How to pause on Facetime – Is it possible?

Facetime is the popular video calling platform that comes as standard on all Apple devices. It works via internet connection, is free of charge and allows users to video call with anyone else who also has an Apple device.

There are a couple of different features within the Facetime app which allow users to get more out of their call and one of those is the ability to pause the call.

Pausing a facetime call is essentially the same as putting someone on hold during a normal phone call – you are not ending the call, just momentarily stopping it while doing something else.

In this article we are going to look at a couple of ways in which you can pause a facetime call, and also look at some of the other things you can do on a facetime call which have helped to make such a popular app.

How to pause on Facetime? The two methods

Pausing Facetime has changed over the years with every iOS operating system update. Under the latest system, there are two ways of pausing your video while on a Facetime call:

1. The first way is to use Facetime’s inbuilt toggle. To utilise this feature while on a call you need to swipe up from the bottom of your screen to bring up the Facetime options. Once here, you are able to turn your camera off by selecting the camera off button. Turning your camera off while on a Facetime call effectively pauses the call.
2. The second way is to disable Facetime’s Picture in Picture (PIP feature). To do this, head to the settings app on your iOS device and select ‘general’. From this page, select ‘Picture in Picture’ and ensure that the sole option on this page isn’t selected. Having this unselected will mean that swiping away from Facetime while you’re on a call will act as a ‘pause’.

You can pause Facetime quite easily on your iPhone when you’re making or taking video calls. And, you can enable PIP or disable PIP if you want to do this permanently.

Does FaceTime pause when someone else calls?

When someone else calls you whilst you’re making a Facetime video call, you may wonder what happens to your original call. The answer is that yes, your phone will automatically pause Facetime if you pick up a call from someone else.

They won’t be able to hear your conversation with the new caller. This is because it will open in a new Facetime window. However, your call will not be terminated, and they’ll still be there when you’ve finished your second call.

Pausing a call is one of a few unique features available to Facetime users, let’s take a look at some of the others.

Effects

The effects feature is a cool gimmick that Apple provides for Facetime users to make their calls a little bit more fun.

It allows users to add overlays their to video including text, filters and emojis which the person who you are on a call to will be able to see. This is likely a result of the filter craze created by Snapchat and Instagram.

To use these effects while on a Facetime call, select the effects icon on the left hand side of the bottom menu.

Once selected, you will be presented with multiple different icons which all represent different effects. Select the icon you want to use and explore all the options within each effect type.

Once you’ve selected what you want, you will then be able to see it on your live feed. You can also take screenshots too – Facetime photos go directly into your photos app.

Screen sharing

A recent update that has arrived on Facetime is the ability to share your phone screen with the person or people that you are on a call with.

Due to the nature of remote working since the Coronavirus pandemic , this has become a popular practice on other video calling apps such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

While Facetime is unlikely to be used for remote work, sharing screens is still a handy feature while on a call with friends if you want to show them a cool app on your phone or photographs that are stored on your camera roll.

To share your screen on a Facetime call on the new iOS operating system you need to tap the SharePlay button at the top-right corner of the screen.

On the subsequent dropdown menu you need to select ‘share my screen’ and then after a three second countdown, your screen will be shared with everyone else on the call.

Camera flipping

There are multiple reasons why people choose to video call friends and family as opposed to just making a standard voice call.

From wanting to see people who live far away from you or wanting to show your friends something cool that is happening live.

If you are in the latter category then the camera flipping tool is your friend as this will reverse the camera so that it is showing what you are looking at rather than showing your face.

To activate feature, select the camera flip icon during a call and the camera will switch from the front camera to the back camera.

Conclusion

As of yet, iOS still haven’t decided to add a simple pause button and make you go round the houses a little to be able to momentarily stop a call.

However, by following our advice above, you should be able to pause a Facetime call with no issues at all. While you’re at it, you may as well have a look at some of the other cool Facetime feature that we have discussed. Enjoy!