# Facetime on Du



## nidserz (Sep 23, 2013)

Hi everyone,

Facetime was working on Du cellular until recently. Has this recently been blocked or does this work for you? It's not working for me regardless of what I do. Just wondering if it's just me or really Du has blocked it. I had heard it was working on wifi still but I have yet to test it out. Let me know if you know!


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

I don't think they've blocked it. I'm on Eotisalat and I've never got it to work using data. I have DU internet at home for Wifi and it's been really on/off lately. Some days it connects, other days not. I've had to use skype recently.


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

Alll VoIP gets a low CoS (Class of Service) here, in layman's terms you have a hosepipe and through it you want to send quality water, but that water is made up of different types, Voice Water has the highest CoS, followed by data water (a long way behind because you won't notice a second delay on a download for example), and VoIP is the worst.

The reason? Telecoms companies lose money on VoIP via people like Skype, Facetime etc.

And yes, before anyone says that all voice calls are via VoIP, yes they are, but they're also a chargeable commodity. If you could buy a cheap hosepipe that was really narrow and get HD quality Skype would you buy extra bandwidth (a bigger pipe),? Of course you wouldn't.


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## TT365 (Oct 14, 2014)

It's rubbish here for VOIP even on dedicated service lines for corporate VOIP which you pay a lot for. W have a product in that market and pro rata get more calls for the UAE than anywhere.

The Rascal, what's it like in Cambodia? Better I would think.


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

TT365 said:


> The Rascal, what's it like in Cambodia? Better I would think.


Only "went" there for a night...


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Facetime was good yesterday. No issues.


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## viktor_mike (Nov 8, 2015)

Hi there - new to Dubai and have had mixed experiences with FaceTime so far. 

1. Hotel 1 - didn't connect
2. Gloria Jeans cafe - connected!
3. Hotel 2 - didn't connect 

I know for sure Hotel 2 uses Etisalat as I can see the router there in the room, which got me wondering if Gloria Jeans was using Du?!?!? 

Can someone please confirm Du supports Facetime (even if sporadically going by above posts), and Etisalat doesn't?

Thanks in advance


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

viktor_mike said:


> Hi there - new to Dubai and have had mixed experiences with FaceTime so far.
> 
> 1. Hotel 1 - didn't connect
> 2. Gloria Jeans cafe - connected!
> ...


I use it on Du WiFi at home and it is hit or miss, sometimes working well, other times failing to connect. No magic solution that I know of.


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## viktor_mike (Nov 8, 2015)

XDoodle****** said:


> I use it on Du WiFi at home and it is hit or miss, sometimes working well, other times failing to connect. No magic solution that I know of.


Thanks! I suppose that would support Du vs. Etisalat theory. 

Also, I've just found I'm eligible to receive free smartphone on my 12mth mobile contract, just wondering if I go for iPhone 6s and use my home (Australian) sim to activate would Facetime be activated on it? Or the fact that it'll be coming from Du Mobile negate any chance of that happening?!?

Thanks again!


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## mariot (Nov 4, 2013)

viktor_mike said:


> Thanks! I suppose that would support Du vs. Etisalat theory.
> 
> Also, I've just found I'm eligible to receive free smartphone on my 12mth mobile contract, just wondering if I go for iPhone 6s and use my home (Australian) sim to activate would Facetime be activated on it? Or the fact that it'll be coming from Du Mobile negate any chance of that happening?!?
> 
> Thanks again!


Got my 6s from Du 2 weeks ago and facetime works. Have found that imo doesn't work on Etisalat WiFi any longer


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## mkhalid123 (Apr 14, 2014)

i never checked so far, but this evening i will give it a try on my ipad.


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## Mdabag (Aug 27, 2015)

I got my iphone from DU and I don't even have the facetime app on my phone! When I travel outside the country it shows up but then when I come back to UAE it disappears again.

How do all of you have the facetime app while here in the first place?


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

Mdabag said:


> How do all of you have the facetime app while here in the first place?


iPad bought from Ibn Battuta vendor came with it. iPad from the US obviously has it. My iPhone 5 & 6's also has it show up only outside of the country as they were purchased from Etisalat. iPhone 4 was wiped by Etisalat due to an employee leaving but not giving me his icloud account, Facetime is on it all of the time now.

A lot of places have iPhones with Facetime, just not the carriers.


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## Tackledummy (Jul 14, 2013)

Mdabag said:


> I got my iphone from DU and I don't even have the facetime app on my phone! When I travel outside the country it shows up but then when I come back to UAE it disappears again.
> 
> How do all of you have the facetime app while here in the first place?


some of the retailers here obtain and sell the imported versions of the device (from US, UK and sometimes far east). Not sure of the technical methods as to how it's done, but as I understand it, if you buy your device from an Apple authorised retailer, DU or Etisalat, and I guess the new Apple Store, Facetime is disabled.

I bought a 5S from DU and it doesn't have Facetime enabled on the device (and clearly states that it does not have it), but I also bought 3 iPads (2 from Souq & 1 from Geant) and all have Facetime enabled. (The ones from Souq, made a point of emphasizing that Facetime was enabled).

I don't seem to have any issues with Facetime the last few times I used it here (most recently at the weekend) my Wifi is DU!


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## Mdabag (Aug 27, 2015)

Oh alright.....seems like I got hit with another one of Du's amazing rip off jobs! 
Is it possible to add facetime to a phone purchased from Du? Or no way?

Maybe the new Apple Store here can do something about that


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

For the avoidance of doubt, Facetime is a geolocked App - that is, your phone looks at where it is by carrier, and allows or not, access to the App. The IMEI code of the device is registered with Apple, and the device checks with Apple to determine whether it should have Facetime active or not. And apart from jailbreaking, there is no way around that.

Official iDevices from official UAE sources have Facetime disabled as a default but until the Apple store officially opened last month, the vast majority of iDevices in circulation were unlocked, completely legal grey imports from other countries - meaning Facetime was on the device but relied upon carrier blocking to decide whether to work on not. Devices legally bought from Du or Etisalat should have Facetime disabled as a default. Devices bought from premium resellers are, I believe, not Apple approved resellers for UAE mobiles but obtain their supply offshore.

If you want Facetime work more places than not, then don;t buy from the Apple store in the UAE, or Du, or Etisalat. Buy overseas, unlocked and then your only hurdle will be whether the carrier is blocking.


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

Mdabag said:


> Oh alright.....seems like I got hit with another one of Du's amazing rip off jobs!
> Is it possible to add facetime to a phone purchased from Du? Or no way?
> 
> Maybe the new Apple Store here can do something about that


There is a work around, it is complicated and not permanent. I searched the internet but determined it wasn't worth it as I have my iPads.


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## Mdabag (Aug 27, 2015)

Yea I remember I did a little research myself on it a while back and came up with the same result as you did...Not worth it!


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