4.1 try another factory reset, with US iTunes account logged in preferably or the app store of any other region fir which FaceTime works.
It seems that Apple has blocked FaceTime in the devices they shipped to middle east/ UAE using the serial numbers upon request from the service providers. I dont want to comment on the regulation over voip here. But we should have the right to use FaceTime outside UAE, where there is no restriction, as long as the device is an unlocked one!
I purchased my phone from Australia. Will i still lose FT if i update to ios 4.1, since the serial number is from Australia?
Great Blog Btw!
No you won't.. Go ahead and update!
Any update for the unlucky who bought it from etisalat or du??
i want face time so BAD
Sorry Haitham... the only solution seems to be to stick to iTunes 4.0 and not update to 4.1.
I just got a pair of iPhone 4s in Qatar from Axiom, FaceTime is working so far, i am logged in into iTunes US, Do i update from iOS 4.0.2 to 4.1 or shall I update or not? anybody help I just got these phones because they have warranty and factory unlocked
My boss and I bought bought the phone at the DU store. He took his to the U the very next day and swapped the sim card to an O2 sim card. Facetime still did not work. I have done factory resets like five times with my US iTunes including a VPN that registers the IP in the US. I even activated the iPhone with my At&T micro sim card from my iPad and the Facetime button still does not show. It must be attached to the serial number of the device. Any help will be much appreciated.
Anis, my advice would be NOT to update. I don't know whether these phones are from the Middle East batch of unlocked phones or the European/Cadanian batch. Before you figure that out, don't update.
Izzy, did you upgrade your iTunes to 4.1? That seems to be what is blocking the FaceTime on the phones.
When you buy the phone from DU, you have no choice. They "activate" it for you and they upgrade it to 4.1.
Ouch.. that's no good! Let me ask around and see if there is any workaround to that.
Guys, why don't you just downgrade your phone to 4.0.1.
It is not difficult and guides are available all over the net.
Do some research!
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