How to Prevent FaceTime Calls From Going to All Devices

Limit which devices ring for which accounts

Father and daughters waving video chatting using digital tablet
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by Daniel Nations
Daniel Nations has been a tech journalist since 1994. His work has appeared in Computer Currents, The Examiner, The Spruce, and other publications.
Updated November 24, 2019

The iPad is a great device for FaceTime calls, but that doesn't mean you want to receive every call for every phone number and email address associated with your account. For multi-device families all linked to the same Apple ID, it can be annoying when all devices ring with every FaceTime call, but it's very simple to limit which devices ring for which accounts.

This guide applies to iOS 10 or later for iPads and iPhones.

How to Adjust FaceTime Settings

  1. Open the iPad's or iPhone's Settings app. (Use Spotlight Search to find it quickly.)

  2. In Settings, scroll down the left-side menu and select FaceTime. This will bring up the FaceTime settings on the right-hand side. (On iPhones, scroll down and tap FaceTime to bring up FaceTime settings.)

  3. Look for the section You Can Be Reached By FaceTime At and tap to remove the checkmark next to any phone number or email address for which you don't want to receive FaceTime calls. Tap to add a checkmark for any you want to be active. You can also add a new email address to the list.

    FaceTime's settings, with two emails checked so FaceTime calls can be limited

  4. FaceTime calls will now ring only for the accounts you've selected.

The Blocked button displays a list of all email addresses and phone numbers blocked from FaceTime. These callers won't ever ring on your devices. Add New allows you to add more blocked numbers, while Edit lets you remove numbers.