No FaceTime App on my iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch

Several users have reported that FaceTime video calling service is not available in their homelands. For instance, one user stated that: “I live in India and bought a 64GB iPad 2 (WiFi + 3G) recently on my visit to Dubai. Shockingly, when I reached back and opened my device I found the FaceTime App missing…??”.

If you’ve noticed that there is no FaceTime app on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, it could have something to do with your current location. However, the issue could also have been caused by something else. We’ll help you fix both sides of the problem today; keep reading to discover the top solutions.

Does Your Local Area or Carrier Support FaceTime?

FaceTime isn’t available everywhere and not all carriers support it. At the time of writing in January 2024, the following countries do not support FaceTime: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and United Arab Emirates, including Dubai. For these countries, FaceTime isn’t available or does not appear on any iPhones, iPads, or other Apple products purchased or used in those listed nations.

If you live in one of these countries, please leave a comment below and let us know how you feel about the lack of FaceTime support.

Take a look at Apple’s comprehensive list for worldwide FaceTime support to see if your country and carrier is listed. If you’ve noticed that your current location does support FaceTime, you can move on to the next section and try to solve the issues.

If Your Country and Carrier Supports FaceTime

If you have no FaceTime app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch — but your locality and network provider both support the service — it’s probably for one of two reasons. The first is because of something you did with your device (e.g. deleting the app). However, you might also not be able to see the FaceTime app due to software-related issues.

We’ll help you with both of these.

Have You Switched FaceTime On?

FaceTime is enabled by default on your device. However, you can switch it off if you don’t need to use the service. If you’re encountering issues where you can’t see the FaceTime app, you should first check and ensure that you’ve enabled the app. Here’s how to do that:

  1. Open the Settings app and go to FaceTime.
  2. Make sure that the FaceTime toggle is switched on (it should be green). Select FaceTime Settings on Your iPad

Check Your Restrictions

Once you’ve verified that the FaceTime app is switched on, check to see if you can find the app on your device. If you can’t, you might have restrictions turned on for the Camera app as well as FaceTime. Follow these instructions to solve this problem.

  1. Go to Settings > Screen Time.
  2. Select Content & Privacy Restrictions. Content and Privacy Restrictions on an iPad
  3. Either toggle Content & Privacy Restrictions off, or — if you’d like to keep some of these on — tap Allowed Apps. Screen Time Settings on an iPad
  4. Make sure that both FaceTime and Camera are toggled on. Toggle Camera and FaceTime in Content and Privacy Restrictions

Take a Peek Inside Your Folders

If you’ve got multiple folders on your iPad or iPhone, FaceTime might be tucked away in one of these. This is especially true if you’ve got multiple screens’ worth of folders.

Check all of the folders on your iPad. Normally, you’ll find FaceTime in a folder named something like:

  • Productivity.
  • Utilities.
  • Communication.
  • Additional Apps.

Use Spotlight on Your Device to Find the FaceTime App

Did you search all of your folders, only to still find no FaceTime app on your iPhone or iPad? Don’t worry. It’s possible that the app is actually on your phone, but that you’ve previously hidden it from your Home Screen.

Try using Spotlight to search for the app:

  1. Swipe up on your screen to reveal the Search bar.
  2. Type “FaceTime” into the Search bar (it doesn’t matter if the F is lowercase or uppercase). If FaceTime is still on your iPhone or iPad, you should see the icon in the Top Hit section. Search for FaceTime in Spotlight

Check the App Store

If you can’t find FaceTime in Spotlight, you probably deleted the app from your device. The good news, however, is that you can easily re-download it from the App Store.

  1. Open the App Store and type “FaceTime” into the Search bar. Again, it doesn’t matter if the F is upper or lowercase.
  2. Tap the blue arrow icon to complete your search. Search for FaceTime in the App Store
  3. When your search results appear, tap the cloud and arrow icon next to FaceTime to re-download it. Redownload FaceTime in the iPad App Store
  4. Press Open once the app has fully downloaded.

Update Your Software

Another reason why you may see no FaceTime app on your iPhone or iPad is because of a software glitch. Normally, Apple patches these problems with a software update. So, you should check to see if you need to download new software.

  1. Go to Settings > General and select Software Update.
  2. Let your iPad or iPhone look for a software update. If one is available, select Update Now. Update to iPadOS 17.1
  3. Wait for your device to download the software. Then, look again and see if you can now find the FaceTime app.

Restart Your Device

Another potential solution to this issue is by restarting or force restarting your device. Please refer to these guides for further information:

Factory Reset Your Device

Factory resetting your iPhone or iPad should only be a last resort. Doing so deletes all of your data, and you should back up your device before doing this.

To back up your iPhone or iPad:

  1. Open the Settings app and click on your Apple ID.
  2. Select iCloud.
  3. First, make sure that Back Up This iPad/iPhone is toggled on. Then, select Back Up Now. The Back Up Now Option on iPadOS
  4. Wait for your device to back up. The process times will vary depending on how much content you need to back up. An iPad Backup in Progress

After backing up your device, you’re ready to perform a factory reset. Follow these tips to do that.

  1. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone/iPad.
  2. Select Erase All Content and Settings. Erase the content and settings on your iPad
  3. Tap Continue when the next window appears.
  4. The deletion process will commence. All you need to do is wait for it to finish.

Contact Apple Support if All Else Fails

We hope that you fix this problem before needing to perform a factory reset. But if you need to go to such lengths, the issue should be fixed at the very least. If you STILL can’t see the FaceTime app, you should contact Apple Support.

To get in touch with Apple’s Support team, navigate to support.apple.com. Alternatively, download the Apple Support app.

Reader Tips

  • Try going to Contacts for FaceTime calls. If it’s available you should be able to place FaceTime calls from the contact page.
  • Check the IMEI. If your phone has a model number ending in AE or AB (and there may be others), FaceTime will not work. Find your phone Model and IMEI in Settings > General > About.

FaceTime Not Working? Try These Tips

It’s unusual to see no FaceTime app on your device. And most of the time, you can easily solve the problem. Often, you simply need to re-download the app or look for it on your iPhone or iPad. It’s unlikely that you’ll need to perform a full reset, but you should at the very least be able to access FaceTime again after that.

Hopefully, these tips helped you solve any issues you’ve been having with FaceTime not appearing on your device. If anything else worked for you, please let us know in the comments section. And if you encounter issues with FaceTime not working, check out our guides below.

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