Being Whatsapp the most used messaging app in the world, it is also widely used to make free video calls from your smartphone, although it cannot be said that it is the best app for this particular function. Not that the Whatsapp video call is of bad quality, but it is certainly very limited in its options, especially when compared with other similar applications such as Facebook Messenger and Skype.
The main limitation of video calls and also of voice calls with Whatsapp is that these do not work from computers, since the web version of Whatsapp only has chat with messages, but does not support neither calls nor video calls. Even if it is not really comfortable, there is still a trick to be able to make Whatsapp video calls and voice calls from your computer as you would from your mobile phone.
In the video call we will see a great shot taken by the cell phone camera of the person we are calling, with a small window at the bottom where our face appears on video.
During the video call, you can press the camera icon to switch between the front and rear cameras.
Also you can turn off the video, so that others don't see us anymore, or block the audio, so as not to allow others to listen to what we say.
With the Whatsapp app you can also make group video calls : you can then open a group, tap on the handset icon, then select up to 3 contacts from the list by touching them and then start the call or video call using the respective icons appearing next to the faces of the selected people. A Whatsapp group video call can have a maximum of 4 participants together.
To make WhatsApp video calls from your computer, you therefore do not need to install the WhatsApp mobile app inside an Android emulator so that the computer thinks that the app is installed on a mobile phone. Using Whatsapp from the emulator, you will enable the video call function using the webcam and microphone of your PC or Mac .
Installing an Android emulator on a PC is very simple, it does not require any configuration and you only need to download and install the free BlueStacks program that I had already talked about.
Download BlueStacks from the official website and install it on your computer. The emulator starts automatically and will present itself with an interface similar to that of an Android smartphone or tablet, with the store and some apps already installed.
To download Whatsapp, you need to open the Google Play Store or the Application Center which is a special store dedicated to apps and games that work well on Bluestacks. In both cases it is necessary to log in with a Google account which can also be a new one, different from the one used on the smartphone.
After downloading and installing Whatsapp on Bluestacks, you can start and configure it by following the instructions on the screen that will ask you to enter the phone number to confirm your identity. Note that by logging into Whatsapp from a PC with Bluestacks, it is disabled on your phone because Whatsapp allows you to use the app only from one device at a time and it is not possible to log in simultaneously from two devices (unless you use Whatsapp Web).
In the Bluestacks Whatsapp, you will also be asked whether to upload the backup that the app makes automatically from your smartphone. If you choose to restore the Whatsapp backup, the contacts will be found, otherwise Whatsapp will be completely empty. In this case, you will have to add the number of the person to call or video call in the phone book to be able to find it in the contact list of Whatsapp.
As we have seen above, each contact can be contacted from the PC by making the video call or the voice call. Only the first time you will be asked to authorize the app to use your PC microphone and webcam. The call will begin immediately and appear exactly how it works from the mobile app on your phone. The main advantage of video calls from your PC with Whatsapp is that you can enlarge the screen to see the video image of the person called pretty big.
Once the call is over, to reactivate Whatsapp on your smartphone, simply log in again.
If BlueStacks doesn't work properly or you want to try a different program, we have seen in another article the best emulators for Android for Windows. The advantage of Bluestacks, however, is that Whatsapp can be easily downloaded from the store, while in other emulators it may be necessary to download the apk for manual installation.
As mentioned above, there are many applications for making video calls in addition to WhatsApp, some of which also support web video calls without the need to install an emulator. Facebook web Messenger and Skype Web are two examples of apps with web versions that support calls and video calls.
The main limitation of video calls and also of voice calls with Whatsapp is that these do not work from computers, since the web version of Whatsapp only has chat with messages, but does not support neither calls nor video calls. Even if it is not really comfortable, there is still a trick to be able to make Whatsapp video calls and voice calls from your computer as you would from your mobile phone.
How to make Whatsapp video calls from smartphones
Making a video call on Whatsapp from your Android smartphone or from an iPhone is very simple: you just have to touch the Calls tab, then press the handset key with the + at the bottom right and choose the contact from the address book. You can press the handset next to the name to make a call or tap on the camera icon to make a video call. Only the first time you will be asked to authorize Whatsapp to use your mobile phone's camera and microphone (on Android).In the video call we will see a great shot taken by the cell phone camera of the person we are calling, with a small window at the bottom where our face appears on video.
During the video call, you can press the camera icon to switch between the front and rear cameras.
Also you can turn off the video, so that others don't see us anymore, or block the audio, so as not to allow others to listen to what we say.
With the Whatsapp app you can also make group video calls : you can then open a group, tap on the handset icon, then select up to 3 contacts from the list by touching them and then start the call or video call using the respective icons appearing next to the faces of the selected people. A Whatsapp group video call can have a maximum of 4 participants together.
How to make Whatsapp video calls from PC and Mac
These functions are not available on Whatsapp Web from PC, where the call and video call functions are missing.To make WhatsApp video calls from your computer, you therefore do not need to install the WhatsApp mobile app inside an Android emulator so that the computer thinks that the app is installed on a mobile phone. Using Whatsapp from the emulator, you will enable the video call function using the webcam and microphone of your PC or Mac .
Installing an Android emulator on a PC is very simple, it does not require any configuration and you only need to download and install the free BlueStacks program that I had already talked about.
Download BlueStacks from the official website and install it on your computer. The emulator starts automatically and will present itself with an interface similar to that of an Android smartphone or tablet, with the store and some apps already installed.
To download Whatsapp, you need to open the Google Play Store or the Application Center which is a special store dedicated to apps and games that work well on Bluestacks. In both cases it is necessary to log in with a Google account which can also be a new one, different from the one used on the smartphone.
After downloading and installing Whatsapp on Bluestacks, you can start and configure it by following the instructions on the screen that will ask you to enter the phone number to confirm your identity. Note that by logging into Whatsapp from a PC with Bluestacks, it is disabled on your phone because Whatsapp allows you to use the app only from one device at a time and it is not possible to log in simultaneously from two devices (unless you use Whatsapp Web).
In the Bluestacks Whatsapp, you will also be asked whether to upload the backup that the app makes automatically from your smartphone. If you choose to restore the Whatsapp backup, the contacts will be found, otherwise Whatsapp will be completely empty. In this case, you will have to add the number of the person to call or video call in the phone book to be able to find it in the contact list of Whatsapp.
As we have seen above, each contact can be contacted from the PC by making the video call or the voice call. Only the first time you will be asked to authorize the app to use your PC microphone and webcam. The call will begin immediately and appear exactly how it works from the mobile app on your phone. The main advantage of video calls from your PC with Whatsapp is that you can enlarge the screen to see the video image of the person called pretty big.
Once the call is over, to reactivate Whatsapp on your smartphone, simply log in again.
If BlueStacks doesn't work properly or you want to try a different program, we have seen in another article the best emulators for Android for Windows. The advantage of Bluestacks, however, is that Whatsapp can be easily downloaded from the store, while in other emulators it may be necessary to download the apk for manual installation.
As mentioned above, there are many applications for making video calls in addition to WhatsApp, some of which also support web video calls without the need to install an emulator. Facebook web Messenger and Skype Web are two examples of apps with web versions that support calls and video calls.
