How to make a call on a computer

Microsoft’s Your Phone app for Android can route photos, incoming notifications, and text messages to your Windows 10 PC. Its latest feature update added something even more useful: the ability to make and receive calls on your PC without reaching for your phone. The app can even let you seamlessly transfer calls between your PC and phone in case you need to go mobile.

Getting things set up isn’t difficult, although there are a few requirements to note before you dive into the steps below.

You’ll need a PC (any kind, desktop or laptop, x64 or ARM-based) running Windows 10 version 1803 or higher and any phone running Android version 7.0 or higher.

Download the Your Phone app on your phone and PC

To get your Android phone and PC talking to each other, you’ll need the app installed on both devices.

• Download it for your phone from the Google Play Store
• Download the Find the Your Phone app for your PC from the Microsoft Store. (It may already be installed on your machine, so search your list of apps first.)
• Ensure that you’re signed in with a Microsoft account on your PC. (You can sign in using the “Account” option in the Settings app.) Otherwise, you won’t be able to proceed with the setup.
• Once the app is installed on your phone, open it and sign in with your Microsoft account. Note that you’ll need to agree to give it permission to access your contacts, phone call log, media, and text messages, and to continuously run it in the background.

Link your phone and PC

• After you’ve signed in on both devices, they are ready to talk to each other. Ensure that your phone and PC are on the same Wi-Fi network, then boot the Your Phone app on your PC.

• If you see a dialog box that asks you to select between Android and iOS (iPhone users are currently limited to sending webpages between devices), it means that you haven’t signed in with the same account on mobile and PC (or you forgot to log in on one of them).
• Once your phone and PC establish a link, you’ll get a persistent notification on your mobile, which will first ask you to verify that you’ll allow the connection of devices to occur. Hit “Allow.”
• At this point, your phone should show up in the Your Phone app on PC. It will include a dialer icon labeled “Calls” at the bottom of the list beneath your phone’s name and image. This is where you’ll go to place calls.

• But first, you’ll need to manually connect your phone via Bluetooth to your PC. The Your Phone app does have a streamlined method for getting dialer access, but it didn’t work in my testing. However, manually pairing the devices worked every time across multiple phones.
• To connect your phone (if you haven’t dealt with Bluetooth before), enable pairing mode in your Android phone by pulling down the notification shade on your home screen, then long-press on the Bluetooth icon to open settings. From there, enable Bluetooth if it’s off and tap “Pair new device” or whatever similar option your phone lists.
• Now do the same on your PC. Tap the Windows key and type “Bluetooth” to pull up the “Bluetooth & other devices” settings. Once you’re there, tap “Add Bluetooth or other device,” and in the box that opens up, tap “Bluetooth.”

• Your phone and PC should now display the same PIN. If they do, tap “Connect” on both sources to authenticate the connection. (If you don’t, then try again or check Microsoft’s troubleshooting page.)
• Lastly, open the dialer section in the Your Phone app on your PC, and follow the instructions. It will send another notification to your phone that needs approval. You’ll get yet another notification when you request access to the call log. If you approve both of those (and no, you won’t have to go through this process again), you should see your recent calls populate on the dialer screen. This is a good sign that it’s working.

• Finally! You’re all set up to place and receive calls with the Your Phone app on Windows 10. Just make sure that your headset or the speakers on your PC are correctly configured to work with calls, and you should be good to go.

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Any business or gaming headset will do for phone calls. You could buy something like this headset from Amazon for example, or the Elite Pro 2 gaming headset from Turtle Beach, or even a pair of Apple AirPods. For best results, you want a wired USB or 3.5mm audio jack connection, but Bluetooth will work as well, if you’re OK with adding some unpredictability into the mix.

It’s a good idea to make sure your headset of choice is working as intended before you start making important work calls. On Windows, open the Start menu, click the cog icon on the left, then choose System and Sound. You can make sure the right input and output devices are selected, change the volume levels, and test your microphone. Click App volume and device preferences if you want the volume in your calling app to be different from the other apps on your system.

If you’re using macOS, open the Apple menu, then System Preferences. Click Sound, and on the Input and Output tabs you’ll be able to select your headset, check the volume levels, and even adjust the balance of the sound. Pay particular attention to the microphone volume level, because you don’t want to deafen the people you talk to.

None of this is difficult, and it’s worth checking your settings in advance rather than trying to figure them out on a call. To be absolutely sure everything is working correctly, you can always do a test recording via the Voice Recorder app on Windows and QuickTime Player on macOS.

The software you need

You a have a lot of options when it comes to making phone calls. If you’ve got a Mac and an iPhone signed into the same Apple ID, just load up FaceTime for macOS. You can place an audio call to any number from the desktop FaceTime app through your iPhone by typing it in and clicking Audio (or just pick the name of a contact from the list).

If you’re on Windows, the Your Phone app that’s now part of Microsoft’s operating system can make calls through a linked Android phone. It’s almost as smooth as macOS and an iPhone. Launch the app from the Start menu, switch to the Calls tab, then follow the instructions (you’ll also need to get this app on your Android phone).

If you don’t want to route calls via your phone, Skype is a reliable option, with desktop clients for Windows and macOS. Click here for prices for calling mobiles and landlines; a variety of subscription options are available, and you get 60 calling minutes a month if you’re an Office 365 subscriber. Just tap out the number you want to call in the app (head to the program settings and you can set a Caller ID as well).

Keku is similar to Skype but runs inside a web browser—again, you can just tap out any number to ring it, and set your Caller ID as needed. Calls to the U.S. are included in your $5/month subscription package, and you can click here to check rates for international calls. Call recording is available, too, if that’s something you’d find useful.

Google Voice is still around, and if you’ve signed up for the service then you can make calls to cell phones and landlines through the web interface. Click here to check out international calling rates, or call numbers in the U.S. for free. Aside from being able to make calls from your computer, Google Voice also offers automatic voicemail transcription.

Then there’s TextNow, which is available through desktop clients for Windows and macOS as well as mobile apps for Android and iOS. You get a free phone number to use, and calls made to landlines and cell phones in the U.S. are free (click here for international rates). Upgrade to a subscription package for more features, including voicemail transcription and the ability to bring your existing cell number over.

(Updated 3/4/22 with new details)