WhatsApp on an iPad (without a smart 'phone)?

[2Btoo]

Guys,

Slightly left field one here.

We need a means of doing video calls with my elderly inlaws.

They have an old Android tablet and a slightly less old iPad. Neither have any form of mobile connectivity - i.e neither have a SIM card slot.

They also have a non-smart mobile 'phone.

Mrs 2Btoo and I both have Android 'phones.

Mrs 2BToo's sister has an iPhone and can "call" her folks on their iPad for a video call. By "call" I mean that she can initiate a video call to it, it "rings" and they "answer it", as per a traditional telephone call, but with video connectivity as well. She does this from her iPhone.

The only way we can have a video call with them is by setting up a meeting in advance, eMailing them the link and waiting for them to click on the link. This link can be in Zoom or Google Meet. (They tend to use their iPad for this as it has a better camera and sound than the Android tablet). While this works it's not as convenient as being able to call them directly.

The question is whether it is possible to "call" them in the way that Mrs 2BToo's sister does? Google Meet doesn't offer this functionality and neither does Zoom. WhatsApp does, but it seems that WhatsApp accounts are associated with a mobile number and need to be set up on a smart mobile device (smartphone or similar).

All suggestions welcome. To make things slightly trickier we have neither an iPad nor an Android Tablet to test any solution out on, so we'll need to make it work when we next see them.

Thanks.

[2Btoo]

OK, first reply to my own thread is from me, the OP!

Is the answer as simple as Skype? Or, putting it another way, can you do a Skype video call from an Android device to an iPad such that the iPad "rings" and is "answered" by the call recipient? And can you set up an Skype account without it being associated with a telephone number?

[the-norseman]

I like Google Duo (think its available for iDevices) video clairty has been a lot better for me than Whatsapp.

[Mammasaid]

Whatsapp is constrained by being linked to a phone number, however it's possible to work round that.

As others (and yourself) have said, Google Duo or Skype will work well with this, they operate similar to Facetime.

[eeLee]

Skype works exactly as you describe you need. It is also blissfully cross platform.

You might want to look at Teams as I expect this to replace Skype in the long run.

Google offerings might be annoying as they tend to mess about with their messaging solutions and sunset them quickly.

[the-norseman]

eeLee said:

Google offerings might be annoying as they tend to mess about with their messaging solutions and sunset them quickly.

Duo is being replaced by Meet sometime in 2022.

[2Btoo]

Thanks guys.

I hadn't thought about Google Duo. However Mrs 2BToo have just had a bit of a try and we can't make it work from Android to Android. (When I call her it appears to "ring" but her 'phone does nothing; when she opened Duo the only option she has is to 'invite me to Duo'. I am then texted a link which takes me to the Duo app, and we're back to square one. This is odd, and doesn't bode well for making it work cross-platform with elderly parents.)

It looks like Skype is probably the route forward then, thanks for the suggestion. eeLee, thanks also for pointing out that Teams will replace it eventually; we'll cross that bridge when (/if) we come to it.

Thanks for your help.

[Jamescrs]

I have known someone who installed Whatsapp on phone A and set up an account with a phone number associated, the sim card for that phone number was in phone B and so Whatsapp sent a verification code to phone B which was entered manually into Whatsapp in Phone A, the Whatsapp account on Phone A then worked as if it had the sim card in from Phone B.

This was done a couple of years ago so whether or not that will still work I don't know but historically it has done. In theory I see no reason why it wouldn't as Whatsapp works on an internet connection rather than a specific cellular number and the phone number on Whatsapp is essentially nothing more than a user i.d

In theory you could install Whatsapp onto the Ipad, setup an account with a phone number for a sim card in a non smart phone, that phone then receives the verification code you put into Whatsapp on the Ipad.

[2Btoo]

the-norseman said:

eeLee said:

Google offerings might be annoying as they tend to mess about with their messaging solutions and sunset them quickly.

Duo is being replaced by Meet sometime in 2022.

Thanks. I don't think that Meet has the functionality to "call" someone, unless they are planning to add it in when Duo is retired.

[2Btoo]

Jamescrs said:

I have known someone who installed Whatsapp on phone A and set up an account with a phone number associated, the sim card for that phone number was in phone B and so Whatsapp sent a verification code to phone B which was entered manually into Whatsapp in Phone A, the Whatsapp account on Phone A then worked as if it had the sim card in from Phone B.

This was done a couple of years ago so whether or not that will still work I don't know but historically it has done. In theory I see no reason why it wouldn't as Whatsapp works on an internet connection rather than a specific cellular number and the phone number on Whatsapp is essentially nothing more than a user i.d

In theory you could install Whatsapp onto the Ipad, setup an account with a phone number for a sim card in a non smart phone, that phone then receives the verification code you put into Whatsapp on the Ipad.

Thanks Jamescrs, that's helpful. I wasn't aware that WhatsApp sends verification codes - I thought that it worked solely on QR codes, but sounds like I am wrong.

This is perhaps the way forward if we can't make Skype work, but Skype sounds simpler.

Thanks for your help.

[Alorotom]

Teams will do this quite easily and is only linked to email addresses and works on pretty much all platforms - you can eve get pretty much standalone devices now too

Zoom would work too.

[paulrockliffe]

Jamescrs said:

I have known someone who installed Whatsapp on phone A and set up an account with a phone number associated, the sim card for that phone number was in phone B and so Whatsapp sent a verification code to phone B which was entered manually into Whatsapp in Phone A, the Whatsapp account on Phone A then worked as if it had the sim card in from Phone B.

This was done a couple of years ago so whether or not that will still work I don't know but historically it has done. In theory I see no reason why it wouldn't as Whatsapp works on an internet connection rather than a specific cellular number and the phone number on Whatsapp is essentially nothing more than a user i.d

In theory you could install Whatsapp onto the Ipad, setup an account with a phone number for a sim card in a non smart phone, that phone then receives the verification code you put into Whatsapp on the Ipad.

This still works, on my Samsung Tabley the connected devices app thing means that the verification comes through on both the phone and the table too, so you can hot-switch without access to the phone too.

[2Btoo]

Quick follow-up to this question: Skype has been installed and does the job very nicely. Thanks for the suggestions.

A BIG bonus was that it will work on a 'phone number which needs to only be able to receive a text message with an ID number, nothing more. This enabled us to bypass the (murky) world of Microsoft single sign-ons, which I find to be frankly baffling!

Thanks for your help chaps.

[eltax91]

If/ when Skype gets superseded by teams and/ or doesn’t work then I do this fairly successfully with my mum using Facebook messenger.

She has no Facebook app. Never goes on it. Has a locked down profile. But works well for messenger.

In fact it works so well that she has worked out how to initiate a WhatsApp video call to me from her phone, purely to tell me she can’t work out how to ring me from the tablet, but prefers the bigger screen, so can I please call her back on the tablet.

[interstellar]

I don’t think you even need a Facebook profile now to get messenger. It can be a standalone app I believe.

You just create the Facebook account , get messenger then deactivate Facebook.

This would work for the op too