iPhone Live Translation can add spoken translations to Phone calls and translated captions to FaceTime. It does not make either call fully offline. Prepare the required language downloads on a compatible iPhone, but keep the call’s connection separate from the translation feature. FaceTime still uses WiFi or cellular internet, and a phone call still has to connect through an available calling service.
This guide uses Apple’s documentation checked November 4, 2026, with menu details from the current iOS 27 guides. It is not a translation-accuracy test. Earlier software can have different controls, and language or regional availability can differ between features.
Choose the right translation task
| What you are doing | What to expect | Connection to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| A call in the Phone app | Spoken translation and on-screen text | The call must connect through your available phone service |
| A supported one-to-one FaceTime call | Translated live captions | WiFi or cellular internet for FaceTime |
| A conversation with someone beside you | A separate Translate app workflow | Downloaded-language offline support is a different question from connecting a remote call |
If you are ordering food across a counter, do not start a phone call just to translate. Our Google Translate versus Apple Translate guide covers nearby conversations, camera translation and downloaded languages. The instructions below are for talking to somebody elsewhere.
Check the iPhone and download both languages first
Start with Apple’s current Apple Intelligence requirements. Supported iPhones include iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 16 models and later, and other models explicitly listed there. A regular iPhone 15 is not on that list. Installing an iOS update does not add the necessary hardware to an unsupported phone.
The requirements page lists Live Translation among features supported from iOS 26 onward; iOS 27 is not the first version with the feature. Device and Siri languages must match a supported choice, and model downloads must finish. The broader Apple Intelligence language list is not the same as the narrower Phone and FaceTime translation list. Check the specific language pair before relying on it for a trip.
Apple’s iOS 27 language-download settings use Settings, Apps, Translate and Languages. Download the languages you will translate between while you have a suitable connection. A language name in a selector is not evidence that its download has completed.
The same settings guide describes Automatic and Always under On-Device Translation for the Translate app. Automatic uses downloaded languages locally but can use Apple’s servers otherwise; Always uses downloaded languages on the phone. Do not mistake that app setting for a switch that supplies a missing FaceTime or telephone connection.
Start Live Translation during a Phone call
Apple’s Live Translation instructions give this Phone app sequence:
- Start a call in the Phone app.
- During the call, open More and choose Live Translation.
- Choose the other person’s language and download it if prompted.
- Tap Start Translation.
Both parties are alerted that translation is running. The call can switch to speaker if you are not already using speaker or headphones. Check your surroundings before starting it in a station, office or shared room. You can hear spoken translations and read the transcription, rather than expecting the other person to wait while you switch to a separate translation app.
Speak in short turns and confirm important details such as a booking time, address or price. A fluent-sounding translation is not proof that a name or number is correct. Keep the original detail available in writing when a mistake would disrupt your plans.
FaceTime uses translated captions, with version-specific controls
Apple’s iOS 27 FaceTime caption guide describes translated captions for supported one-to-one calls, after downloading the input and output languages. Show the call controls, open More and turn on Live Captions. When the other person speaks a different supported language, captions can be translated into your preferred language.
There is a documentation difference worth knowing: Apple’s general Live Translation help page describes More, Live Translation, language selection and Start Translation in FaceTime. The iOS 27 guide describes the Live Captions route. Follow the guide and controls for your installed version, rather than assuming a missing older label proves your phone cannot translate.
Captions and spoken replacement audio are different results. For FaceTime, plan to read the translated captions; do not promise the Phone app’s spoken-translation behavior to another caller. Apple also warns that caption accuracy varies and that captions should not be relied on in emergencies or other high-risk situations.
On-device AI does not make the call free or disconnected
Apple describes Live Translation as running on the device. That describes the translation feature, not a way to reach another person with all connections turned off. Apple’s FaceTime connection guide describes calls over WiFi or cellular. Language downloads do not replace that connection.
Check the costs of the call you are actually making. International phone-call charges and cellular internet charges are separate questions. A FaceTime call on hotel WiFi and one on roaming mobile data should not be treated as the same billing situation. Our data roaming settings guide explains why voice, messages and data need separate checks.
This guide does not assign a fixed MB-per-minute figure to translated calls. The call type and connection still matter. Nor does local translation prove that every part of the call or every app on the phone stays on the device. Do not turn off essential connectivity midway through a call to test an offline claim.
If Live Translation is missing, check in this order
- Confirm the phone model and software version, then Apple Intelligence availability for that device, language and region.
- Confirm the specific Phone or FaceTime language pair. Support in Messages or the standalone Translate app does not establish support in calls.
- Finish the required model and language downloads before repeating the check.
- Check the call’s controls for your iOS version, including the Live Captions route in the current FaceTime guide.
- If the call itself cannot connect, fix that separate service problem first. Repeatedly changing translation settings cannot create missing coverage.
Try a short, ordinary call with someone who knows you are checking the feature before relying on it for an important conversation. Confirm that both of you understand the result, not just that a button appeared. You do not need to erase personal files, reset every network setting or purchase new earbuds to start this eligibility check.
