iPhone 11 Pro Activation of FaceTime Audio on Chinese iPhone 11 Pro Max - Possible?

[AvengerNX08]

Hello,

I recently moved to China from Germany and bought the new iPhone 11 Pro Max here. Now I had to find out the hard way, that FaceTime Audio is not working on Chinese iPhones. Thankfully I don't have to use it exclusively, but I do want to have access to it, especially when I want to call friends and family on their Apple devices.

Is there any possibility of reactivating FaceTime Audio? Perhaps at an Apple Store in Japan or Germany? As far as I understand, its a software and not a hardware limitation, am I correct? I did try changing my location and also restoring the iPhone 11 with a backup made on my German iPhone X - no luck though.

Thankfully, that has been the only convenience wrecking difference I found

 

[Banglazed]

These are the restriction with models in China. It is possibly hardware and software (carrier) related to this specific region. However, you can try a non-China model.

FaceTime Audio is not supported in China mainland.

Group FaceTime is not supported in China mainland.

eSIM is not supported in China mainland.

Wireless carrier support and features for iPhone in Asia-Pacific - Apple Support

Choose your country or region to learn about the wireless carriers available to you.

support.apple.com

 

[AvengerNX08]

If its carrier related, the only thing I would have to do is to insert a German sim card, possibly in Germany, and wait for some sort of carrier update, right?

 

[Squeak825]

If its carrier related, the only thing I would have to do is to insert a German sim card, possibly in Germany, and wait for some sort of carrier update, right?

No, it is hard-tied to the model you purchased.