Make a video call, start to finish
Call somebody and see their face, from finding their name to hanging up at the end.
Somebody calls, somebody answers, and this time you can see each other. That is all.
The part nobody mentions is that it costs nothing. A video call travels over the internet, not over the telephone line, so calling a grandson in Phoenix for forty minutes costs exactly what calling him for four minutes costs, which is nothing at all.
There are a dozen apps that do this and they all put their buttons in slightly different places. That matters far less than it appears to. Yours will look a little different, but the same four steps are always there.
Key points
- Find somebody by name and call them with the picture on
- Tell the video button from the sound-only button beside it
- Answer a call that comes to you, with or without your camera
- End a call knowing the red button does nothing except hang up
What to remember
- The green or blue button with a camera on it is the video one. The plain telephone beside it is sound only.
- The little square is a mirror. If your face is in it, your face is what they have.
- A video call arriving always offers a sound-only way in, for the mornings when you are not dressed for company.
Try this
Open whichever video app is on your phone and press People or Contacts. Do not call anybody. Only find the name of the person you would most like to see, so that you know where it is when you want it.
Practice: Make a video call, start to finish. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.