If you use FaceTime often, you’re probably familiar with how frustrating it is to have to get on a Wi-Fi network in order to use the service. Although you can Facetime with some application on you jailbreaked iPhone, it’s still a big problem for those beginners or person don’t want jailbreak their iPhones.
In my opinion, if a cell phone can’t make video call on the go (3G Facetime), the video call function is useless, because when I was at home or in the office, I could use Gmail, MSN and many other applications to make a video call on PC.
And now this issue will get resolved with iOS 5 according to report.
The message first unveiled on 9to5mac.com It’s said a reader post a screen shot, in which iOS 5 shows an alert box asking the user to turn on cellular data or WiFi to use FaceTime. By playing around with the iOS 5 preferences in Settings->General->Network, we’ve found how to replicate the “issue”: turn off Cellular Data in the Network tab, open FaceTime’s prefs inside the Settings app, and you should get the alert box. If it doesn’t come up, try to turn FaceTime off and on again, making sure Cellular Data is still set to off. iOS 5 will tell you that you need data (3G) or WiFi to use FaceTime.
This is big news for iPhone and iPad owners, we can finally make the video call anytime anywhere we like. But don’t get happy too early, the 3G Facetime cannot be realized by Apple ISO 5 only; it’s also up to carriers to allow it (like Tethering or VoIP apps). Apple only plans on enabling 3G FaceTime for those carriers that allow it. Carriers, especially in the Middle East, have been able to get Apple to block FaceTime use, even though it was Wifi-only.
So, if the carriers in your country have blocked the 3G Facetime feature on IOS 5, the left two ways to make video call on the go might be jailbreak your iPhone or use a mobile MiFi hotspot.
Users with jailbroken devices (iOS 4.x) have long been able to tweak FaceTime to get around the restriction, using mods such as My3G. If you’re interested in setting it up, check this out.
Use a mobile MiFi hotspot means takes a portable 3G Router device in your pocket which can transform SIM Card’s 3G signal to WiFi signal, and then there always will be WiFi wherever you go. The fastest portable 3G Router is up to 42 Mbps by now, so if your carriers can provide enough 3G connection speed, the video quality will be smooth and clear.
