Calling basics on Meta Portal

Call options on Meta Portal

Meta Portal

Meta Portal TV

Calling Basics

You can make and receive calls:

To and from Facebook friends and WhatsApp contacts of connected accounts.
Using Messenger Rooms.
Using apps like Workplace, Zoom, Webex and BlueJeans.

You can't call Messenger connections that don't have Facebook accounts or upload contacts from your phone. Learn more about adding or removing contacts.

Using Voice Interactions

To make a call say:

"Hey Portal, call [contact name]."
"Hey Portal, answer.“
"Hey Portal, hang up."

"Hey Portal" may ask you to confirm which contact you're trying to call by saying "Yes", "No" or by saying the full name of the contact you're trying to call.

If you have a Facebook and WhatsApp account connected to your device, voice commands will automatically default to your Messenger contacts. To call someone on WhatsApp you can say, "Hey Portal, call [contact name] on WhatsApp" or change your Default Call Provider to WhatsApp.

To make WhatsApp your Default Call Provider:

From Apps, tap to open the Settings.
Tap General, then tap next to Default Calling Provider to turn on or off.

When you change your Default Call Provider to WhatsApp, all calls made from "Hey Portal" will be made on WhatsApp, unless you say "Hey Portal, call [contact name] on Messenger."

Using the Touchscreen

To make a call:

From Apps, tap to open the Contacts app. You can filter your contacts by Suggested, Recent, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Tap the contact you'd like to call.
Make a selection to start your call.

To answer a call:

When receiving a call, tap Answer to join the call.

To end a call:

During a call, tap your Meta Portal screen to expose the call menu.
Tap to end the call.

Call Features

During a call you can do things like:

Move and talk freely while Meta Portal's Smart Camera and Smart Sound adjust to keep you audible and in the frame.
Add more friends to the call.
Use AR effects and Story Time.
Turn your microphone or camera off.
Control your camera during a call.
Use Facebook Watch.

Note:

Meta Portal calls can only be received on Meta Portal devices, on the Messenger app on mobile phones or tablets, on messenger.com or facebook.com, or on WhatsApp on mobile phones. Calling on messenger.com or facebook.com is only available using the browsers Chrome or Opera.
In order to call a WhatsApp contact from your Meta Portal, the contact must have WhatsApp open or in standby mode on their mobile phone.
If you have trouble with WhatsApp calls on Meta Portal, make sure you've both joined Multi-Device Beta. Visit the WhatsApp help center to learn how to join Multi-Device Beta.

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Add others to a call on your Meta Portal

You can have up to 7 people on a single call, including yourself. You or other contacts on your call can add any Facebook friends or Messenger connections to your call.

To add someone to a call:

During a call, tap the screen to expose the call menu.
Tap and then tap the person you'd like to add.

You can also add someone to a call with a voice command, like “Hey Portal, add [Contact Name] to the call.”

Note: Currently, “Hey Portal” is only available in English, and will be disabled if you select any language other than English as your preferred language on your Meta Portal.

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Who you can call or receive calls from on your Meta Portal

Making calls on Meta Portal

On Meta Portal you can call the Facebook friends, Messenger connections and WhatsApp contacts of any accounts linked to your Meta Portal. While Meta Portal is only sold in select countries, you can use your Meta Portal to call friends located in any country where the Messenger app or WhatsApp are supported.

Receiving calls on Meta Portal

Currently, Meta Portal calls can only be received from other Meta Portal devices, from WhatsApp on mobile devices, from the Messenger app on mobile devices or tablets, from messenger.com or from facebook.com. Meta Portal can’t be called from Messenger Kids accounts or the Messenger Lite app.

Your Meta Portal contacts

Your Meta Portal contacts are the Facebook friends, Messenger connections and WhatsApp contacts of all accounts linked to your Meta Portal. If you share a Meta Portal with others, all accounts that have been linked to your Meta Portal will share contacts on Meta Portal. Anyone who shares your Meta Portal will have access to the contacts on the device and will be able to make and answer calls.

Viewing your Meta Portal contacts

From Home on your Meta Portal, tap Contacts. From there, you can browse by Suggested contacts, Recents contacts or contacts by account type.

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Call your Meta Portal using the Portal app

To call your Meta Portal from the Portal app:

Open the Portal app.
Tap the Meta Portal device you want to call.
Tap Call.

Note: The Portal app doesn’t currently support calling or photo sharing to Meta Portals that have been set up with WhatsApp only.

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Call someone using their Facebook relationship name or nickname

If you've added someone to the Family and Relationships section of your Facebook profile, you can call them on Meta Portal using voice controls and your relationship name (or common synonyms for those names). Any relationship names on Facebook can be used.

For example, you can call your mother by saying either:

"Hey Portal, call my mother."
“Hey Portal, call Mom."

Notes:

If you list a Facebook friend as your family member or that you're in a relationship with them, that person will be asked to confirm your relationship on Facebook.
In order to use relationship names in voice commands, your relationship must be shared with your Facebook Friends or shared as Public to be associated with a contact on your Meta Portal.
You can also create or edit a custom nickname for your contacts on Meta Portal.

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Move calls between Meta Portal and Messenger

To move or transfer a call from Meta Portal to Messenger:

During a call on Meta Portal, open the messenger app on your mobile phone or tablet.
In the Messenger app, tap Transfer call with [Contact Name] to move the call to your Messenger app.

To move or transfer a call from Messenger to Meta Portal:

During a call on Messenger, tap the Transfer button.
From the Transfer Call menu, select the Meta Portal you'd like to transfer the call to.
Tap Transfer on your Meta Portal to accept the call.

Note: To use call transferring make sure you have the latest version of the Messenger app installed.

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Set a call reminder on your Meta Portal

To set a call reminder on Meta Portal:

Tap a contact.
Tap .
Tap Set Call Reminder.
Tap Tomorrow, This Weekend, Next Week or Next Month to choose when to set a call reminder.

To cancel a call reminder on Meta Portal:

Tap a contact.
Tap .
Tap Reminder Set.
Tap Cancel Reminder.

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Silence incoming calls on your Meta Portal

The Do Not Disturb setting silences incoming calls and prevents your contacts from seeing whether you are active until 8:00am the following morning. You can continue to use your Meta Portal's screen, apps and features with Do Not Disturb turned on.

To turn on Do Not Disturb:

From Home on your Meta Portal, tap Settings.
Scroll down and select the toggle next to Do Not Disturb to turn the setting on or off.

You can also access the Do Not Disturb setting from the Quick Controls by swiping up from the bottom of your Meta Portal screen.

Learn how to schedule Do Not Disturb.

Note: The Do Not Disturb setting on Meta Portal will not affect your existing availability settings in the Facebook or Messenger apps.

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Take a photo during a call on your Meta Portal

During Messenger calls, you can take a photo of everyone on the call to save or share.

Take a photo

During a Messenger call say “Hey Portal, take a photo” or tap your screen to see call controls, then tap . When you take a picture, other people on the call see a message that a picture was taken.
Tap to delete the photo.
Tap to send the photo in the Messenger chat.

Find your photo

You can find the photo in the Meta Portal albums of the account you’re calling from.

From Apps, tap Photos .
Tap Call Photos.

You can also access the photos on the Portal app.

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