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Britta O'Boyle, Deputy editor
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Explainer Provides context or background, definition and detail on a specific topic.
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(Pocket-lint) - WhatsApp has long offered voice and video calls through its iPhone and Android apps, but the feature is also available on its desktop app.
Making a voice or video call using WhatsApp's desktop app works in both portrait and landscape orientation, and appears in a resizeable standalone window on your computer so you have the freedom to move it around. It is also set to always be on top.
Currently, the feature is only available for one-to-one calls, but WhatsApp has said it has plans to include group voice and video calls in the future. All voice and video calls on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted.
Here's how to make a voice or video call using WhatsApp desktop and what you need.
To make or receive a voice or video call using WhatsApp desktop, you will need the following:
It's worth noting that WhatsApp Desktop calling is only supported on MacOS 10.13 and newer, and Windows 10 64-bit version 1903 and newer.
Follow these super easy steps to make a voice call using WhatsApp desktop.
You can mute or unmute your microphone by clicking the microphone icon during the call.
It's also possible to switch from a voice call to a video call during the call - more on that below.
To make a video call using WhatsApp desktop, follow the simple steps below:
As with voice calling, you can mute or unmute your microphone by clicking the microphone icon during the call. You can also turn your camera off by tapping on the camera icon during the call.
During a voice call with a contact, you can ask to switch to a video call, like you can with Apple's FaceTime for example.
To switch between a voice call and a video call using WhatsApp desktop, follow the steps below:
Answering a voice or video call on WhatsApp desktop is very simple.
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Three options will appear when someone voice calls you or video calls you and you have WhatsApp Desktop on and connected to your WhatsApp account.
Accept will accept the call. Decline will decline the call and Ignore or "x" will ignore the call.
Writing by Britta O'Boyle.
Sections WhatsApp Apps
For a long time, WhatsApp only offered texting and voice/video calls through its Android and iPhone apps. Fortunately, this feature is now available for desktop computers, too. The desktop app looks exactly like the one on your phone, so it’s easy to adapt to it.
If you want to learn how to make a WhatsApp Video Call on Windows 10, make sure to read this article.
Before getting into making a video call through your desktop app, let’s talk about setting up WhatsApp.
That’s it! Your WhatsApp phone app will have synced with your desktop app, and you’ll see all your chats on your computer.
You can now use your desktop app to send messages or make phone & video calls.
Tip: The WhatsApp desktop app is not the same as WhatsApp Web. The latter is a platform that you access through your browser. Like with the desktop app, you also need to scan a QR code to access WhatsApp Web, but the difference is that you won’t be able to make phone or video calls through a browser. You’ll have to install the app for that.
Certain requirements and equipment are needed to set up WhatsApp on your device and make a video call.
Now that you’ve set up WhatsApp and checked your equipment, we can discuss the steps of making a video call. It’s important to know that it’s not possible at this time to make group calls on your desktop app. However, you can call any individual by following these steps:
When someone’s trying to call you on WhatsApp, you’ll have three options:
While it was designed as an addition to your phone’s app, there is a way to use the WhatsApp desktop app even without your phone.
This is possible through an emulator app such as BlueStacks. These apps essentially create an Android environment on your Windows so you can use your computer like an Android phone.
To use WhatsApp with BlueStacks, follow these steps:
Done! Now you can use WhatsApp on your computer without your phone.
Due to the similarities between the phone and the desktop app, you will have no trouble figuring out how to use WhatsApp. Let’s review some of the options on your desktop app.
If you don’t want to make a video call, you can also make a phone call directly on your desktop app.
Here is how you can do this:
If you’re in the middle of a phone call on WhatsApp and want to show the other person something, you can easily switch to a video call by pressing the camera icon at the top-right corner of your app.
To switch from a video to a phone call, press the call icon at the top-right corner.
You can decide to enable/disable your mic during a phone or video call. Simply press the mic icon on your screen to turn it on/off.
Since the desktop app is connected to your phone, you have access to all the settings. This means you can change your profile picture, name, and status. You can also customize notifications, themes, keyboard shortcuts, etc.
There are several differences between the two:
1. You need internet access to make a WhatsApp call. Unlike regular calls, WhatsApp calls are routed through the internet. This means both you and the recipient must be online.
2. You need a smartphone to use WhatsApp. If you want to make a regular call, you can use any mobile or a landline phone. However, if you want to use WhatsApp and make calls through it, both you and the recipient must do it on a smartphone. You won’t be able to install the app otherwise.
3. WhatsApp calls are free, subject to data charges.
4. If you have a poor internet connection, you might have trouble establishing a connection on WhatsApp. Regular cellphone calls do not depend on your internet connection.
5. WhatsApp international calls – it doesn’t matter if you’re calling the person next to you or someone on the other side of the world. With regular calls, you may have to worry about international calling rates.
6. Higher security with WhatsApp calls. WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption covers messages, phone, and video calls. The app scrambles the data extracted from your phone, which others will need a code to unscramble. As such, no one else can eavesdrop on your conversations or look at your messages.
7. You can’t call a landline phone with WhatsApp. If you’re trying to call someone via WhatsApp, you should know that you’re only able to call people who have the app. That means you can’t call landlines or any other cell phones that don’t have WhatsApp installed.
8. You can make a video call with WhatsApp. Unlike regular calls, you can choose between a phone and a video call in WhatsApp. You may prefer the latter when calling certain people.
As you can see, regular calls and WhatsApp calls are different in many ways. Even though you can live without either of those, it’s recommended to have access to both.
Over the past decades, the internet has enabled us to communicate with people all around the world without having to worry about the phone bill.
A variety of apps have made it easy to contact people thousands of miles away with just a few clicks. WhatsApp is one of those apps that allow you to make voice or video calls or text anyone, anywhere.
We hope this guide has been helpful and you’ve learned how to make a WhatsApp video call on Windows.
Have you ever used WhatsApp to make a call? Tell us in the comment section below.
WhatsApp is one of the most convenient and popular instant messengers, because it allows you to communicate using text messages and voice calls absolutely free. After installing the application, the shortcut automatically appears on the desktop. Clicking on it opens a list of contacts that you can call or write messages. However, many users are faced with a problem when the WhatsApp icon has disappeared and the application cannot be launched on the phone. The following recommendations will help you return the shortcut and enjoy your communication further.
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Contents
After that, the disappeared WhatsApp icon will return to the desktop and launching the messenger will become much easier. This algorithm is designed for users of mobile phones operating on the Android OS, but it is also suitable for iPhone owners. If the above option did not help restore the WhatsApp icon, you should try the next method. nine0003
System errors, crashes and inaccurate actions of the users themselves can lead to the disappearance of the WhatsApp application shortcut from the phone screen.
It cannot be ruled out that a person accidentally deleted the messenger when he was clearing the device’s memory in order to install a game or application that occupies a large amount of internal memory. To reinstall WhatsApp, you need to go to the Play Market store. It is installed by default on most Android smartphones, with the exception of mobile phones from the Chinese corporation Huawei. Their owners will have to use the AppGallery proprietary software using the following instructions:
Often there is no need to reinstall the application. If the icon has disappeared from the desktop, you can try to return it by simply restarting your smartphone.
To do this, you need to hold down the on / off button of the device or use the corresponding key in the mobile phone menu. Often the problem is caused by clogged memory, which slows down the work of both individual applications and the operating system as a whole. Before clearing the cache, you need to make sure that this action will not lead to a return to the factory settings. nine0003
Many users of Android smartphones and Iphones, in order to make the process of communication in the messenger as comfortable as possible, put chat icons on the desktop surface. After clicking on such a shortcut, the desired dialog automatically opens. If the chat icon disappears, you can add it again by following the step-by-step instructions:
It is most convenient to create a separate section (folder) and place the most important dialogs in it, which will greatly simplify chat navigation. A quick transition to the desired dialog will be carried out by clicking on the corresponding icon. In this case, you do not need to launch the messenger every time and enter the chat through the general menu. nine0003
If the WhatsApp icon on your phone has disappeared, don't worry. First you need to look for the lost shortcut in the installed applications section, and if found, drag it to the desktop. If this option did not help to return the icon, it is recommended to clear the cache and then reinstall WhatsApp by downloading the installation file from the Play Market, AppStore or AppGallery (only for smartphones from the Chinese manufacturer Huawei). You can simplify chat navigation by adding icons of the necessary dialogs to the screen.
To do this, you need to launch WhatsApp and use the option "Adding a chat icon to the screen." nine0003
- BE WHERE YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE!
Register to your landline number
"Hello Incognito" WhatsApp Business and Chat
with customers using the most famous
in Russia messenger!
69%
residents of Russia use
whatsapp for personal use
and for work
70%
WhatsApp users nine0073 actively communicate every day
via messenger
23
exactly so many times on average
user checks
WhatsApp messages
90%
users
reply to messages
in the messenger
Messenger WhatsApp is currently one of the most popular mobile applications both in Russia and around the world.
"Allo Incognito" offers to set up one of the most effective communication channels with customers using your main landline phone number! Just register a number in the WhatsApp Business app! nine0003
BENEFITS
WHATSAPP BUSINESS
CONTROL
conduct correspondence with clients on behalf of the official company account
,
and not from the personal accounts of your managers.
SPEED
consult and receive applications via
WhatsApp immediately after receiving the message,
or send out messages.
EFFICIENCY
increase lead to sale conversion
more than 30%
VARIETY
Use whatsapp as online chat
website. And in combination with the Feedback Widget
, other channels will become available to you.
SAFETY
customers will always be able to distinguish messages
from a verified business account from spam
from a regular number.
AVAILABILITY
WhatsApp Business supports desktop version
- you can reply
clients through the web version.
ATTRACTIVENESS
Create a
company profile with additional information for the convenience of
customers: email address, website, physical
address and list of services.
ANALYTICS
WhatsApp Business keeps statistics:
how many messages were sent,
delivered and read. The data will be useful
to analyze the effectiveness of mailings.
WHATSAPP BUSINESS:
"HALLO INCOGNITO" EXPERIENCE
In February 2019, we implemented WhatsApp Business on our Customer Service landline number and, a bit later, on our Sales Service number. Up to this point, we have been interacting with clients on WhatsApp for several years, periodically this communication was carried out from the service mobile numbers of our managers.
As a result, our clients had different contact details of our company on their phones, while our correspondence with clients was in different accounts. But the main thing is that the correspondence in WhatsApp had to be initiated by the employees themselves, and when receiving a message from an unfamiliar mobile number, the client first of all had a completely logical suspicion that this message was from scammers.
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After the implementation of WhatsApp Business with support for the official city numbers listed on our website, the number of requests from customers began to grow exponentially. The speed of solving any issues has also increased - after all, the client could simply write from his smartphone, without wasting time logging into mail services, dialing a number and waiting on the line.
All the customer needs to do is save our company's official Support/Sales Service number in their directory and send WhatsApp messages to us as needed. nine0003
ON ALLO INCOGNITO NUMBERS
Download the WhatsApp Business app
The app is available for download on both Google Play and the AppStore.
Enter and verify the phone number you will use for WhatsApp Business.
You can enter both a mobile and landline phone number for Allo Incognito.
If you have indicated a city number, you need to request a phone call by selecting the "Call me" item. When you receive a call, you will be prompted with a six-digit code that must be entered for confirmation. nine0003
Enter your company name
After confirmation, enter your company name and create your profile. To do this, go to the section "Other options" - "Settings" - and click on the name of your company.
OPTIONAL
POSSIBILITIES
Congratulations!
To your landline number
now you can not only
call but also write!
Use WhatsApp Business
together with the already established
WhatsApp messenger, because business
version is a separate application.
Set up automatic replies
and send the necessary information,
if the user writes to you
outside business hours.
