Video call technical requirements

Below are the recommended technical requirements for you to access the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby helpline via a video call.

to work smoothly, Video Call requires a minimum broadband speed of 350Kbps upstream and downstream for a 2 endpoint call
latency is recommended to be less than 100ms. You can test your speed and latency at videocall.direct/precall or speedtest.net
a wired internet connection will provide best video quality, but you can also use Wi-Fi or a mobile 4G/5G data service. Video Call also works with low latency satellite connections for example, Starlink.
check that your internet usage plan covers the data consumption of a video call

a typical 20 minute call on a good internet connection, with a fast computer, could consume as much 600 Megabytes
with a slower connection, or a slower computer, the data consumption may be as low as 150 Megabytes

PC or Mac with at least a 2GHz dual-core, ideally i5, processor and 3GB of memory
Operating system, either Microsoft Windows 10 or later or Mac OS 14.3+
Android phone or tablet, less than two years old with Android 10 or above and front facing camera
iPhones (iPhone 8 or later), latest iPads

Google Chrome — version 120+ (Windows, Android, MacOS) — download Google Chrome
Apple Safari — version 414+ (MacOS, iOS) — MacOS is optimised using the Chrome browser in Video Call
Firefox — version 120+ (Windows, Android)
Microsoft Edge — version 120+ (Windows, MacOS) — MacOS is optimised using the Chrome browser in Video Call
Microsoft Edge — version 1204+ (Android)

Video Call always recommends using the latest version of Chrome or Safari for best video calling performance.

an in-built camera in your computer or mobile device is suitable for individual use
where more than one person will be in the video call, a modern USB Webcam which has a wider angle lens is recommended
installing the most up-to-date camera driver is strongly recommended

the microphone can either be built into the computer or to the USB Webcam
a combination headphone microphone set may be used. This is especially useful on mobile devices where there is background noise

the video call will use the default speaker device in your computer or mobile device
if you have headphones that you can attach to your computer, tablet or mobile, this can assist with reducing background noise and prevent others from over-hearing your conversation