How to FaceTime friends who use Android and Windows devices
Phones
Speaker 1: Have you been missing FaceTiming with your friends because they don't have an iPhone or a Mac? Well, today's your lucky day. I'm gonna show you how to FaceTime with people who use Android and windows. iOS 15 offers a bunch of new features, but one, a lot of people are excited about is the ability to invite non apple devices. To join a FaceTime call. I'm gonna show you how this works using the iOS 15 public beta on my iPhone, 12, the rest assured this should all work just fine. When the new iPhones and the new iOS are released publicly, which should be any day now. And when they are be sure to [00:00:30] come back to CNET for our iPhone reviews and how to do it all channel to learn tips and tricks, you can subscribe to the channel right here and turn on notifications. So you don't miss a thing to show you how this all works.
Speaker 1: I've got my iPhone 12 right here, a Samsung galaxy Z fold, three to represent Android and a Lenovo laptop. That's running windows ten first things first to share a FaceTime call between all these platforms. The iPhone user has to be the one to start things off windows and Android users. Can't initiate a FaceTime call that may change in the future. But for now the iPhone's in charge to get [00:01:00] started. Open up FaceTime on, on the iPhone, you'll see a new button labeled create link in order to add windows and Android users to the call, you have to send them a link that they can open in a browser, either on their phone or on their computer. They don't need to have a special app, which is nice. So on your phone, tap, create link. If your upcoming chat and name, if you like, and then you have some options for sharing the link, airdrop messages, mail, and so on, I'm gonna choose mail [00:01:30] because I don't have a SIM card in this phone and I'll add the addresses for my Android phone and my windows, laptop, no peeking.
Speaker 1: I don't wanna join any of your FaceTime calls. So don't invite me. And so end of course, you can share with other iPhone users too. It's not an either or situation. The new call appears in the upcoming list right here, tap that. And you'll get a preview of your camera shot along with your audio and video options, tap, join. And now I'm waiting for my other callers [00:02:00] to join the call. So let me hop over here to my Android phone, an open up Gmail. Here's the invite I just sent myself and I'll tap the FaceTime link.
Speaker 1: It opens up in Chrome or whatever browser you have on your phone. I'll enter your Android here just so I can tell them apart, allow access to your camera and microphone. If you get any popups and now I can join the call for, from this Android phone too join. But since the iPhone is the one in charge here, you get [00:02:30] a notification that Android wants to join the call. So tap a little check here. And there it is is Android me is joined iPhone me in the call. And now I'm gonna turn off these microphones and turn off this whole feedback. That's better now. Let's add the windows. Me. I'll open up the email on my laptop, click the FaceTime link, put it in my name, tap, continue, and click join [00:03:00] windows is waiting to be let in. Let the check. And there we go. Three different callers on three different platforms together. At last while you're on the call, everyone has a few different options. The three dots button we'll show you, who's in the call, your camera options and your microphone options again. And now for the first time, the Android and windows users will have the opportunity to share the link and invite others to the call. [00:03:30] The call will stay open. Even if the iPhone that started, it leaves the call. And of course they can always rejoin.
Speaker 1: Others may leave, but the iPhone always has to let them back in. Once everyone has left a call, Android windows can still click the link and the iPhone will get a notification that someone's trying to join.
Speaker 1: [00:04:00] IPhone can then join the call. See who's waiting to be let in and accept or decline the request as needed. Take that windows me. If you get tired of all the FaceTime nos bother you all the time. You can silence, join requests and you can delete the link use shared, and no one will be able to use it. One more power move that the iPhone can do. And the others can't is make use of these fun filters [00:04:30] or other effects like me, emojis, Android, and windows. Users can see your mouse head in the call, but they don't have any filters of their own. So there you have it. You, the iPhone user have the power to invite your windows and Android friends to your FaceTime calls. That is if you haven't already broken up with them for bringing their green bubbles to your text threads, remember to keep your eye out for our coverage of the full release of iOS 15 and the new iPhone 13 or whatever it ends up being called. [00:05:00] When I get them in my hands, I'll be back to show you how to do it all.
