Users report freezing issues with FaceTime on Apple's iPad 2

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
A few kinks apparently still need to be ironed out with the newly released iPad 2, as some users have reported freezing issues with the FaceTime video chat feature, requiring a restart of the device.



A handful of users on Apple's support forums have posted to a growing thread where they have described a problem where the image displayed by the forward-facing camera on the iPad 2 crashes in the FaceTime application. The same issue is also detailed in two other, smaller threads (1, 2).



"When I opened up FaceTime the first time, the camera was working fine, but now whenever I open it up, it just shows a still image from when I left," user "CRK The Man" wrote. "How can I fix it?"



Most users seem to have found success in repairing FaceTime by simply restarting their iPad 2. Others have gone as far as completing a full software restore of the iPad 2 to address the problem.



One user, "dels7080," claimed that the manager of a Verizon store in New York City revealed that the FaceTime glitch has occurred to "a lot" of demo units available for customers on the sales floor to try. They too said the problem is solved by restarting the iPad 2.



"It happens quite frequently," user "leov36" wrote of the issue. "Restarting the ipad fixes the problem, BUT, it happens again with in the next two to three times i go to use it."



FaceTime is only available on iOS devices with a forward-facing camera, including the newly released iPad 2. To take advantage of the forward and rear cameras on the second-generation iPad, Apple also added devoted applications for picture and movie taking, as well as Photo Booth for taking and editing photos.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    If it is software a fix will come soon. FaceTime is a big initiative at Apple, they won't let this rest until it is fixed.
  • Reply 2 of 23
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    No need to reset the whole device just reset the facetime/camera app. Press and hold the 'power' button till the swipe to turn off screen comes up then press and hold the home button until you are returned to the home screen (roughly 10 seconds).
  • Reply 3 of 23
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by irnchriz View Post


    No need to reset the whole device just reset the facetime/camera app. Press and hold the 'power' button till the swipe to turn off screen comes up then press and hold the home button until you are returned to the home screen (roughly 10 seconds).



    Um, that *is* resetting the whole device.



    Resetting the app would be double-clicking to get the multitasking bar, long press on icon till it wiggles, and touching the x to zap the app.
  • Reply 4 of 23
    Many thanks to the current iPad2 beta testers who waited in line for finding this issue!
  • Reply 5 of 23
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    Um, that *is* resetting the whole device.



    Resetting the app would be double-clicking to get the multitasking bar, long press on icon till it wiggles, and touching the x to zap the app.



    That doesn't reset the device. Holding BOTH the 'power' and 'home' buttons resets the device. Doing what I said just 'force quits' the app, leaving the device running as normal.



    e.g. If you are in an application and pressing home doesn't take you to the homescreen because the application has locked up you can use the 'force quit' sequence to quit the app and return to the home screen. This used to only involve holding the home button for 10 seconds but after Apple assigned more functions to the home button you now have to hold just the home button down on the 'swipe to turn off' screen.
  • Reply 6 of 23
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by camroidv27 View Post


    Many thanks to the current iPad2 beta testers who waited in line for finding this issue!



    This issue is not an iPad 2 only issue. I have this problem with my iPhone 4 since the 4.3 beta. When the official iOS 4.3 came out I performed a restore on my iPhone instead of upgrade and experienced the same problem three or four times since then. I use FaceTime on daily basis though. This looks like a bug in iOS 4.3 and not the device itself.
  • Reply 7 of 23
    I have seen this problem one time. As stated, restarting the iPad fixed the issue.
  • Reply 8 of 23
    sol77sol77 Posts: 203member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by camroidv27 View Post


    Many thanks to the current iPad2 beta testers who waited in line for finding this issue!



    lol

    You're welcome. : )
  • Reply 9 of 23
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    Um, that *is* resetting the whole device.



    Resetting the app would be double-clicking to get the multitasking bar, long press on icon till it wiggles, and touching the x to zap the app.



    He is correct. If your iPad/iPhone froze sometimes the home button wouldn't work. What he just described is how you force quit an app that causes your device to freeze. It used to be that you hold the home button for 10 second before iPhone OS 3.0 but that won't work because holding it will launch voice command on the iPhone.
  • Reply 10 of 23
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by camroidv27 View Post


    Many thanks to the current iPad2 beta testers who waited in line for finding this issue!



    Many thanks to the Chicken Littles that didn't stand in line so I could enjoy my iPad 2 since the day it went on sale.



    PS: Bug-free software is a goal you strike for but can never achieve in these complex devices. No matter when you buy your CE it will have bugs that are yet undiscovered.
  • Reply 11 of 23
    29922992 Posts: 202member
    they are just either pushing the FaceTime icon wrong, or they are simply holding the iPad2 wrong.

    (or maybe when iPad sees their faces, it simply freezes )
  • Reply 12 of 23
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    what's facetime? is it like skype?
  • Reply 13 of 23
    29922992 Posts: 202member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by al_bundy View Post


    what's facetime? is it like skype?



    It's the time one spends with its face.
  • Reply 14 of 23
    It usually happens after launching facetime, then going into photobooth, then back into facetime.



    The same thing happens when going into other third party camera apps, then back into facetime. Should be easy to fix if they know how it happens.
  • Reply 15 of 23
    bigdaddypbigdaddyp Posts: 811member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 2992 View Post


    It's the time one spends with its face.



    You mean this guy?



  • Reply 16 of 23
    I have been having the same issue on the iPhone since 4.3. I usually go into the camera app and use the camera for a few seconds then FaceTime. Otherwise it is blank or a still image.
  • Reply 17 of 23
    whozownwhozown Posts: 128member
    This only happened go me once, just restarted the iPad and it was fixed. One thing I did notice when I first unboxed my iPad , I was taking pictures and there was distortion in the imagines. Greenish reflections. But that too has never happened again. Thoughts?
  • Reply 18 of 23
    ronsterronster Posts: 153member
    Ive seen the blank image issue on my wife's iPhone 4 a couple of times. This problem with the iPad 2 sounds like the issue I had with the Facetime Beta on my Mac Mini; it would completely crash my Mini once I made a call. Now that it's out of beta and figured out the kinks, no issues.
  • Reply 19 of 23
    29922992 Posts: 202member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigdaddyp View Post


    You mean this guy?







    pretty much
  • Reply 20 of 23
    unicronunicron Posts: 154member
    Are these the same people who had Death Grip issues with iPhone 4?
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