Facetime for groups was first introduced with iOS 12.1. The expanded service allows you to start a video chat with up to 32 people at the same time.
A serious error recently crept into Facetime for groups. The bug makes it possible to use Facetime to tap into the microphone of another caller. To use the bug, a contact must be called via Facetime – assuming the caller does not answer immediately. While the cell phone is ringing, the caller must add another contact. Here, the caller enters their own phone number. Once this is done, the microphone starts transmitting – while the called party’s phone continues to ring. The error was only present on devices that Support Group Facetime, represented. To prevent further abuse, Apple has deactivated the group Facetime function on the server side, the company announced this last week in a press release. The statement stated that Cupertino had already found a solution and fixed the problem. However, iOS 12.1.4 is required to restore the service.
No iOS 12.1.4? No Group Facetime
Now the US blog MacRumors claims to have learned that Apple has deactivated Group Facetime for all older iOS versions (iOS 12.1 - iOS 12.1.3) - there are no plans to reactivate the function on the versions in question. Anyone who wants to use the service in the future will be forced to use at least iOS 12.1.4 or newer on their iPhone. It is still unclear what plans Apple has for macOS Mojave. The update to iOS 12.1.4 is due to be released this week. It remains to be seen whether this will fix other errors from versions iOS 12.1.2 and iOS 12.1.3.
