Other Can iPhone FaceTime video calls work reliably on 128 Kbps cellular connections?

[EugW]

This page claims that FaceTime video calls can work with an average of about 115 Kbps. Is this accurate for the real world on an iPhone on cellular?

The reason I ask is because I'm considering getting my kid a data-only cell plan that has a very low data bucket, but after the data bucket is used up there is actually unlimited data albeit capped at 128 Kbps. Plan is CA$15 (US$10.89) per month. Phone would be iPhone XR on iOS 16.1.

BTW, I believe the actual connection is 4G. Normally it's capped at 3 Mbps ("3G speed") for the data bucket and then 128 Kbps after that, but it's on a 4G network.

 

[fatTribble]

This is just my opinion but I would be shocked if FaceTime would work on such a low bandwidth. I’d bet you’d need 3-5 Mbps at least. Again, I don’t know for sure. A friend in another country used to have 5Mbps and FaceTime was meh at best.

 

[EugW]

This is just my opinion but I would be shocked if FaceTime would work on such a low bandwidth. I’d bet you’d need 3-5 Mbps at least. Again, I don’t know for sure. A friend in another country used to have 5Mbps and FaceTime was meh at best.

Well, the reason I ask is because of the page I linked. However, that was an invited FaceTime call connecting to a Windows PC, so not quite the same thing.

As you can see from the data above, I experienced similar bandwidth requirements with FaceTime as a I did with Skype. The average bandwidth here was slightly over that of Skype, with 107.61 Kbps average download and 114.82 Kbps average upload. The other important note here would be that, unlike Zoom and Skype, I noticed FaceTime actually required more upload bandwidth than download, which could pose a problem for people with significant differences in their download and upload speeds.

 

[arw]

@EugW be aware, the linked article is misleading, respectively the conclusions are wrong as the monitored traffic is in kB/s (kilobyte per second) and the author treats it as kbit/s (kilobit per second). 1 kB/s = 8 kbit/s (or 8 Kbps)
No wonder she is surprised her internet connection is 100 times faster than required…

The measured 120 kB/s are in fact 960 kbit/s. Take that times two for upload and download and you have 1920 kbit/s of total traffic which is 15 times the speed of 128 kbit/s your kid would be capped to.
But the 1920 kbit/s (=1,92 Mbit/s for up & down) are obviously near the 1-2 Mbit/s that the different services recommend for 720p.

I have a contract that drops to 1 Mbit/s after the main traffic is exhausted.
This 1 MBit/s is surprisingly fine and stable for FaceTime (of course not HD).
I remember 64 kbit/s to be barely sufficient for a Skype voice call.
128 kbit/s for video and audio seems barely usable.

The other important note here would be that, unlike Zoom and Skype, I noticed FaceTime actually required more upload bandwidth than download, which could pose a problem for people with significant differences in their download and upload speeds.

I monitored the traffic as well and for Apple devices this is not generally the case.
For me FaceTime Upload was exactly the same as Download (2,5 Mbit/s each) when both devices were connected to WiFi.

edit reason: rearrangement

 

[Fat_Guy]

I’m also from Canada and that unlimited data after you use up the real data is a sham. That is why when you get near the end of your real data allotment you get text messages for more high-speed data.



Don’t go by their claims of data speed when you get throttled back, it’s just to make you pay more for more regular data. I tried it and could do absolutely nothing except send a message and stuff like that. I’m sure they don’t have to keep to their claims. We in Canada pay the most for cellular service in the world. There is no way to beat the devil up here.

 

[EugW]

I’m also from Canada and that unlimited data after you use up the real data is a sham. That is why when you get near the end of your real data allotment you get text messages for more high-speed data.



Don’t go by their claims of data speed when you get throttled back, it’s just to make you pay more for more regular data. I tried it and could do absolutely nothing except send a message and stuff like that. I’m sure they don’t have to keep to their claims. We in Canada pay the most for cellular service in the world. There is no way to beat the devil up here.

Thanks for your input. I was looking at Lucky Mobile for the kid. What service were you on?

 

[Fat_Guy]

Thanks for your input. I was looking at Lucky Mobile for the kid. What service were you on?

I have five phones and 4 plans. Used Bell, Telus, and Rogers and for a short period - Freedom; the rest piggy back on the big three like 711 Speakout on Rogers. Lucky Mobile is Bell and thus it is on their system. Bell seems to keep it on their 3g network.



BTW: We really do pay more but you almost never lose a connection unless you are with Freedom. When I’m in New York on T-Mobile I’ll lose connections between buildings in Manhattan - roaming or on a dedicated sim. Verizon works best for roaming.