Learn what to do if WhatsApp blocks you from making audio and video calls or sending voice notes because it cannot access your iPhone’s camera and microphone.
The problem you might be facing
Calls and audio messages won’t work if WhatsApp doesn’t have permission to use your iPhone’s camera and microphone. If that’s the case, you may come across the following issues:
- When you receive a WhatsApp call, a popup appears on the screen saying, “To answer calls, WhatsApp needs access to your iPhone’s microphone/camera. Tap Settings and turn on microphone/camera.”
- When you get a call, it disconnects instantly.
- You can’t send voice notes.
- You can’t take a picture or video from inside a WhatsApp conversation and send it, as the app doesn’t have access to the camera.
The following tips will help fix all these problems.
1. Allow WhatsApp to use the camera and microphone
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down to the bottom and tap Apps.
- Select WhatsApp.
- Enable the toggle for Microphone and Camera.
Now the app has permission to use your iPhone’s camera and microphone, and you can make WhatsApp calls.
2. Force quit WhatsApp and reopen it
Force close the app and reopen it if you can’t make audio or video calls after giving WhatsApp the necessary camera and mic permissions.
3. Restart your iPhone
If the above two tips fail to work, turn off your iPhone and turn it back on. After that, open WhatsApp and make a call, and it should go through normally.
4. Update WhatsApp
It’s also possible that the app on your phone is outdated and unresolved bugs are causing calls to fail repeatedly. To address this, go to the App Store and update WhatsApp.
5. Delete and reinstall WhatsApp
In some cases, if you go to WhatsApp settings, you might not see the Camera and Microphone options (solution 1 mentioned above). Without these switches, you can’t permit WhatsApp to use the camera and mic. Here are a couple of ways to address this.
Try making a call
- Open WhatsApp and make a call. You can also ask a friend to call you on on the app.
- When you do that, the app should show a popup asking you to enable camera or mic access. Tap Settings and then enable Camera and Microphone.
Reinstall WhatsApp
Do the following if you don’t see the popup mentioned above. If the steps below seem lengthy and complicated, follow the next solution (i.e., reset all settings), and it should help force the permission box to pop up.
- Back up your WhatsApp chats.
- After that, delete the app and reinstall it.
- During setup, don’t forget to restore your backed chats. And importantly, you will see standard iOS popups asking to allow camera and microphone access. Make sure to tap Allow.
If you don’t get the popup, make a call, send a voice note, or take a picture inside a conversation, and then WhatsApp will ask you for microphone and camera permission. Remember to hit Allow.
6. Reset all iPhone settings
Resetting your iPhone settings can help show the permission popups and also address conflicting issues that are causing WhatsApp calls to fail.
When you reset iOS settings, it restores all device settings without deleting photos, videos, apps, app data, and so on.
Once the reset is complete, open WhatsApp and authorize it to access your microphone and camera. If you don’t see the iOS permission popup, you may need to follow the same steps mentioned above.
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