Top 6 Fixes for Facetime Picture-in-Picture Not Working on iPhone & iPad

With Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode, multitasking is easy on iPhone and iPad. You can enjoy video call with someone and order food at the same time. PiP mode works with apps that play videos, and FaceTime is one of them. Unfortunately, Picture-in-picture mode does not work well for many iPhone and iPad users. Let’s see how to fix it in the post.

Using picture in picture is effortless. You swipe your finger up when viewing video content in an app that supports PiP mode or press the Home button. This should put your FaceTime video in a floating window. However, this is what does not happen with many users. Either the video is paused or nothing happens when they try to put the FaceTime video in PiP mode.

Do not worry. The following fixes should put PiP mode for FaceTime back on track. Let’s start.

1. Restart the phone

Sometimes fixing any problem, including picture-in-picture mode not working, is as easy as restarting your iPhone or iPad. So stop whatever you are doing on your device and restart it.

2. Check the supported software version

Apple introduced picture-in-picture mode with iOS 14 on iPhone. Prior to iOS 14, if you exit the FaceTime window, your video would pause. This does not happen in iOS 14. Your video will now be present in a floating window above any background app. You can read the news or scroll through Facebook during a FaceTime call.

So if your video is paused, you will need to check the software version installed on your device. It should run iOS 14 or higher on iPhone and iOS 13+ on iPad.

To check the software version on iPhone or iPad, go to Settings> General> About. Check the number listed under the software version. If it is lower than the supported versions, update it as shown below.

3. Update the software

Sometimes applications do not work properly due to a bug in the software. Check for an update available from Apple and install it as soon as possible. To do this, go to Settings> General> Software update.

Point: Find out what happens when you update your iPhone.

4. Activate the automatic start of the picture in picture

To automatically start Picture-in-picture mode when you slide your finger up or press the Home button, a setting must be enabled.

For that, proceed as following:

Step 1: Open Settings and go to General.

2nd step: Tap Picture in Picture. Turn on the toggle next to Automatically start Picture-in-Picture on the next screen.

Step 3: If it is already activated, deactivate it. Restart your device. Follow steps 1 and 2 again to activate the setting.

Point: Find out in detail how to activate or deactivate Picture-in-picture mode on iPhone and iPad.

5. Turn off FaceTime

Another way to fix picture-in-picture mode not working properly for FaceTime is to temporarily turn off FaceTime. To do this, go to Settings> FaceTime. Turn off the toggle next to FaceTime. Restart the phone. Then activate the same toggle again to activate it.

6. Reset iPhone settings

If the problem persists, you will need to reset all settings on your iPhone and iPad. It is different from formatting your phone. Fortunately, this is not a manual task that you will have to endure. You can do this with just one click by going to Settings> General> Reset> Reset All Settings. Confirm when prompted.

You can reset all personalized settings to their original values, such as Bluetooth, home screen personalization, sound, etc. Find out in detail what happens when you reset your iPhone or iPad.

Bonus tips for using Picture-in-Picture mode on FaceTime

Here are some tips for using FaceTime in Picture-in-picture mode and multitasking at the same time.

• Drag the floating FaceTime window to change its position.
• Double-tap the window to change its size. You can also use the pinch gesture to resize the video window.
• To hide the FaceTime video window on your device, drag it to the left or right edge of the screen. Please note that hiding the FaceTime window will pause your video.