I bought an iPhone 6 Plus from Qatar. It's factory unlocked, and Qatar allows all VoIPs no exceptions, even FaceTime.
I bought it from Ooredoo Qatar which is listed on Apple as a supported carrier offering LTE, FaceTime and MMS. FaceTime and Audio works once I insert my Ooredoo Qatar SIM, Vodafone Qatar or Etisalat Egypt. So basically any Middle Eastern SIM as long as it's not blocked on that specific carrier.
Once a non Middle Eastern SIM is inserted, FaceTime is no longer there. It's removed from the Home screen, settings, contacts and even Siri says it's restricted.
But why? After researching it for hours, chatting with Apple, reading online and taking a look at the differences between the Middle East carrier bundles, and T-Mobiles I found out the following;
iPhones and iPads with serial number ending with "AE" will check the carrier bundle for a field called "AllowVOIP" if this field is set to off, or not available, the iPhone will remove FaceTime. If it's set to on then FaceTime is back
Now the problem is that only carriers in the Middle East include this field in their carrier bundles, because they know about it. Those in the U.S., and probably everywhere else have no idea about its existence..
Now, do you think there is anyway to bring this to Apple's attention?! This is really getting me mad that I bought a phone that supports almost all commercial LTE frequencies yet turns into almost a brick when used abroad.
FaceTime is life for me. Unfortunately it's the only way I can keep connected with my family and friends when traveling.
Note: I am not begging Apple to unlock FaceTime in countries that specifically asked Apple to block the feature for, I am asking if my iPhone can properly offer FaceTime when I travel to countries where it is not blocked, specially that my carrier (Ooredoo Qatar) allows FaceTime.
I bought it from Ooredoo Qatar which is listed on Apple as a supported carrier offering LTE, FaceTime and MMS. FaceTime and Audio works once I insert my Ooredoo Qatar SIM, Vodafone Qatar or Etisalat Egypt. So basically any Middle Eastern SIM as long as it's not blocked on that specific carrier.
Once a non Middle Eastern SIM is inserted, FaceTime is no longer there. It's removed from the Home screen, settings, contacts and even Siri says it's restricted.
But why? After researching it for hours, chatting with Apple, reading online and taking a look at the differences between the Middle East carrier bundles, and T-Mobiles I found out the following;
iPhones and iPads with serial number ending with "AE" will check the carrier bundle for a field called "AllowVOIP" if this field is set to off, or not available, the iPhone will remove FaceTime. If it's set to on then FaceTime is back
Now the problem is that only carriers in the Middle East include this field in their carrier bundles, because they know about it. Those in the U.S., and probably everywhere else have no idea about its existence..
Now, do you think there is anyway to bring this to Apple's attention?! This is really getting me mad that I bought a phone that supports almost all commercial LTE frequencies yet turns into almost a brick when used abroad.
FaceTime is life for me. Unfortunately it's the only way I can keep connected with my family and friends when traveling.
Note: I am not begging Apple to unlock FaceTime in countries that specifically asked Apple to block the feature for, I am asking if my iPhone can properly offer FaceTime when I travel to countries where it is not blocked, specially that my carrier (Ooredoo Qatar) allows FaceTime.
