FaceTime won't connect with contacts from iMac

[MargoMac]

Greetings, all. Hope all you and your loved ones are safe and sound.

My wife has been using FaceTime for teaching since March, but just yesterday, when she tried to connect to her contacts, those who were using their iPhones weren't receiving her calls from our desktop Mac, OSX El Capitan 10.11.6. Instead, she started getting the message, "[phone number] is not available for FaceTime." These are the same numbers which have been working since March. Her calls are still working for people on iPads and laptops. When they call her, they can connect to her phone, but not the desktop.

I have already started poking around online, have tried some of the simpler suggestions, such as restarting my computer, turning time and date off and on, turning wi-fi on and off, checking my Apple Id, and changing the DNS to 8.8.8.8. I'm considering some of the more complex strategies, such as removing and adding wi-fi, flushing my cache, etc.

I figured before I went any further, I would check in here and see if anyone else has had this problem, and found a specific method which worked. She may switch to Zoom, but it would be nice if I can resolve this. In case it helps, I'll add that in March, perhaps even earlier, the desktop computer hasn't always activated with FaceTime or Photo Booth. We've learned the trick of adding the "sudo killall VDCAssistant" message into Terminal, but that is never a permanent fix. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for it working/not working.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

Sorry for the delay in responding. I deleted your duplicate post for consistency.

FaceTime calls from my 2009 iMac (High Sierra) and iPhone 6s (iOS 14) have always been intermittent. Most of the time it doesn't work, even though it is setup correctly. Apple's support site only shows information for High Sierra and up:
Make and receive phone calls on your Mac

In addition, the release of iOS 13/14 may have changed the requirements and compatibility between devices. As technology advances, older hardware and software can slowly lose compatibility and capability.

Here are a few more articles that may help:
How to Make and Answer Phone Calls on Your Mac
How to make and receive iPhone calls with your Mac
How to Set Up FaceTime on Your Mac

The sudo killall VDCAssistant and sudo killall AppleCameraAssistant commands are used more when you get a "There is no camera connected." issue, although it may work for other issues as it has for you.

I don't have much experience with it, so I don't really have any better suggestions than what is in the linked articles. If I find anything else, I will definitely pass it on.

Stay healthy and safe!

C

 

[MargoMac]

Hello,

Sorry for the delay in responding. I deleted your duplicate post for consistency.

FaceTime calls from my 2009 iMac (High Sierra) and iPhone 6s (iOS 14) have always been intermittent. Most of the time it doesn't work, even though it is setup correctly. Apple's support site only shows information for High Sierra and up:
Make and receive phone calls on your Mac

In addition, the release of iOS 13/14 may have changed the requirements and compatibility between devices. As technology advances, older hardware and software can slowly lose compatibility and capability.

Here are a few more articles that may help:
How to Make and Answer Phone Calls on Your Mac
How to make and receive iPhone calls with your Mac
How to Set Up FaceTime on Your Mac

The sudo killall VDCAssistant and sudo killall AppleCameraAssistant commands are used more when you get a "There is no camera connected." issue, although it may work for other issues as it has for you.

I don't have much experience with it, so I don't really have any better suggestions than what is in the linked articles. If I find anything else, I will definitely pass it on.

Stay healthy and safe!

C

Thanks so much! Take care!

 

[Cory Cooper]

No worries...

Let us know how it goes, and I will update if I find anything else as I mentioned.

C