How to configure the default app to open tel: links in MacOS X?

When clicking tel: links in Safari, such as:

<a href="tel:+3361234567890">call</a>

the FaceTime app opens. How can I configure it to open Skype instead?

Benjamin

Posted 2016-10-06T13:42:11.227

Reputation: 629

Answers

You can change it using a utility called RCDefaultApp - freeware - which installs as a Control Panel. It's old but still works right up to El Capitan [I've not tested on Sierra but see no real reason it shouldn't still work.]

Look for 'tel' in the URLs list & change...

Tetsujin

Posted 2016-10-06T13:42:11.227

Reputation: 22 456

1Thank you! I'm surprised this tool doesn't belong to MacOS though, or that Safari doesn't provide an explicit setting for this... – Benjamin – 2016-10-06T21:53:40.647

1Yeah , strangely it's never been in the OS itself, not as far back as I can recall... which is System 6.0.6 The last browser to be able to do it, iirc, was Internet Explorer for Mac, back in Mac OS 9. RCDefaultFolder has been the go-to app for this since about 2004. – Tetsujin – 2016-10-07T05:54:02.127

Works on Sierra 10.12. – Mladen Janjetovic – 2017-11-09T09:27:23.887

You can change this without an extra app via the preferences in FaceTime. On the Setting tab change the last entry "Default for calls" to Skype. At least this way works for Skype for Business.

Michael Koegel

Posted 2016-10-06T13:42:11.227

Reputation: 41

Alas no more. That option isn't there on my FaceTime 4 on High Sierra – Chris F Carroll – 2018-03-08T11:21:48.070

The option is available in Catalina. – nick – 2020-02-13T12:41:16.307

That FaceTime setting is still available on Mojave.

FaceTime/ Preferences/ Settings/ 'Default for calls' popup list

Anonymous coward

Posted 2016-10-06T13:42:11.227

Reputation: 31