Troubleshooting Facetime: An error occurred while activating

If you’re trying to activate FaceTime on your device for the first time and it’s showing an error message that says “FaceTime: An error occurred during activation,” that means there’s a problem. with one of the elements that FaceTime uses to activate. . Until and unless these issues are resolved, you will experience problems activating the service on your device.

Apple actually officially acknowledges the problem and even offers recommendations on what you can do to fix it on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. There are a few basic things you can always try and apply on your device to see if they help in successfully activating FaceTime on your iPhone or Mac.

Check if Apple Servers are experiencing an outage

When you set up a feature like FaceTime, it needs to talk to one of Apple’s servers before it can actually work on your device. Activation actually happens with the help of Apple servers, and if that server is experiencing downtime, your activation will fail.

So the question is: how in the world can you tell if Apple’s FaceTime server is down or not? Well, Apple has set up a website to tell you about that.

There’s a server status page on Apple’s website that tells you which of its servers are up and running. You can go there with a web browser and find out for yourself if the FaceTime server is actually experiencing downtime.

If that’s the case, you’ll need to wait until Apple brings the servers back up and running. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do.

If you want something on your Mac desktop, StatusBuddy also lets you know if an Apple service is experiencing downtime.

Make sure the Internet works on your device

Since FaceTime is one of the features on your device that requires an Internet connection, you must make sure that your phone’s Internet is indeed working. If you’re in an area where you have unclear Internet or your WiFi router is working, you’ll need to fix the problem first before you can activate FaceTime.

However, on iOS devices, you can reset the network settings and it can help you fix your network configuration.

• Launch Setting app on your iPhone or iPad.
• Tap the option that says Shared to see your general settings.

• Scroll all the way down to the following screen and tap Reset right to buy.

• Option Reset Network Settings on the screen afterwards. It will help you to reset your network settings to factory defaults.

• It will prompt you to enter your passcode. Enter it and continue.

Activate your Apple account for the messaging app

If you haven’t already, you may want to activate your account in the Messages app on your Mac. It can help you fix the FaceTime activation error you are experiencing on your device. Activating your account just needs to check the box in the application on your device.

• Click Launcherssearch Messageand launch the app on your Mac.

• When it opens, click Message at the top and select Interests. It will open the settings menu.

• Close the app, restart your Mac, and see if you can enable FaceTime.

Make sure your time zone is configured correctly

Incorrectly configured time zone can often cause a lot of problems on your device, as some apps require you to use the correct time zone that you are actually in. However, you can fix it quite easily.

Change time zone on iPhone/iPad:

• Open Setting application on your device.
• Click Shared options like your time settings are set there.

• Knock on Date and time on the following screen.

• You can select the time zone from the options available on your screen.
• If you don’t want to specify the time zone manually, turn on Set automatically and it will automatically set the correct time zone for you.

Change the time zone on Mac:

• Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen and select System Preferences.

• Choose Date and time on the following screen.

• Click time zone and you can specify the time zone for your machine.

Turn FaceTime off and then back on

Apple recommends disabling both Messages and FaceTime and then turning it back on, and this will likely fix the “FaceTime: error occurred during activation” issue on your device. Sometimes all some features need is a reboot and they start working properly, magically.

• Launch Setting app on your iPhone or iPad.
• Scroll down and tap the option that says Message.

• On the next screen you will find a switch next to it iMessage. Turn the switch to TURN OFF Position.

• Go back to the main settings screen and tap the option that says FaceTime.

• Turn the side switch FaceTime arrive TURN OFF Position.

• Restart your device.
• Go Setting and enable both options that you disabled above.
• Try activating FaceTime and see if that works.

Remove FaceTime entry from keychain access

Deleting FaceTime entries from Keychain Access on your Mac can help you fix FaceTime activation errors, and it’s pretty easy to do.

• Launch Keychain Access on your Mac.

• Click log in in the left sidebar and also click All items in the same sidebar so all your Keychain saved items are displayed.
• Use the search box at the top to search FaceTime.

• When the search results appear, right-click on the FaceTime entries and select Delete.

• Do it for all the items you find in the app.

Whether you’re a regular FaceTime user setting up this feature on a new device, or you’re completely new to this video and audio calling feature on iOS, you wouldn’t expect the feature to start showing up. error as soon as you open it on your device.

Have you been a victim of this error on your iOS or Mac device before? Which method helped you to fix it? Our readers will appreciate your feedback in the comments below.