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How to Make a Video Call on WhatsApp on Your Galaxy

Brian is 71 years old. His grandson Leo lives in another city. Leo is eight. He has a new bicycle. He wants to show it to Brian. A phone call is nice. Brian can hear Leo laugh. But Brian wants to see Leo's face. He wants to see the red bicycle. He wants to wave back. A video call lets him do that. On a video call, you can see the other person on your screen. They can see you too. It feels closer than a normal call. It feels almost like being in the same room.

WhatsApp is a separate app. It is not part of Samsung. It is not made by Samsung. Many people use WhatsApp to send messages and to make calls. If WhatsApp is already on your phone, you can use it for video calls. If it is not on your phone, ask a family member you trust to help you set it up. Do not download apps from strange links in messages. Only get WhatsApp with help from someone you trust, from the normal app store on your phone. This guide starts from the point where WhatsApp is already on your phone and you have used it for messages at least once.

A video call needs the internet. It works best on Wi-Fi at home. Wi-Fi is the wireless internet in your house. If you are at home, your phone will usually connect to Wi-Fi on its own. You can check by swiping down from the top of the screen and looking for the Wi-Fi symbol. If you are out and about, a video call can use your mobile data. That can be slower. It can also cost money if you have a small data plan. For your first video call, stay at home. Use Wi-Fi. Sit down. Take your time. There is no rush.

Before you call, think about light and sound. Sit facing a window, or sit with a lamp in front of you. Do not sit with a bright window behind you. If the light is behind you, your face will look dark on the other person's screen. Hold the phone steady. Rest your elbows on a table if that helps. Find a quiet room if you can. Turn the television down. Tell people near you that you are about to make a video call. That way, a sudden noise will not surprise you in the middle of the call.

Start a video call, step by step

Follow these steps in order. Read one step. Do that step. Then read the next step.

  1. Find the WhatsApp app on your phone. Look for the green icon with a white telephone inside a speech bubble. Tap it once to open WhatsApp. Wait a second for it to open. You should see your list of chats.
  2. Find the chat with the person you want to call. Scroll slowly through the list. Look for their name. For Brian, that is Leo, or Leo's mum, who helps Leo with the phone. Tap the name once to open that chat. Check the name at the top of the screen. Make sure it is the right person before you call.
  3. Look at the top of the chat screen, near the person's name. You should see two small icons. One looks like a telephone handset. That is for a voice call, sound only. The other looks like a small video camera. That is for a video call. Tap the video camera icon. Tap it once, gently. Do not tap the telephone icon by mistake, or you will start a voice-only call.
  4. Wait while the phone rings. You will see the person's name and the word calling, or you will see their photo. Be patient. The other person may need a few seconds to find their phone. They may need to tap a button to answer. Do not tap lots of buttons while you wait. Just hold the phone still and watch the screen.
  5. When they answer, you will see their face on your screen. You will see a small picture of yourself too, usually in a corner. That small picture shows what they can see. Check it. Is your face in the middle? Is the light good? Move the phone a little until your face looks clear. Smile and say hello. Speak in your normal voice. You do not need to shout.
  6. During the call, look for the buttons at the bottom of the screen. One button looks like a microphone. Tap it if you need to mute yourself for a moment, for example if you cough or if a dog barks. Tap it again to unmute. Another button looks like a video camera. Tap it if you want to turn your camera off for a moment. The other person will then hear you but not see you. Tap it again to turn your camera back on.
  7. If you want to show something in the room, look for the button that switches the camera. It often looks like a camera with two arrows around it. Tap it once. Now the other person will see what is in front of your phone, not your face. Brian uses this to show Leo his garden. Point the phone slowly. Move it slowly. Fast moves look blurry on a video call. When you want to show your face again, tap the same switch button once more.
  8. When you are ready to finish, look for the red button. It often looks like a telephone handset pointing down, on a red circle. Tap it once to end the call. Wait for the screen to go back to the chat. That is the end of the call. If you tap the red button by mistake during the call, do not worry. You can call back. Just start again from step two.

After the call, WhatsApp will show the call in your chat list, like a message. It will say it was a video call. That is normal. You do not need to delete it. If the call did not connect, check two things. First, check that you have Wi-Fi or mobile data. Second, check that the other person is free and has their phone with them. Try again later. A missed call is not a fault with your phone. It often just means the other person was busy.

If you want to check Wi-Fi, you can look in Settings. The path is Settings > Connections > Wi-Fi. The wording may differ a little on your phone. If Wi-Fi is turned on and you are at home, your phone should connect on its own. If you are not sure, ask a family member to check it with you once. After that, you will know what the Wi-Fi symbol looks like when you swipe down from the top of the screen.

A small practice: Brian calls Leo for the first time

Let us practise with Brian. Brian does not call Leo for a long chat on his first try. He asks Leo's mum first. He sends her a message: "Can we try a short video call at four o'clock? Just two minutes, to practise." Leo's mum says yes. That takes away the pressure. Brian knows someone will be there to help Leo answer. He knows the call will be short. He can relax.

At four o'clock, Brian sits at his kitchen table. The window is in front of him. The light is good. He has a glass of water near him. He opens WhatsApp. He finds Leo's chat. He checks the name twice. He taps the video camera icon. The phone rings. Leo answers. Leo holds up his red bicycle helmet. Brian laughs. Brian taps the camera switch button and shows Leo his own garden through the window. Leo waves. After two minutes, Brian taps the red button to end the call. He did it. It was short. It was simple. It worked.

Now try a practice call yourself. Pick one person you trust. Tell them first, by message or by a normal call: "I would like to practise a short video call. Are you free for two minutes?" Pick a time. Sit down. Follow the steps above. Keep the call short. Talk about one simple thing. What did you have for lunch? What is the weather like? End the call yourself, by tapping the red button. That way, you learn how to start and how to end. The next time, a longer call will feel easy. If the first practice call fails, try once more the next day. Do not try ten times in a row. Rest. Try again when you feel calm.

During your practice, notice where your hands are. Many people hold the phone too close at first. Their face fills the whole screen. Hold the phone at arm's length, or rest it against a book or a stand. Your face should fit in the small picture of yourself. Your shoulders should show a little too. That looks natural. If your arm gets tired, rest your elbows on the table. If the phone shakes, put it down and lean it against something solid. A steady picture is much easier for the other person to watch.

Common mistakes

Frequently asked questions

Does a WhatsApp video call cost money?

The call itself in WhatsApp is free to start. But it uses the internet. At home on Wi-Fi, that is usually included in your home internet. Out of the house, it uses mobile data. Mobile data can cost money if your plan is small. For that reason, use Wi-Fi for long video calls when you can. Ask your phone company or a family member if you are not sure about your data plan.

What if the other person does not answer?

Wait and try later. They may be busy, driving, or away from their phone. WhatsApp will show a missed call. Do not call again and again. Send a short message instead: "I tried a video call. Please call me when you are free." That is polite. It also gives them time to find a quiet place.

Can I make a video call with more than one person?

Yes, WhatsApp allows group video calls. But group calls are harder to follow at first. The screen shows several faces. People talk over each other. Learn one-to-one calls first. When you feel confident, ask a family member to help you try a group call with two or three people you know well. Keep it short the first time.

What if I cannot see the other person, but I can hear them?

Their camera may be off. Or the internet may be slow. Wait a few seconds. The picture often appears after a short delay. Ask them, politely, "Can you turn your camera on?" If the picture stays blank, end the call and try again. If it still fails, try a voice call instead. A voice call is better than no call at all.

Can the other person see me before I answer a video call?

No. When someone calls you, you will see their name and buttons to answer or decline. They cannot see you until you answer. You can choose to decline if the time is not good. Declining is not rude. You can call back later when you are ready and sitting somewhere comfortable.

Is WhatsApp part of Samsung?

No. WhatsApp is a separate app, made by a different company. It works on Samsung Galaxy phones, and on many other phones too. Samsung does not control WhatsApp. If WhatsApp changes its buttons or its look, that change comes from WhatsApp, not from Samsung. The steps in this guide describe what to look for. Button shapes may change a little over time.

If the words on your screen look different

Menu words and button shapes may look a little different on your phone. That is normal. Samsung makes many Galaxy models. Some are A-series phones. Some are S-series phones. They do not all show the exact same words. Your phone company, called a carrier, can also change some words. Your country or region can change words too. And your One UI version matters. In October 2026, some phones use One UI 8, some use One UI 8.5, and some use One UI 9, depending on the model and the region. No one version is "the" version for every phone.

WhatsApp can also look a little different from one phone to another, and after an update. The video camera icon should still look like a small video camera. The red end-call button should still be red. If you cannot find an icon, look for the shape, not only the word. Look at the top of the chat for the camera shape. Look at the bottom of the call screen for the red shape. If you are in Settings and a word looks different, open Settings, tap the search box at the top, and type the name of the setting, such as Wi-Fi. That search will take you to the right place even if the menu words differ. Take your time. There is no penalty for looking.