International phone calls are very expensive from my neck of the woods.

Latest iOS updates removed my ability to sellect Facetime when calling and i’ve received a couple of nasty phone bills as a result.

Can anyone tell me how to set a couple of contact phone numbers as Facetime (video not a must) only i’ll be grateful.

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wi-fi calls isn't an option?

My wife talks to her brother in Japan using Facebook Messenger. I don't have a Facebook account,so I can't help with it. She uses it all the time with no cost. You can do video or not. She uses the Facebook Messenger app on her iPhone. Just throwing it out there as an option.

You also have WhatsApp, simple, free.

Discord allows calling too.

In a game i play, we have players in brazil, uk, and the states who all use it together as a group

My question is specific.
I usually call my friends abroad when traveling to and from my sister’s clinic.

Bailed out of FB 15 years ago when forgotten people started crawling out of the woodwork. Same reason why i stayed out of WA.

Would like to resume my Facetime calls but the phone/facetime option vanished from my contacts.
I can call using Facetime but iPhone will decide for me (expensive results so far).

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There isn't a way to assign wifi-only calling to a contact or contact number in iOs.

You could just turn of your cellular services on the iPhone on a case-by-case basis...but you probably already know that.

I would suggest using WhatsApp

Using Apple Messages and FaceTime is very expensive internationally.

I have a friend who has relatives in Australia and that's all he uses.

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
International phone calls are very expensive from my neck of the woods.

Latest iOS updates removed my ability to sellect Facetime when calling and i’ve received a couple of nasty phone bills as a result.

Can anyone tell me how to set a couple of contact phone numbers as Facetime (video not a must) only i’ll be grateful.

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Is this Argentina only? The reason I ask is I speak weekly with my friend in the Phillipines over Facetime on iPhone/MacBook using the latest OS, but I never receive a bill. I'm always at home over WiFi in US when I call.

Investigate using a SIP/VoIP "soft phone" on your device. You will need to establish an account with a SIP provider to make and receive calls. There are dozens of them, I'll recommend VoIP MS for this, but the draconian laws in ARG. may limit your choices. I am sure that the "progressive" govt. has found a way to charge taxes on VoIP calls if they allow them at all.

With a VPN configured, however, they may never know.

I'd be very concerned that the popular messaging apps, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegraph, et. al. have all been backdoored by the Govt. Another downside of these is that both ends of the conversation have to be using the same app. With VoIP, you can call and receive calls from (theoretically, at least) any telephone number (the person on the other end can be using any landline or mobile phone). Of course, you would then be subject to interception by listeners in the "central offices" of the phone companies.

Which iOS version?

I just looked at mine (26.3) and if I select a contact from contacts, I still have the option. If I select from “favorites” it automatically starts dialing as a phone call.

A workaround might be opening FaceTime and then initiating the call from there?

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
You also have WhatsApp, simple, free.

This is what I use when on mission trips to foreign destinations.

Finally figured it out. It’s a GUI thing.

Had completely forgotten about the Facetime icon, thank tou for slapping me awake. Facetime icon wasn’t the answer but it got me si frustrated that i pressed the Call icon and stuck there, it deployed a menu including what i needed.

Thank you all. I was menrally stuck and your ideas got me out of my mental pit.

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In addition to WhatsApp what about Signal? I have used it to call Europe, Africa and the Middle East and it’s relatively secure.

My goal is to avoid new marginally used stuff.

Facetime does the job and it’s about one or two calls a month.

When i too generously gave IT support people would abuse my kindness. A perfect reason to stay clear of WA as most people down here are too cheap to make a real phone call but abuse WA for any stupid idea that crosses their minds.

A lifetime ago, a client called me on a Sunday, in the middle of the night, to ask for the solution of a Doom level he was stuck for too long. Just a small but memorable example.

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Outside the US the rest of the world seems to be on WhatsApp. I work with colleagues in SA, EU, and the Middle East and if I really want to get in touch with someone, WhatsApp is the way.

quote:

Originally posted by 1gkek:
Outside the US the rest of the world seems to be on WhatsApp. I work with colleagues in SA, EU, and the Middle East and if I really want to get in touch with someone, WhatsApp is the way.

What's App is owned by Facebook and I don't trust Facebook at all with regard to privacy.

What's App is common in Latin America and India. WeChat in China, Line in Japan and Thailand, KakaoTalk in South Korea, and various others in various countries. Recently I see Europeans using it but that's probably due to influence from Indian immigrants.