Apple released iOS 13.6 update on July 15, and it appears to enable FaceTime in the United Arab Emirates.
According to multiple Twitter users and MacMagazine, the iOS 13.6 update on Wednesday appears to have enabled FaceTime support in the Country.
iOS 13.6 is out and it’s official… FACETIME IS AVAILABLE IN UAE. Now I can recieve my phone calls on all my devices 😭! — Saif Alshehhi (@saif_a7med95) July 15, 2020
Local regulatory rules have blocked FaceTime in the UAE. Still, rumours throughout the last few years have suggested that Apple was working with government officials to lift the ban on FaceTime. All phones sold in the United Arab Emirates have FaceTime disabled by default.
How to Enable
MacMagazin says that for FaceTime to work in the UAE, the iPhone needs to be set to another region. This indicates that FaceTime is not yet officially available in the United Arab Emirates.
Apple didn’t announce the introduction of UAE FaceTime support in iOS 13.6. There was no mention of it in Apple’s iOS 13.6 release notes.
FaceTime also used to be banned in Saudi Arabia, but it became available in the iOS 11.3 update.