It might seem as if it’s impossible to FaceTime-call your iPhone from your
iPad, or vice versa, because they share the same Apple ID login. It would be
like phoning your own number! However, by following the steps and registering
different email addresses or cell-phone numbers for each device, it is possible
to place video or audio-only FaceTime calls between the two devices—useful
if you loan somebody your iPad, for example, and want to call that person
from your iPhone.
After setting up each device with a different FaceTime contact email or cellphone
number, you’ll need to create a contact card within Contacts for the
other device, specifying the email address or cell-phone number as the only
field within the card. Then use this new contact card within FaceTime to call
the desired device.
Let people FaceTime-call a specific iPad, iPhone, or Mac
FaceTime works by letting you register cell-phone numbers and email
addresses by which people can contact you.
For example, anybody wishing to call me via FaceTime can do so by specifying
my cell-phone number, my iCloud email address, or my personal email
address. When they call, I’m notified of the call on my iPad, iPhone, and Mac
computer simultaneously, and it’s up to me which I use to take the call.
However, by selectively assigning just one email address or cell-phone number
to a particular device, you can make it so that the caller can choose to Face-
Time-call just your iPhone or your iPad or your Mac computer. In other words,
the call won’t ring out on all your devices. Here’s how to set it up:
1. Choose the first of your Apple devices, then open the Settings app and
tap the FaceTime heading.
2. Under the heading that reads You Can Be Reached by FaceTime At, remove
the checks alongside all the entries except the cell-phone number or email
address you wish to use for that particular device. Alternatively, you can
tap the Add Another Email entry to add a new email address by which
you want to be contacted for that device. Note that you will need to reply
to a confirmation message at that email address to authorize its use.
3. Under the Caller ID heading, ensure the same address or cell-phone
number as earlier is selected.
4. Repeat this step on the other Apple devices or Macs, assigning each a
unique email address for use with FaceTime. Note that an iPhone must
use its cell-phone number as identification, and it can’t be deselected
within the list.
5. Ask anybody who wants to FaceTime-call a specific one of your devices
to create a new contact for you in their Contacts app. For example, I might
ask family members to create a new contact called Keir Thomas iPad,
with the only entry being the email address I’ve assigned for FaceTime
calls on my iPad (typed within the FaceTime field of the contact card).
This step should be repeated, so people add a new contact for any other
Apple devices or Macs, in which the only entry will be the email address
or cell-phone number registered with FaceTime on that device. Following
this, those family members can FaceTime-call me by switching to the
FaceTime app, opening the contacts list, then tapping the new entry they
created for my iPad, Mac, or iPhone. FaceTime will “ring” only on the
device they select to call.
