Technology has advanced at an incredible rate over the last 10 years. In 2010, Apple first launched FaceTime for iPhone and a year later, in 2011, they released the app on the Apple Mac.
By now, Apple customers are pretty well acquainted with the app and many of us use it day-to-day to check in with friends and family.
However, FaceTime – and video apps in general – have become of greater importance in 2020 due to the global Coronavirus lockdown. Staying in contact while social distancing measures are in place is made slightly easier with the help of apps such as FaceTime.
You may opt for using FaceTime on your Apple Mac over the iPhone due to its bigger screen and comfortability.
Let’s take a look at what to do if Facetime is not working on a Mac and you’re seeing “error occurred during activation”.
How to activate FaceTime on Mac
The FaceTime app should be located at the bottom of your Mac screen along with Finder, Mail, your internet browser and more.
The FaceTime icon includes a video camera and a green telephone symbol. To open the app, double click on this icon.
Once open, your Mac camera should open. However, if you wish to check if the app is set up correctly, head to the top menu. Click FaceTime, then Preferences. Here, you can see which ID has been used to login and you can choose how people can contact you.
If you’re unable to sign in to FaceTime, ensure that you’re using the latest software. FaceTime works on devices using MacOS X 10.7 onwards. For full details on the requirements necessary to make and receive FaceTime calls, please click here.
Setting the time and date on your Mac to ‘automatic’ is something which can enable you to log in to FaceTime. Head to the Apple menu, then click System Preferences, click Date & Time and select “Set date and time automatically”.
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FaceTime not working on Mac “error occurred during activation”
Experiencing the error message: “Error occurred during activation” can be pretty confusing when trying to use your computer.
According to iPhonelife.com “If you see an “iMessage waiting for activation” error, it could be a problem with your cellular company or simply a bug that’s easily remedied.”
- The service could temporarily be down due to an error on Apple’s side. Sometimes, closing the FaceTime app and reopening in the hope that it has refreshed, can fix this issue. Click ‘FaceTime’ > ‘Turn FaceTime off’ to do this.
- You can also shut down the entire Mac, reboot the device then, on re-starting, the app should function correctly.
- Ensure that the device you’re using is as up-to-date as possible and running on the latest MacOS.
- Also, check that you’re logged in to FaceTime using the correct Apple ID. To do this head to Facetime > Preferences. Here, you’ll see your settings.
- It’s worth checking that your iPhone and Macbook are using the same Wi-Fi network.
Could not sign in to iMessage “an error occurred during activation” – Mac
The same error can occur for iMessage, too.
Follow the above steps outlined for the FaceTime error, as they’re also applicable to iMessage.
As well as the above steps, ensure that you’re using a reliable internet connection.
Turn off iMessage, then turn the feature back on again. This can sometimes correct the error.
If the error persists for more than a day, please contact Apple support here.
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