WhatsApp Calls: An In-depth Guide To All You Should Know
Mehvish Mushtaq is a computer engineer by degree. Her love for Android and gadgets led her to develop the first Android app for Kashmir. Known as Dial Kashmir, she won the prestigious Nari Shakti award from the President of India. She has been writing about technology for 6+ years and her favorite categories include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, social media, and web apps.
Arshmeet has been a tech tinkerer since childhood, but she realized her love for technology and writing about 5 years ago. Since then, she has been honing her skills and helping people figure out how things work, troubleshoot problems, choose the right app and products, and dig deep into the new and old concepts of technology. She is a self-professed Apple Enthusiast who loves debating what’s good and what’s not. It is her passion for finding techniques, hacks, apps, and products that make everyday life simpler.
How to Make a WhatsApp Call
Calling people on WhatsApp is a cakewalk. On both Android and iPhone, all you need to do isopen the contact in WhatsApp whom you want to call, and then press thevoice callbutton or thevideo callbutton.
How to Identify WhatsApp Calls
All incoming WhatsApp calls show the WhatsApp text to distinguish it from regular phone calls. You will either find it in the status baror on the WhatsApp call screen.
How to Answer and Reject WhatsApp Calls
The method to answer or reject the call changes whether your phone is locked or not. Let’s check it separately for Android and iPhone
On Android
On the iPhone
How to Switch Between Voice and Video Calls
If you are on a voice call with someone, you can switch to a video call by tapping thevideo buttonon the call screen. Notably, the call will not be connected automatically. The other person will receive a notification that you are trying to video call them and they’ll have to accept it before the call can switch.
You can also switch fromvideo to voice callsin WhatsApp. For that, tap thevideo buttonto turn it off.
How to Make Group Calls on WhatsApp
Yes, our beloved WhatsApp supports group calling too. You can have up to 32 or fewer participants in WhatsApp group video calls. And the participants don’t need to be from a WhatsApp group only. You can have a group call without aWhatsApp grouptoo.
There are three ways to make a group call on WhatsApp.
Method 1: From the Group
Open thegroup chatand tap thevoice callorvideo callicon from the top. WhatsApp will immediately call all participants in the call.
Notably, if there are more than 32 people in the group, tapGroup info. TapVoice chat, thenStart voice chat.
Method 2: Make a Group Video Call From an Individual Chat
First, you need to call one contact, go to theirchat, and tapvideo or voice calloption. Tap theAdd Personicon. Next, find the person you want to add to the group call and tapAdd. For more participants tap the contact icon.
Method 3: From the Calls Tab
For that, go to theCalls tabon your Android or iPhone. Tap the+iconfrom the top (iOS interface) ornew call icon bottom (Android). Startselecting the participants,remember you can select up to 31 people. Once done tap thevoiceorvideocall button.
There’s also an option to create a link and invite other WhatsApp users to join the voice or video call. Just likeiMessageor Zoom calls, you can create a link and share it with people.
How to Check WhatsApp Call Duration
You will find all the details about your previous WhatsApp calls under theCalls tabin WhatsApp.Tap thei icon(iPhone) or thecontact name(Android) to check the call duration. You will see a detailed call log with time, duration, and even the data consumed during the call.
How to Delete Calls or Missed Calls on WhatsApp
To delete call(s) from WhatsApp’s call log, go to theCalls tabin WhatsApp.
On Android, long-tap the call you want to delete. Select all the calls you want to delete and tap theDelete iconfrom the top-right corner.
On iPhone,swipe lefton the contact name under the Calls tab. Tap Delete. Notably, you can’t bulk delete calls on iPhone, you’ll have to manually delete each call or clear the complete call log (as shown below).
How to Clear WhatsApp Call Log
Instead of deleting calls one by one, you canclear the entire call historyin one shot.
On Android,open theCalls tab→ tap thethree-dot iconfrom the top-right corner →Clear call log→Okto confirm.
On iPhone, go to theCalls tab→ tap thethree-dot iconfrom the top-left corner →Edit. Then, tapClear→Clear call historyto confirm. Here, you can also just delete all the missed calls, go to the Missed tab, and repeat the steps above.
How to Reduce Data Used in Calls
If you feel WhatsApp is consuming a lot of data, you can reduce it using the built-in setting in WhatsApp. For that, go toWhatsApp Settings>Data and Storageusage. Enable the toggle next toLow data usage.
Call Waiting on WhatsApp
WhatsApp also offers acall waitingfunctionality, i.e., if you are on a WhatsApp call and someone else calls you on WhatsApp or outside of WhatsApp, you will now be notified about it.
You will see two options (End & AcceptandDecline) under call waiting. The former will end the existing call and connect you to the new call. The Decline option will reject the new call and keep you connected to the existing call.
Tip: If yourWhatsApp calls aren’t ringing on your iPhone or Android, check out the link for possible solutions.
How to Silence Unkown Callers on WhatsApp
Anyone who has your number can call you on WhatsApp, their number doesn’t need to be saved in your contacts. And while you can’t stop unknown callers from calling, you can change privacy settings to mute their calls.
Go toWhatsApp Settings→Privacy→Calls→ toggle onSilence unknown callers.
Notably, you’ll see the silenced call in your call logs on WhatsApp’s Calls tab and phone.
Note: If you message or call an unknown number, WhatsApp will not consider them as an unknown caller (whether you save their number or not). So the call will ring as per usual after you’ve contacted them.
How to Protect Your IP Address on WhatsApp Calls
Someone can track your location via your IP address metadata during calls made through the internet (including WhatsApp). WhatsApp allows you to hide the IP address by redirecting calls through their servers.
To do so, go toWhatsApp Settings→Privacy→Advanced→ toggle on ‘Protect IP address in calls‘.
Note: Since the call is redirected through WhatsApp servers, it may reduce the call quality.
Change WhatsApp call tone(Android)
While the iPhone doesn’t allow you to change the ringtone specifically for WhatsApp (it’s the same for all calls), Android has that feature.
Go toWhatsApp Settings→Notifications→ tapRingtoneunder the Calls section → Select the ringtone of your choice.
FAQs For WhatsApp Calls
As of now,WhatsApp Webdoesn’t support voice or video calls. However, You can make WhatsApp calls from your computer by downloading WhatsApp for Windows or WhatsApp for Mac.
Kind of. They won’t be considered under the normal calling plan of your network operator. However, since WhatsApp consumes data, an amount may be charged depending on your internet plan, especially if you exceed the data limit.
Any of the participants can disconnect the WhatsApp call. If there are only two participants, then the call will be disconnected from both sides. In the case of group calls, the call will continue for the rest of the participants even if you disconnect it from your side.
You cannot remove a participant from a group call, even if you are a group admin. The person would need to disconnect the call on their own. Alternatively, all the participants would have to disconnect the call and create a group call again without the said person.
Yes, WhatsApp calls will appear in your phone’s call history (unless you have deleted the call).
No. Being online isn’t a requirement for WhatsApp calls. Your phone will still ring even if you aren’t using WhatsApp.
Yes and no. It will ring from your side, but since the receiver doesn’t have the app, they will not be notified about it.
It will ring from their end, but you’ll obviously get no notification. The same is the case for internet unavailability orAirplane Mode.
Sometimes, when you are talking to someone via WhatsApp chat, and you try calling them, you might get ‘The person is unavailable’ error. That mostly happens if the person is in a country whereWhatsApp calling isn’t available such as UAE.
A call not answered means the person didn’t pick up the call. They might be busy or out of reach area. Notably, when you call someone on WhatsApp, and they disconnect the call, then you will get the call declined message.
While a normal call has precedence over a WhatsApp call and the platform offers call-waiting services, the caller will not be notified. The call will ring like usual on their end and the declined message if you decline the call.
While there is no official comment on the topic, a WhatsApp call usually rings as long as your normal phone ringing duration.
When youblock a person, you cannot call or message them unless you unblock them. However, from the other end, the message will be sent and the call will ring normally, but you’ll not get the call or message or their notification. That’s done so that it doesn’t become apparent that you have blocked them.
No. WhatsApp calls will not show up in the itemized section of your phone bill.
No, sadly,you cannot disable the calling feature. However, you can disable WhatsApp call notifications, silence unknown callers, or block someone from contacting you. But note that you can’t block WhatsApp video or voice calls only without affecting the messages.
There are many reasons for that, such as network issues, microphone problems, etc. We have done a detailed troubleshooting post on how to fixWhatsApp calls not working. Check it out.
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Last updated on 30 July, 2024
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