Among the many and varied mobile apps that we can use to make video calls and video conferences, FaceTime is one of the most popular and used. As it is a service owned by Apple, this application was designed to work on iPad, iPhone and Mac, adapting to their characteristics. But, Can FaceTime also be used on Windows?
The truth is that in April 2023 we still have no news that Apple has released a version of this application for Windows. However, there are ways to use FaceTime on our computer through a web browser. This is what we are going to explain in this post.
What is FaceTime?
La facetime app is a telephony tool developed for Apple devices in 2010 that, since then, has not stopped evolving and adapting to changes to continue being the favorite of hundreds of thousands of iPhone, iPad and Mac users.
It was as a result of pandemic lockdowns in the year 2020 when this app lived a new golden age. Thanks to it and other similar apps, people were able to keep in touch with friends and family, attend virtual work meetings, and communicate with the rest of the world.
But its success is not only due to this, but also to the many features and benefits it offers its users. Among them we highlight the following:
- Ability to operate with both WiFi networks and 3G and 4G cellular networks.
- Possibility of making calls with high resolution (720 p).
- Excellent image quality, something really unusual in apps of this type.
To this we must add the advantage of synchronization with other Apple devices and a five-star customer support service. Obviously, the latter will not be within our reach if we are not iOS users, but we will be able to enjoy all the advantages of FaceTime using the app through Windows. We explain how to do it in the following paragraphs:
How to use FaceTime on Windows?
Before continuing, it is necessary to clarify that a Windows user cannot organize a meeting on FaceTime, since there is no version of this application for the Microsoft operating system yet. The only way to access one of these video calls is through a invitation link received from someone who has an Apple device. Another detail to take into account that this link It will only work if we use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge browsers.
And even so, this link is not going to give us full access to all the features of FaceTime. There are some important restrictions that, among other things, they will prevent us from using the SharePlay function to watch movies or FaceTiming to listen to music. In the same way, we will only have access to the basic controls of the application (enable and disable video, mute, enable audio, etc.).
Despite all this, using FaceTime on Windows is possible. This is how you do it:
- First of all, you have to click on the FaceTime invitation link, or copy and paste it on the browser bar (remember that only Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are valid).
- Then the page for the web version of FaceTime opens on the screen. there we have to enter our name and then press the button Continue.
- At this point, a message is displayed asking us to permission to access the camera and microphone of our device. In order to continue, logically you have to press the "Allow" button.
- Then we can go directly to the button "Join", which appears at the bottom left of the screen. When doing so, a message is displayed informing us that the host of the meeting-video call has received our request. Now all that remains is to wait for it to accept it to be able to use FaceTime in Windows.
- Finally, when the video call ends, or when we want to leave the meeting, we can leave it by clicking on the button "Get out".
Alternatives to FaceTime on Android
If you have not been able to get an invitation link to FaceTime or, simply, you are not convinced by the method that we have proposed, we always have the possibility of using one of the many apps and tools that work similar to FaceTime. Some of them are really good. This is our alternative list:
- WhatsApp: an app that needs no introduction. Although its video calls are not as complete as those of FaceTime and it has limitations such as that it cannot be used on a tablet, it has the great advantage that practically everyone has this app installed on their mobile.
- Zoom: a professional quality application that, today, is the great rival of FaceTime.
- Skype or Whatsapp: the most popular video call application in the world, which allows us to carry out conversations with up to 24 participants. In addition, it is completely free.