Writing and staying in touch
Joining a family video call
What you will be able to do In 5 minutes, you'll know how to join a family video call from a simple link you received.
A link for a video call arrives by message, and you need to know what to do with it: tap it, choose between the app and the browser (the program that shows websites), allow the microphone and camera, then sometimes wait in a waiting room before the call really starts. Each of these steps is a question you ask yourself the first time, and it becomes a reflex afterward. We'll join a call together, on a screen we designed. Nothing here is real: no camera or microphone actually turns on, the buttons are drawn, not connected.
Simulated screen
I practice
This screen was drawn by us. Nothing is sent, nothing is installed, and no real brand is shown.
The situationYour grandson sends you a link for a video call on Sunday at 11am, and you want to join it from your phone.
The interactive exercise needs JavaScript. The written step by step, just below, says exactly the same thing.
The written step by step
The same steps, in words, to read or print. This sheet works even without the exercise.
Opening the invitation
Your turn Tap what lets you join the video call.
The underlined text, in the message, is the link. We tap it to open the video call.
Choosing how to open it
Your turn Tap the simplest way to join the call right now.
We tap "Continue in the browser" if we don't want to install anything: that's enough to join the call.
Allowing the microphone and camera
Your turn The phone is asking to use your microphone and camera for this call. Tap the answer that lets you be seen and heard.
We tap "Allow the microphone and camera": that's what lets your family see and hear you.
The waiting room
Your turn You see your image as a preview. Tap what actually gets you into the call.
The "Join now" button gets you into the call. If a message says it's waiting for someone to let you in, that's normal, it usually happens within seconds.
Muting noise without leaving
Your turn The dog is barking next to you. Tap what mutes only your microphone, without leaving the call.
The crossed-out microphone icon mutes only the sound on your side. We tap it again to speak again.
The sheet to keep
- The call's link is underlined text in the received message; we tap it to open it.
- Continuing in the browser or opening the app both work, without installing anything if it's not needed.
- Allowing the microphone and camera lets you be seen and heard; it's reversible in the phone's settings.
- A waiting room before the call is normal, just like waiting for someone to let you in.
- Muting the microphone silences a noise without leaving the call; turning off the camera only stops the image.
The reflexes in this skill
I stop before I click
Urgency is the sign of a trap. A message that counts down the hours is trying to stop you from thinking. Putting your phone down for two minutes costs nothing, and it is almost always enough.
I look at WHO is speaking
A displayed name is just text, so it can be copied. What matters is the exact address of the sender, or their phone number. A delivery announced from an unknown mobile number is not a delivery.
I go through the official door
The address typed in by hand, the app installed from the official store, the phone number printed on the back of your card. Never the link someone hands you, even when it looks right.
Two questions to check
Nothing is graded, and nothing is saved anywhere except in your own browser.
The phone asks to allow the microphone and camera for the video call. What do you do?
See the answer
I allow it, since it's needed for my family to see and hear me
This permission only applies to this call and stays changeable in the phone's settings. Without it, your family won't see or hear you.
You tap "Join" and a message shows that it's waiting for someone to let you in. What do you think?
See the answer
It's normal, the organizer sometimes lets people in one by one
This waiting room is a common feature of video calls, not a mistake on your part. A few seconds are usually enough before being let in.
I've done it
Check this box once you can do this skill on your own.
Your progress stays in your own browser.