What does Cancelled Call mean on FaceTime? A handy guide

With over a decade of hands-on experience with Apple technology, I have a thorough understanding of the FaceTime app.

Often people think that if they see cancelled calls in FaceTime they are being blocked or declined, but it isn’t necessarily the case.

However, there is more to this type of call status that you need to know. Once learned, it will help you to manage your FaceTime call log properly and avoid embarrassing situations.

Don’t worry if you are still a bit confused – read on and this guide will explain:

• What causes a FaceTime cancelled call.
• How a cancelled FaceTime call is different from a missed call.
• If a cancelled call means someone declines your call.
• If a cancelled FaceTime call means you are blocked.

After reading this article you will have a much clearer idea about how FaceTime logs activity when you give someone a buzz and they don’t pick up.

What does it mean if FaceTime says call cancelled?

When you see cancelled FaceTime calls in your iPhone call log you may think that you are being ignored or hung up on by the recipient.

Don’t worry, you are not being ignored. According to Quora, a cancelled call on FaceTime normally means you hung up before the receiver answered.

A full list of reasons why the FaceTime call may be logged as cancelled includes:

• You hung up before the receiver had a chance to answer.
• You called a person who doesn’t have FaceTime, such as an Android phone owner.
• The phone you called is turned off.
• The iPhone you FaceTimed has no cellular or WiFi signal at the moment.
• You have been blocked by the person you are calling.

When you initiate a FaceTime call to a recipient it will ring for about 60 seconds before automatically hanging up.

This is true regardless if it is a video or audio FaceTime call.

This process will result in a cancelled call on your handset log because your phone cancelled it due to it not being answered.

So for most occasions, a cancelled FaceTime call is nothing to be suspicious about unless you think you may have been blocked by someone.

Was my FaceTime call declined by the recipient?

When you call someone on FaceTime and they do not answer, for whatever reason, it is a cancelled call.

Of course, if they decline your FaceTime call, it will also show as cancelled, but it is not the only reason.

If they don’t answer because they are busy, have their phone switched off, or don’t have a good cellular or WiFi signal it will show as a cancelled call too.

So you can’t say every cancelled call has been declined by the recipient, just that it might have been declined. You can’t be sure of the reason the FaceTime call was cancelled without asking the recipient.

How is it different from a missed FaceTime call?

If you FaceTime or call someone and they do not answer it will appear as a missed call on the recipient’s iPhone.

On your iPhone, it will appear as a cancelled call because the call didn’t get picked up.

So the difference between cancelled and missed calls is dependent on you being the caller or the recipient. The caller will see a cancelled call. The receiver will see a missed call.

For more information, see What does cancelled call mean.

How do I know someone blocked me?

If you call FaceTime and it immediately hangs up after a ring or 2 then you could be blocked.

However, there are other reasons this could happen such as the recipient’s phone being switched off, or they are in a location with no WiFi or cellular signal.

The best thing to do is to call the person.

Call at different times of day and see if you can talk to them. If all your standard call also goes to voicemail you may be blocked.

Next, try sending a text message to them. If you get a notification saying “message not delivered” it’s another sign you may have been blocked.

Taken together with you being unable to call, or FaceTime then it is highly likely the recipient has blocked you.

Before you get upset, remember there are other causes of being unable to get in touch with someone. If you make a flurry of calls and text messages over a period of a few minutes, none of which work, then it could be that:

• Their phone is powered off.
• They have no signal.
• They have no credit left on their call plan.

Try to be patient and call them back in an hour or two.

To find out more, see How to fix iPhone call failed error.

What does FaceTime Unavailable mean?

According to Quora, when FaceTime shows a message that says FaceTime Unavailable it is normally caused by:

• A weak WiFi or cellular connection from your phone. Check you have a decent signal.
• A weak WiFi or cellular signal on the recipient’s phone. They may be travelling and in a location the signal is poor.
• The person you called has their phone turned off.

There are a whole bunch of other less common reasons, but these are the main ones.

Can I contact someone that blocked me?

If you have been blocked then you can’t get in touch with that person.

The person that blocked you won’t even be informed that you have attempted to contact them with a missed call alert.

You won’t be able to call them, text them, or FaceTime them from your iPhone. Even if you block your Caller ID.

The only way to get in touch with them is by calling from a different phone, with a different number.

How do I see the FaceTime call log?

You can see the status of all your recent calls, including FaceTime, in the recent call log on your iPhone:

1. Tap the Phone icon.
2. On the bottom menu, tap Recent.
3. On the list of calls, tap the i opposite the caller you are trying to contact.
4. Details of the FaceTime calls made including date, time, and the call status are displayed together with your other call types.

Related articles

WhatsApp treats canceled calls differently from FaceTime, but in most cases, it means the caller ended the call before it was answered. Learn more in how WhatsApp handles canceled calls.

On an iPhone, canceled calls are managed separately from app-based calls like WhatsApp or FaceTime. Apple’s system records and displays them using its own logic. Find out more in understanding canceled calls on iPhone.