How to Start a Group Video Call on WhatsApp

WhatsApp lets up to 32 people join one video call at the same time, which is plenty for a whole family across several homes. The feature is free, already built into the app you use for messages, and you do not need to download anything extra. This walkthrough shows you exactly where to tap, starting from the moment you open WhatsApp.

What you need before you start

Everyone you want on the call needs WhatsApp installed on their phone and your number saved in their contacts, or yours in theirs. WhatsApp only calls people who also use WhatsApp. If a family member is not on it yet, they can install it free from the App Store on an iPhone or the Play Store on an Android phone.

You also want a steady internet connection. Home Wi-Fi is best for a group call because video for several people at once needs a decent signal. Sit in the same room as your router, the box that broadcasts your Wi-Fi, if you can. Have your reading glasses handy too, since the buttons are small.

Method 1: Start from an existing group chat

If you already have a family group chat in WhatsApp, this is the quickest route, because everyone is gathered in one place. The call button rings everyone in that group at once.

1. Open WhatsApp by tapping the green speech-bubble icon on your home screen.
2. Tap your family group chat from the list of conversations. You will see all the recent messages.
3. Look at the top right corner. You will see a small video camera icon. Tap it once.
4. Choose who to ring. On a larger group, WhatsApp shows a list with a circle beside each name. Tap the circles for the people you want, up to 31 others. A tick or filled circle means they are selected.
5. Tap the green video camera button at the bottom to start the call. Each person's phone now rings, and their face appears as they answer.

Method 2: Start without a group chat

You do not need a group chat at all. You can ring one person and add others once the call is going, which suits a spur-of-the-moment family chat.

1. Open WhatsApp and tap the Calls tab. On an iPhone it sits along the bottom of the screen; on Android it is along the top.
2. Tap the new-call button. On an iPhone it is a small phone with a plus sign in the top right; on Android it is a green circle in the bottom right.
3. Tap the names of the people you want, then tap the video camera icon to start a video call with all of them at once.
4. To add someone mid-call, tap the screen so the buttons appear, find the person-with-a-plus icon, and choose another contact. They will be rung and dropped straight into the call.

What you will see during the call

Each person appears in their own small rectangle on your screen, like squares on a quilt. With many people on the call, the boxes shrink to fit, and whoever is speaking is usually highlighted with a brighter outline. You can tap any one box to make that person fill the whole screen.

Tapping the screen once brings up the control buttons, which fade away on their own after a few seconds so they do not block the faces. The two buttons you will use most are the microphone and the camera. A line through either one means it is switched off.

Muting yourself when you are not talking

On a call with several homes, background noise from every kitchen and television stacks up and makes everyone hard to hear. Muting your microphone when you are listening keeps the call clear, and you simply tap the mic again when you want to speak. The picture of your face stays on the whole time, so no one feels you have left.

If a call sounds like a jumble of echoes and clatter, ask everyone to mute except the person speaking. This one habit transforms a chaotic family call into a calm one. Children especially tend to leave a noisy room behind their microphone.

Ending or leaving the call

To leave, tap the screen and then tap the red phone button. Leaving only removes you. The rest of the family carries on chatting without you, which is exactly what you want if you need to slip away early. There is no way to accidentally cut everyone else off by hanging up your own line.

If you started the call, you do not have any special power to end it for everybody, and that is by design. Each person controls only their own connection. So feel free to drop off whenever you like without worrying that you will spoil it for the others.

Two ways to make calls better

Switching to the front or back camera

Your phone has two cameras, and a video call normally uses the front one so your face appears while you look at the screen. Tapping the flip-camera button, a small camera icon with two curved arrows, swaps to the camera on the back of the phone. This lets you show the family something instead of yourself, such as a new grandchild, a garden, or a birthday cake.

To swap back to your own face, tap the same button again. People often forget the back camera exists, yet it turns a plain chat into a little tour. Hold the phone steady and move slowly, since fast movement is the main thing that blurs the picture for everyone watching.

Using a tablet for a bigger picture

A larger screen makes everyone's faces easier to see, so if you own a tablet such as an iPad, WhatsApp works there too once it is set up. The buttons sit in the same places and the steps above are identical, just roomier. For a family call with several boxes on screen, the extra size is a real help to older eyes.

Standing the tablet up against a few books, or in a simple stand that costs around 10 to 20 US dollars, frees both your hands and keeps the camera steady. You can then sit back comfortably rather than holding a phone at arm's length for half an hour. Many people find this far less tiring on a long Sunday call.

If someone cannot get the call to work

When one relative keeps dropping out, the cause is nearly always their internet rather than yours. Ask them to move closer to their own router or to close any film they are streaming. A weak signal at their end freezes their picture, not the whole call.

If a person never receives the call at all, check that you have their correct number saved and that they actually have WhatsApp installed. Calling a number with no WhatsApp simply does nothing. A quick text message first, asking are you on WhatsApp, saves a lot of confusion before a big family call.

Once you have run a group call or two, it becomes second nature, and a Sunday catch-up with children and grandchildren in different cities turns into a few taps. Start with two or three people to find your feet, then build up to the full family the next time. If something does go wrong, nobody is left with a bill and nothing on the phone is harmed, so there is no reason to feel nervous about trying. The worst that can happen is you hang up and ring again, and within a few attempts the whole thing feels as easy as answering an ordinary phone call.