How to do video call on iphone

You can connect with family, friends, or coworkers through face-to-face video calls. For 1:1 calls, you can use classic Hangouts calling or Google Meet. For group video calls, use Google Meet.

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To use your iPhone or iPad in a Video Call you will need to use the Safari browser unless you have updated to version 14.3+
Use a recent version of Safari or other supported browsers
Allow access to your camera to start a video call
While waiting to be seen
Device not sending the audio stream correctly?
Unable to obtain camera?
Limitations and known issues
Limited support
Not yet supported
Technical issues
Can we do video call on iPhone?
Why can't I make a video call on my iPhone?
Can you video chat between iPhone and Android?

Tip: If you use classic Hangouts to start a Google Meet video call, the number of participants depends on your account type. Learn more about participant limits for Google Meet.

Important: You can no longer download the classic Hangouts app. If you delete or uninstall the classic Hangouts app on your iOS device, you aren't able to reinstall. To continue your conversations, move to the Google Chat app. Learn about the switch from classic Hangouts to Google Chat.

Start a Google Meet video meeting

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To use your iPhone or iPad in a Video Call you will need to use the Safari browser unless you have updated to version 14.3+

Safari is the native browser for Apple devices. If you have iOS 14.3+ you can also use Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Mozilla Firefox for Video Call.

Use a recent version of Safari or other supported browsers You are able to use Safari on both Mac and iOS devices to conduct in-browser calls. Older versions of Safari do not support some of the technology that is required to conduct in-browser calls. You need to use Safari 12 or higher. To get a recent version, update your iPhone software and this will also update Safari. You can also use a recent version of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Mozilla Firefox. As shown in the image on the right.
Allow access to your camera to start a video call On an Apple mobile device, camera access is controlled from the devices "Settings" application. Open "Settings", find "Safari", then scroll down to find "Microphone & Camera access". You can also do the same for other browsers mentioned above on your device. You'll need to activate the microphone and camera access to allow the call to take place.	iPhone and iPad allow camera and microphone
While waiting to be seen While you are waiting to be seen we recommend you don't tab away from the Video Call window. If you switch away from the screen you may not be able to see when your call is answered by your medical practitioner, or your phone may go to sleep. Previously callers on iOS devices that were put on hold would experience their phone screen going to sleep because there was nothing active in their user interface. When that happened, the patient would disappear out of the waiting area, with the patient unaware that this had occurred.	The waiting experience for callers includes a small active video window that enables the patient to see themselves and stops the device going to sleep.
If you receive a phone call while participating in a Video Call using your iPhone, this can stop your microphone working in the video call. You then need to restart the microphone for it be picked up again. To stop this happening you can turn on Do Not Disturb in your iPhone settings. Go to Settings - Do Not Disturb and turn the on/off toggle switch to on. Also select Always. This will send the phone call directly to voicemail and you will not be interrupted. You can also turn on Repeated Calls - so if the same caller rings again the subsequent calls will also not come through and disturb the Video Call. Remember to turn off Do Not Disturb once your video call has ended.
In-call volume slider for iOS devices We have introduced a volume control slider to the Settings drawer of the call screen on iOS devices. Due to an issue with updates to iOS software versions, some users were experiencing low volumes on their calls. We have updated the volume control slider to increase Video Call volume by default to 800%. If the volume is too loud this can be turned down using the device volume controls or the slider. Please note: this slider is only visible in the Settings drawer for users on iOS devices.
Device not sending the audio stream correctly? Occasionally an iOS device will have a video call where the audio stream is not sent correctly. This may mean the audio is not sent at all or may have other issues that impact on the call. This can happen on both iPhone and iPad devices.	If this occurs, simply refresh the call. This will reload the audio stream correctly
Unable to obtain camera? If you have allowed Camera and Microphone access and still can't access the camera in your video call then please check:
1. Is the camera is being used by another app on the phone?	Is the phone using Zoom FaceTime or Skype or doing a test call or in another video call? If so, please close the other application using the camera.
2. iPhone/iPad needs to be re-started	Please restart device. This can often resolve issues as it refreshes the device when it is having issues.
3. Device is too old https://help.vcc.healthdirect.org.au/devicesoperatingsystems	Check which iOS version is installed and check against the min requirements for iPhone/iPad. If your device is too old you may not be able to update it to the required version of iOS.
4. Issue needs escalation	If none of the above resolve the issue, please escalate to healthdirect Video Call

Limitations and known issues

Known Issues

Known Issue	Description	Workaround
iOS devices may have an issue when downloading and saving shared whiteboards and pdf documents.	When a participant downloads a whiteboard or pdf file it opens a new tab so you can save. Once this happens it is difficult to get back to the call window and the call is disconnected.	We are working on this issue and in the meantime participants can save the whiteboard or pdf file at the end of the call if required. This may disconnect the participant so please let them know beforehand that the consultation will finish when they download.

Limited support

Adjusting call quality settings - in Safari the full features of call quality adjustments are not available. In particular, the Bandwidth Restricted setting that allows for very low quality video cannot support the low resolution required. Instead, in Safari, this setting uses the same quality settings as Low Quality, but with a reduced frame rate. If you are using this quality setting, the video may appear choppy but the audio should not be affected.

Not yet supported

Adding screenshares - Safari does not yet support the underlying technology that allows screensharing to take place, so you can't add a screenshare from Safari. Safari users can still receive screenshares from other participants.
Audio call recording - our audio call recording system is still being updated to support Safari.
Selecting a different audio output device - Safari does not currently support the ability to output audio to different audio device. In the interim, you should use the native support in OSX and iOS for choosing your audio output.
Recording function on iPad - using the recording function on an iPad is currently unavailable. You will see a red error message. There are no options to record on an iPad until Apple updates its functionality to allow this.
Microsoft Edge Version 44 is now available on iOS and Android, but only the Android version works for healthdirect Video Call.

Technical issues

Some iOS devices are not showing the buttons for End Call and Refresh - the functionality is there but the buttons are not showing on the device. Either the other participant can end the call or you can close your browser window to leave the call until this issue is resolved. You can use your Safari refresh button to refresh the page if you are having issues during the call - however you will need to allow the microphone and camera again if you refresh in this way.
Some iPads failing Pre-Call Test in Safari - Please set your Safari settings to Allow both Camera and Microphone. Go to Settings - Safari. Select Allow for both microphone and camera. If you select Ask this can cause the Pre-call Test to fail for camera and microphone.
Firefox 62 or lower shows a frozen video from a Safari user - Firefox 62 and lower currently has an issue with decoding video streams from Safari that results in a frozen video after a second of playback. To identify this issue, Firefox users will be presented with a notification indicating the problem where the Safari users' video would normally appear. Audio is not affected. You will not experience these issues with Firefox 68 or above.
Firefox 63+ shows an extremely choppy video from a Safari user - a continuation from the prior issue, Mozilla has partially fixed the decoder issue that was in Firefox 62 so it no longer freezes completely. However, the video decoder is operating at substantially reduced efficiency, resulting in a video playback of approximately one frame per second (FPS), resulting in a very choppy video playback. Audio is not affected. You will not experience these issues with Firefox 68 or above.
Device switching taking longer - switching your camera/microphones may take a little while longer than with other supported platforms due to Safari's media capture implementation.
Audio level issues using iOS 13.1 - some users are reporting that the volume on their iPad or iPhone when using speaker is low when using their device in a Video Call. These users have updated to iOS 13 and have devices including iPhone X and iPad Pro. This issue is being investigated.

Can we do video call on iPhone?

With an internet connection and an Apple ID, you can make and receive calls in the FaceTime app . Note: You must set up FaceTime before you can make and receive calls. You can also make FaceTime calls over a cellular data connection, which may incur additional charges.

Why can't I make a video call on my iPhone?

Go to Settings and tap Cellular or tap Mobile Data, then turn on FaceTime. If you're using an iPad, you might see Settings > Cellular Data. Go to Settings > FaceTime and make sure that FaceTime is on. If you see "Waiting for Activation," turn FaceTime off and then on again.

Can you video chat between iPhone and Android?

In iOS 15, you can join a FaceTime call from your iPhone, Android or Windows device. If you're on the lookout for an alternative to Zoom or Microsoft Teams, you may want to check out this new FaceTime feature in iOS 15. (Here's how to download the OS if you haven't already.)