If you are on a FaceTime call on your iPhone and try to search for videos on TikTok, you may find that the TikTok app does not allow you to search or scroll through videos. This is likely due to an iOS limitation that restricts apps from performing certain activities while on a FaceTime call. There are a couple of workarounds, but ultimately you’ll need to end your FaceTime call in order to freely search and scroll TikTok.
Why Can’t You Search TikTok During FaceTime?
The reason you can’t search or scroll TikTok while on a FaceTime call is due to restrictions Apple has in place for iOS apps running in the background. Essentially, Apple limits what media-related activities an app can do when not the currently active foreground app.
Some of the restricted background activities include:
- Recording video or audio
- Accessing the camera
- Playing media like music, videos, or games with sound
- Using the microphone
These types of activities are not allowed in order to prevent interference with the currently active FaceTime call. TikTok likely leverages the microphone and/or camera when searching and scrolling, and so iOS prevents TikTok from accessing those hardware components.
Workarounds to Search TikTok While on FaceTime
There are a couple of workarounds you can try to search TikTok while remaining on your FaceTime call:
1. Use TikTok’s Text Search
Open the TikTok app and tap on the search bar at the top. Rather than tapping the microphone icon to search by voice, manually type in your search keywords. This text search does not require microphone access and may work.
However, you still may not be able to scroll or watch videos. But you can at least see some limited search results.
2. Use Picture-in-Picture
On supported iPhones with iOS 14 or later, you can enable Picture-in-Picture mode on your FaceTime call. This will shrink your FaceTime video into a floating window over your other apps.
With Picture-in-Picture enabled, open TikTok and search normally. The FaceTime video will stay overlaid while using TikTok. Tap the FaceTime window to bring the call back to full screen.
Enabling Picture-in-Picture:
- Start a FaceTime call
- Swipe up from bottom edge to open Control Center
- Long press on the FaceTime tile
- Tap “Picture in Picture” to enable
3. Use TikTok on a Separate Device
If you have multiple devices, start your FaceTime call on your iPhone. Then open TikTok on your iPad or another phone. You can freely search and scroll TikTok while the FaceTime call continues on your primary iPhone.
This gives you full TikTok access without interfering with the active call.
Why You Ultimately Need to End FaceTime to Use TikTok
While the workarounds above may let you do some limited TikTok searching, there are a couple reasons why you’ll ultimately want to end your FaceTime call:
Viewing and Recording Video
The iOS background restrictions prevent TikTok from playing videos with sound while FaceTime is active. You’ll only see silent previews. And you can’t record and upload your own videos.
Full App Functionality
Even if you can view some video previews or search results, you won’t have access to all TikTok features during a FaceTime call. Actions like following accounts, liking videos, adding to Favorites, sharing content, and more will be limited.
Uninterrupted Experience
Even if TikTok starts working during FaceTime, it could stop at any point. And you may have to frequently reopen TikTok to keep using it. It’s an interrupted experience.
The only way to have unfettered access to all TikTok features is to fully close your FaceTime call. You need TikTok as the completely active foreground app to search and scroll without restrictions.
How to Resume Your FaceTime Call After Using TikTok
Once you are ready to return to your FaceTime call after searching TikTok, there are a couple ways to resume your call:
1. Rejoin Call in FaceTime App
Open the FaceTime app and you should see an option to rejoin the call you were previously on. Tap to reconnect.
2. Receive Call Invite Notification
After you hang up FaceTime, the person you were talking to can call you again. Accept the new FaceTime invite notification to continue the call.
3. Use Call History to Call Back
In the FaceTime app, you can go to your call history and tap to call back the person you were previously speaking with.
As long as you reconnect relatively soon, you can pick up right where your FaceTime call left off before searching TikTok.
Adjusting FaceTime and TikTok Notification Settings
To make transitioning between FaceTime and TikTok easier, you can adjust notification settings:
Turn Off FaceTime Notifications
This will prevent incoming FaceTime call notifications from interrupting what you’re doing in TikTok. Go to Settings > FaceTime and toggle off “Allow Notifications”.
Turn Off TikTok Notifications
This prevents TikTok from interrupting your active FaceTime call. In TikTok settings, go to Notifications and toggle them off.
Turn On Do Not Disturb
You can use Do Not Disturb to disable all notifications from all apps temporarily. This gives you uninterrupted time in TikTok without FaceTime disturbing you.
Using TikTok’s Desktop Site on a Laptop
Another option is to use the TikTok website on a laptop or desktop computer while on a FaceTime call from your iPhone. This completely separates the video call from your TikTok experience.
To do this:
- Start your FaceTime call on your iPhone as usual.
- On your laptop or desktop, open https://www.tiktok.com in your web browser.
- Log into the TikTok website with your account.
- You can now search and scroll TikTok freely on the desktop site while FaceTiming on your iPhone.
Using the dedicated desktop website provides the full TikTok experience without any limitations.
In Summary
Due to iOS restrictions, you can’t fully search or use TikTok while on an active FaceTime call from an iPhone. Your options are:
- Use limited workarounds like text search or Picture-in-Picture
- End your FaceTime call and resume it later
- Adjust notification settings for less interruption
- Use TikTok’s desktop site on a separate device
The only true solution is to hang up FaceTime while you want uninterrupted access to all TikTok features. You can always call your friend back after you are done searching and scrolling new videos in TikTok.
