How to Make a Video Call on WhatsApp (Android, Step by Step)

WhatsApp video calls are free over Wi-Fi and use no minutes from your phone plan. The app is the most common way families stay in touch across distances, and a video call works the same whether the person you are calling is in the next town or another country. All you need is the app installed, the person saved as a contact, and a working internet connection.

This walkthrough is written for an Android phone, which covers Samsung, Google Pixel, Motorola, and most other non-Apple phones. The buttons sit in slightly different spots from one brand to another, but the green WhatsApp icon and the symbols inside it are the same everywhere. Take it one step at a time, and you can stop after any step without breaking anything.

What you need before you start

You need the WhatsApp app on your phone. It is the green square icon with a white telephone inside a speech bubble. If you do not see it on your home screen, it may live in your app drawer, which you open by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. WhatsApp is free to download from the Play Store, the place where Android phones get their apps.

The person you want to call also needs WhatsApp on their phone, and they need to be saved as a contact in your phone with the correct mobile number. WhatsApp finds your contacts automatically, so once your daughter or grandson is in your phone book and has the app, they appear inside WhatsApp ready to call. A video call uses the front camera, the small lens on the same side as your screen, so the other person sees your face while you see theirs.

Wi-Fi is the connection you have at home through your internet box. When your phone is on Wi-Fi, video calls use no mobile data at all. You can also make the call on mobile data when you are out, and it still does not use phone minutes, though it does nibble a little of your data allowance.

If WhatsApp is not on your phone yet, you install it once and never again. Tap the Play Store icon, the white triangle made of colours, type WhatsApp into the search bar at the top, and tap the green Install button next to the official one from WhatsApp LLC. When it opens, it asks for your phone number, sends you a text with a code to confirm it is really you, and then you are set up. A family member can do this part for you in five minutes if you would rather not, and there is nothing to pay at any point.

Step by step: place a video call

1. Tap the green WhatsApp icon to open the app.
2. Look at the row of words across the top: Chats, Updates, Calls, and Communities. Tap Chats if you are not already there.
3. Find the name of the person you want to call in your list of chats and tap their name once. Their chat screen opens, showing any messages you have sent each other.
4. Look at the very top right of that screen. You will see a small video camera icon next to a telephone icon. Tap the video camera icon.
5. The call starts ringing straight away. You will see your own face in a small window while you wait for the other person to answer.
6. When they answer, their face fills the screen. Hold the phone up so the camera can see you, roughly an arm's length from your face.
7. To end the call, tap anywhere on the screen so the buttons appear, then tap the red telephone button at the bottom.

If you cannot find the person in your chat list because you have never messaged them, tap the Calls tab at the top instead. Tap the green telephone-and-plus icon at the bottom right, find the name in the list that appears, and tap the video camera icon beside it. That places the same video call without needing an existing chat.

How to answer a video call

When someone calls you, your phone rings and the screen lights up with the caller's name and a moving preview of their camera. If your phone is unlocked, you see a green video icon to accept and a red one to decline. Tap the green icon to answer, or slide it upward on some phones. The other person then appears on your screen.

If your phone is locked when the call comes in, you may see a circle you need to swipe up to answer and swipe down to reject. There is no wrong move here. If you decline by mistake, the call simply ends and you can ring the person straight back using the steps above. Declining a call never sends anything rude to the caller.

The buttons you see during a call

During a video call, a row of round buttons sits along the bottom of the screen. They fade away after a few seconds so the picture is not cluttered, and tapping the screen once brings them back. Knowing what each one does removes most of the worry about pressing the wrong thing.

None of these buttons can delete anything, charge you money, or call the wrong person. They only change what happens during that one call. If you mute yourself and forget, you will see a small crossed-out microphone on the screen as a reminder, and one tap brings your voice back.

Group video calls with the whole family

WhatsApp lets up to 32 people share one video call, which is plenty for a Sunday catch-up with children and grandchildren spread across different homes. You start a group call the same way you start a normal one, then add the others. Everyone needs WhatsApp, and the more people who join, the more steady internet helps, so Wi-Fi is best for a big call.

To start one, open a chat with one family member and tap the video camera icon to call them as usual. Once they answer, tap the icon at the top that looks like a person with a small plus sign, then choose the next person to add. Repeat for each family member you want on the call. Alternatively, if you have a group chat already set up, open it and tap the video camera icon at the top right, then select who to ring.

Getting the picture and sound right

A few small habits make every video call clearer for the person on the other end. Sit with a window or lamp in front of you rather than behind you. Light behind your head turns your face into a dark shadow, while light in front lets the camera see you properly. A kitchen table near a window in daytime is close to ideal.

Hold the phone steady at about an arm's length, roughly level with your eyes rather than pointing up from your lap. Resting the phone against a stack of books or a cup frees both hands and stops the picture wobbling, which is far more comfortable on a longer call. If your hands tire, a small phone stand costs only a few dollars and props the phone up for you.

Speak at your normal volume, since the microphone sits at the bottom of the phone and picks you up easily. If a room is noisy, the mute button silences your end between sentences, then one tap brings your voice back when you want to talk. Turning the volume up with the side button makes the other person louder without affecting anything else.

Fixing the most common problems

Most video-call trouble comes from one of a few simple things, and none of them mean your phone is broken. Frozen or blocky video almost always points to a weak internet connection. Move closer to your Wi-Fi box, or end the call and start it again, which often clears it instantly. A short pause while the picture sharpens at the start of a call is normal.

If the other person cannot hear you, check whether you tapped the microphone button by accident, and look for the crossed-out microphone symbol. If they cannot see you, your camera may be turned off or another app may be using it, so close any camera app and call again. When sound is too quiet, press the volume-up button on the side of your phone during the call.

If WhatsApp will not place the call at all, check that you have a connection by opening a web page in your browser. No connection means no calls, so reconnect to Wi-Fi first. Restarting the phone, by holding the side button and choosing restart, fixes a surprising number of one-off glitches and is always safe to do.

When the app itself looks different from these steps, it has probably updated to a newer version, which WhatsApp does every few weeks to stay secure. The icons may shift position, but the video camera symbol stays the same and still sits at the top of a chat. If a feature seems to have vanished, open the Play Store, search for WhatsApp, and tap Update if the button offers it, so your app matches the current layout.

Frequently asked questions

Does a WhatsApp video call cost money? No. Over Wi-Fi it is completely free and uses no phone minutes or texts. On mobile data it uses a little of your data allowance but still costs no call charges.

Can I make a video call to someone in another country? Yes, and it costs the same as calling next door, which is nothing over Wi-Fi. International WhatsApp calls work exactly like local ones, as long as both people have the app and an internet connection.

Do I need to know the person's email or just their phone number? Just their mobile phone number, saved in your contacts. WhatsApp uses phone numbers, not email addresses, to connect people.

What if I do not want to be on camera? Tap the camera button during the call to turn your video off. The other person then only hears your voice, which turns it into a voice call. You can turn your camera back on at any time.

Can people call me when I do not want them to? You can decline any call by tapping the red icon, and your phone will not ring if you set it to silent. You can also block a contact in WhatsApp if needed, and they are never told they have been blocked.

Why does the other person look frozen? That is almost always a weak internet signal on one end. Ending and restarting the call usually fixes it, as does moving nearer to your Wi-Fi box at home.

How many people can join one video call? Up to 32 people can share a single WhatsApp video call, so the whole extended family can be on screen together.

Is WhatsApp safe to use? Yes. Your calls and messages are protected by encryption, which means only you and the person you are talking to can see or hear them. WhatsApp is owned by Meta, the same company behind Facebook, and is used by billions of people worldwide.

Can I switch a normal voice call to a video call? Yes. During a WhatsApp voice call, tap the video camera icon on the screen. The other person gets a prompt to accept the switch to video, and once they tap yes, you both see each other.

Does the other person need the same kind of phone as me? No. WhatsApp works the same across iPhone and Android, so an Android phone can call an iPhone with no trouble at all. Both sides only need the app and an internet connection.

Once you have made one or two video calls, the steps become second nature. Save the people you call most as favourites in your phone, keep WhatsApp updated through the Play Store so the buttons stay familiar, and remember that no button on a call can break your phone or cost you money. The next call is only three taps away.