Fix FaceTime “The Server Encountered An Error Processing Registration†Error.
Facetime is one of the most reliable and intuitive video calling apps in the world, so Apple is sorry to have it with you. Of course, no software is perfect, and from time to time users may encounter the “server encountered an error while processing registration” error. Usually at the most inopportune moment!
What does this error mean?
The meaning of the somewhat cryptic error message is pretty simple. FaceTime tries to authenticate you to the service, but something goes wrong. It is especially frustrating when it seems that you are doing everything right. Using an Apple ID that works for everything else but FaceTime.
Unfortunately, this single error can have multiple causes, which means you have to rely a little on trial and error to fix it. We’ll look at a variety of fix options, from the simplest to the most difficult.
The tips and tricks below are for Mac users. If you’re having trouble with your iOS device, start here
Are you really?
Don’t assume that this transaction between your computer and the remote server is necessarily your own computer’s fault. Try checking social media or official Apple feeds for signs of service disruption or other general issues.
If other people are also having similar problems at the same time as you, then it is worth waiting a while to see if the problem resolves itself.
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Update, update, update
Yes, that’s simple, tedious advice. However, running the latest version of macOS and having the latest version of Facetime won’t hurt. Whatever problem is causing this error, it can be resolved in newer versions of the software. This means you don’t have to worry about troubleshooting.
Restart your Mac and your internet connection or try a different internet connection
Perform a cold boot on your Mac and reboot your router or other device that provides an Internet connection. Just in case something strange happens to your internet connection.
If you can’t reset your Internet connection settings, it doesn’t mean that there is a problem with your Internet connection. Try using a device that gives an error on another internet connection, such as a temporary hotspot on your smartphone.
If switching connections doesn’t help completely, and it’s not a problem that anyone else seems to be having, then the problem might be with your device. However, in order to understand this, we need one more diagnostic step.
Try a different device
Of course, this may not be for everyone, but if you have another Mac, iPad, or iPhone with Facetime, try using that and see if the problem persists. Otherwise, we can be sure that this is a local problem on your Mac.
If he follows you from one device to another, you will have to wait out the server-side problem or contact Apple Support to check if there is something wrong with your Apple ID.
Sign out and back in
If you’ve determined that the problem only occurs on your Mac, the next step is to sign out of your Apple ID in FaceTime and then sign in again. It’s pretty easy to do:
- Open FaceTime
- Click FaceTime Preferences
- Click Sign Out
You will then see this login page, where you can try login again.
Check the date and time
Is the data and time on your Mac correct? Just go to the Date & Time utility (the fastest using Spotlight search) and check if the date and time are correct.
You should also check if the automatic date and time option is set so that your Mac gets the correct date and time from the Internet every time you connect.
Old, unsupported methods
If you were looking for a solution to this “server encountered an error processing registration” problem, you’ve probably come across a series of tutorials and articles from 2010 to 2015 that detail various ways to resolve this issue. While some of this information is still relevant, there are two that don’t seem to be relevant anymore.
The first is related to editing the hosts file on macOS. While there are various reasons to mess around with this file, we can’t find any evidence that this particular FaceTime error has anything to do with the macOS hosts file, so we don’t recommend you get involved in that case.
Another commonly cited fix is ??looking for a specific certificate in the Keychain Access app and deleting it. In our time, this is no longer relevant. Indeed, the certificate in question does not seem to even exist anymore. So feel free to ignore this tip if you run into it too.
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