WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the key features of WhatsApp is voice and video calling, allowing users to communicate in real-time from anywhere in the world.
A common question many WhatsApp users have is what happens when you try to make or receive a WhatsApp call when your phone is switched off or has no internet connection. In this article, we’ll explain the technical details behind WhatsApp calls and what happens when your phone is offline.
How WhatsApp Calling Works
To understand what happens when your phone is off during a WhatsApp call, it’s important to first understand how WhatsApp calling works.
WhatsApp calls are powered by Voice over IP (VoIP) technology. This allows voice and video calls to be made over the internet rather than traditional phone networks. Here’s a quick overview of how it works:
- When you initiate a WhatsApp call, the app connects to WhatsApp servers and locates the recipient.
- The servers check whether the recipient is online and available to receive the call.
- Assuming they are online, the servers connect your phone and the recipient’s phone using internet protocols.
- Your phones then communicate directly over the internet to transmit audio and video.
This technology allows WhatsApp to bypass traditional telecom infrastructure and offer free internet-based calling around the world.
What Happens When Your Phone is Off During a WhatsApp Call
Now that we understand the basics, here is what happens during different scenarios when your phone is off during a WhatsApp call:
Making an Outgoing Call
If you try to make an outgoing WhatsApp call when your phone is switched off, the call will simply fail to connect. Here is the technical process:
- You tap the call button in WhatsApp.
- Since your phone is off, it is disconnected from the internet and unable to contact WhatsApp servers.
- With no internet connectivity, your phone cannot locate or signal the recipient’s device.
- After a certain timeout period, WhatsApp gives up trying to connect the call.
- The call fails with an error message like “Couldn’t place call” or “Call ended”.
So in summary, outbound WhatsApp calls will not go through if your phone is switched off or has no internet connection.
Receiving an Incoming Call
Similarly, if your phone is off when receiving an incoming WhatsApp call, the call will be unable to connect to your device. Here is what happens:
- The caller initiates a WhatsApp call to you.
- The WhatsApp servers try to locate and signal your device that you have an incoming call.
- Since your phone is off, it is unreachable and cannot receive the signaling messages.
- After failing to reach your device after a timeout period, the servers abandon the call attempt.
- The caller will see a message that the call was unable to be completed.
So if your phone is powered off, there is no way for an incoming WhatsApp call to actually reach you. The call will simply fail.
If Your Phone Loses Internet Mid-Call
What happens if you are on a WhatsApp call and your phone suddenly loses internet connectivity, like if you drive into an area with poor signal?
In this case, the call will abruptly drop after about 10-20 seconds. Here is the technical flow:
- You are on a WhatsApp call that is connected over the internet.
- Your phone loses internet connectivity due to weak signal or switching into airplane mode.
- WhatsApp tries to keep the call connected but is unable to transmit any audio/video without the internet.
- After a brief period, the WhatsApp clients on both devices detect the connectivity loss and drop the call.
- You will see a message like “Call ended” on the screens.
So if you lose internet during an ongoing call, the call will quickly drop since WhatsApp calls require internet to function.
Notification Behavior When Phone is Off
In addition to calls not going through, here is how notifications and call history work when your phone is off:
- Any incoming WhatsApp call or message sent while your phone is off will not generate a notification.
- However, these missed calls and messages are logged on WhatsApp’s servers.
- When you switch your phone back on and reconnect to the internet, all missed events will sync and show up in your notifications and call history.
- So you will see missed calls and unread messages from the period your phone was offline.
In summary, any WhatsApp activity that occurs while your phone is off will eventually show up when you reboot your device.
Troubleshooting Tips
Based on the above technical details, here are some troubleshooting tips for WhatsApp calls when your phone is having issues:
- If your outgoing calls are failing, switch your phone off and on again to troubleshoot internet connectivity issues.
- Check that you don’t have Do Not Disturb enabled, which could block incoming call notifications.
- Make sure WhatsApp has all the required permissions enabled to make calls.
- If calls are cutting out during a call, move to an area with better signal strength.
- Update to the latest version of WhatsApp in case you are running into a bug.
- Delete and reinstall WhatsApp to resolve persistent calling issues.
Key Takeaways
Here are some key points to summarize what happens when your phone is off during WhatsApp calls:
- Outgoing calls will fail to connect since your phone can’t contact recipients without an internet connection.
- Incoming calls will be unable to reach your phone and will eventually time out.
- Ongoing calls will abruptly drop if internet connectivity is lost.
- Missed calls and messages will sync when you reboot your device.
- Ensure proper internet connectivity and WhatsApp permissions to avoid call issues.
Conclusion
To conclude, WhatsApp calling relies entirely on having an active internet connection. If your phone is switched off or loses connectivity, WhatsApp will be unable to place or receive any calls until you regain internet access. To avoid missing important calls, make sure to keep your phone charged and check connectivity if you face any calling problems on WhatsApp.