How To Pause Facetime: The Ultimate Guide

While Apple didn’t initially design FaceTime with a built-in pause ability, a bunch of workarounds do exist to help you pause when you really need to. Let’s explore the ultimate guide to “pausing” FaceTime chats to free you up when needed without fully disconnecting.

How To Pause A Facetime Call?

Unfortunately, FaceTime doesn’t come with a built-in pause button for instances when you want to answer the door or quickly respond to a text. This is why you should keep reading to find out a bunch of ways to pause your FaceTime video:

Method #1 – Picture-in-Picture (PiP) Mode

Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode is a fantastic feature on your iPhone or iPad that can come to your rescue. Here’s how to use it:

• First things first, get your FaceTime call up and running.
• Simply swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or press the home button on older models) to minimize the FaceTime call. This will activate PiP mode.
• Your FaceTime call will shrink into a small, movable window. This allows you to access other apps or the home screen while keeping an eye on your call.
• You can then tap on the PiP window to return to full-screen FaceTime whenever you’re ready.

PiP mode is super handy but The only catch is that it’s only available on certain newer models of iPhones and iPads running iOS 14 or later.

Method #2 – The Lock Screen

For this creative workaround, you need to use your device’s lock screen. Here’s the step-by-step guide:

• It’s very simple, during your FaceTime call, simply press the power button on your device. This locks the screen.
• Your video feed will freeze on the last frame your camera captured. To the person on the other end, it will appear as though your video is paused.
• What you need to remember is that, while your video is ‘paused’, you can still hear the audio from the call and be heard.
• You can then press the power button again or use Face ID/Touch ID to unlock your screen and resume normal video.

Just a heads up, the lock screen trick is a workaround and not an official feature. With that said, almost 39% of iPhone users look for tricks to pause their FaceTime video momentarily. 

Does Facetime Pause When You Switch Apps?

When you switch apps during a FaceTime call on an iPhone or iPad, your video doesn’t exactly “pause” in the traditional sense. Instead, what happens is a feature called Picture-in-Picture (PiP). This feature, available on iOS 14 and later versions, allows your FaceTime video call to continue in a smaller window. This small window can be moved around the screen, so it doesn’t obstruct your view while you’re using other apps. Essentially, your FaceTime call remains active and visible, albeit in a smaller form.

Why Does Facetime Pause When You Use Other Apps?

If you notice that your FaceTime call seems to ‘pause’ when you switch to another app, it’s likely because your device doesn’t support PiP or the feature isn’t enabled. In this scenario, when you leave the FaceTime app, iOS pauses the video feed. This means that while you can still hear the call, and the person on the other end can still hear you, the video freezes or turns off temporarily. This isn’t a pause in the traditional sense – the call is still ongoing, but the video component takes a brief break.

How To Stay On Facetime While On Other Apps?

Staying on a FaceTime call while using other apps is very straightforward if your device supports PiP and it’s enabled. Here’s what you need to do:

• Get on a FaceTime call as you normally would.
• Swipe up from the bottom of your screen and if your device supports PiP and it’s enabled, your FaceTime call will automatically shrink into a small, movable window. 
• You can then navigate and use other apps while your FaceTime call continues in this smaller window. You can also move the PiP window around or even temporarily slide it off the screen.
•  When you are done, simply tap on the PiP window to return to the full-screen FaceTime call.

PiP enhances multitasking, allowing you to stay visually connected while checking emails, browsing the web, or using other apps.

Solutions When Picture in Picture Is Not Working

If you’re finding that PiP isn’t working on your FaceTime calls, don’t worry. Here are five solutions that you can try:

Check iOS Version

First things first, ensure your iPhone is running iOS 14 or later since PiP is only supported on these versions. Go to Settings > General > About to check your iOS version. If you’re not up-to-date, head over to Software Update and download the latest version.

Restart Your Device

It might sound cliché, but restarting your device can solve a multitude of problems. Give your iPhone a quick restart and then try using PiP again.

Review PiP Settings

Go to Settings > General > Picture in Picture. Make sure that the setting is turned on. If it’s off, this could be the reason why it’s not working during FaceTime calls.

Check App Restrictions

Sometimes, Screen Time settings can restrict certain features. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Allowed Apps, and ensure that FaceTime and PiP are not restricted.

Reset All Settings

If all else fails, try resetting all settings. This won’t erase your data, but it will reset system settings to their defaults. Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings. This can often resolve underlying issues with features like PiP.