Channels
Make and receive WhatsApp calls in Tanvik
WhatsApp Calling lets customers call your business straight from WhatsApp, and lets your team call customers back from the Inbox, right in the browser. No separate phone line is needed. This article covers the call icon, business hours, asking customers for call permission, and handling calls. The settings live on the WhatsApp calling tab of the Calls page.
What you can do
| Feature | What it does | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Call icon | Shows a phone icon on your WhatsApp profile so customers can call you. | Calls page → Call settings |
| Business hours | Limits when customers can call, or keeps you available 24/7. | Calls page → Call settings |
| Call permission | Asks a customer to allow you to call them. WhatsApp requires this before you can start a call. | Calls page, or from a chat |
| Outgoing calls | Call a customer who has given permission. | Inbox, WhatsApp tab |
| Incoming calls | Answer or decline customer calls. | Inbox, WhatsApp tab |
Before you begin
You need four things. (1) The Calling feature on your plan (included in Pro and Custom), (2) your WhatsApp number connected through WhatsApp Direct (Meta), (3) WhatsApp Business Calling switched on for your number by Meta, and (4) a browser that is allowed to use your microphone.
To open the page, press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on Mac) and search for Calling. If your workspace also has the Voice Agent, the Calls page shows two tabs, WhatsApp calling and Voice Agent. Choose WhatsApp calling here. The Voice Agent is a different feature: see Set up your AI Voice Agent.
You see "WhatsApp Calling — Coming to your plan"
Calling works only on the Meta direct connection. Click Upgrade connection or contact your account manager to move your number to it.
You see "WhatsApp Business Calling isn't enabled on this number yet"
Meta has to switch calling on for your number before the call icon can appear. The message shows Meta's reason and your Phone number ID; share both with our support team.
Set up call settings
01
Turn on the call icon
In the Call settings card, switch on Show call icon to customers. Customers then see a phone icon on your WhatsApp profile and can tap it to request a call.
02
Choose when you take calls
Leave Available 24/7 on to accept calls at any time. Turn it off to set Business hours. (This switch appears once the call icon is on.)
03
Set your business hours
Pick a time zone: IST (Asia/Kolkata), GST (Dubai), SGT (Singapore), EST (New York) or GMT (London). Tick each day you are open and set its start and end time. Unticked days show as Closed. By default, Monday to Friday are open 09:00 to 18:00.
04
Save
Click Save settings. You will see "Calling settings saved" and a Last saved at time. Tanvik then reads the settings back from WhatsApp, so the page shows what customers actually see.
Ask customers for call permission
WhatsApp requires customer consent before a business can start a call. The customer gets an accept/decline prompt in WhatsApp. Once they accept, you can call them from the Inbox.
Create the permission template first. The request is sent as a WhatsApp template in the Utility category. Create it on the Templates section of Campaigns and wait for approval. Requests are sent using the English (en_US) version of the template. If you also want to request permission from inside a chat, name that template exactly calling_permission_request, because that is the name the Inbox uses.
01
Fill in the Request call permission form
Enter the Customer phone number (the customer must be opted in to your WhatsApp number). If you leave out the + and country code, +91 is added. Enter the Permission template name, e.g. call_permission_request.
02
Send it
Click Send permission request. You will see "Permission request sent — waiting for customer to accept". The request also shows in Recent activity.
Make a call from the Inbox
01
Open the customer's conversation
Go to Inbox (called Chats on your phone), stay on the WhatsApp tab and open the chat. You can also click Go to Chats → on the WhatsApp calling tab.
02
Click the phone icon
Click the phone icon in the conversation header (its tooltip reads "WhatsApp call" and the contact's name). Allow microphone access when your browser asks.
03
Talk and end the call
A call card shows the contact, the call status and a timer. Use Mute, Speaker and Keypad (to press numbers during the call), and End to hang up.
No permission yet? If the customer has not given permission, Tanvik shows a Request Calling Permission box. Click Send Request to send them the permission prompt, then try again after they accept.
Receive a call
When a customer calls you on WhatsApp, an Incoming WhatsApp Call card appears in the Inbox. Click Accept to answer or Decline to reject it. Once connected, you get the same Mute, Speaker, Keypad and End controls.
Keep the Inbox open during your calling hours
Incoming calls ring in the Inbox, so keep it open in a browser tab while you accept calls.
Use a headset
Calls use your computer's microphone and speakers. A headset gives the customer clearer sound.
You can take one call at a time
If a new call comes in while you are already on a call, the new call is ended automatically.
Stats & recent activity
The top of the WhatsApp calling tab shows four cards. Recent activity lists settings changes ("Settings updated"), calls you made ("Called" and the number) and permission requests you sent, with the template used and the time. Click Refresh to reload both your settings and the activity list.
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Total calls | Calls started from Tanvik, all time |
| This week | Calls started in the last 7 days |
| Permissions sent | Call permission requests sent |
| Call icon | Enabled (with "Available 24/7" or "Business hours only"), Disabled ("Hidden on your profile"), or Not enabled when Meta has not switched calling on |
Common problems
"Microphone access denied — cannot start call."
Your browser blocked the microphone. Click the lock icon in the address bar, allow the microphone for Tanvik, and reload the page.
"WA Business Calling not enabled for this account."
Meta has not switched calling on for your number yet. Contact support with the Phone number ID shown on the Calls page.
"Permission request limit reached — try again tomorrow."
WhatsApp limits how many permission requests you can send. Wait until the next day before asking this customer again.
"No phone number for this contact"
The conversation has no phone number saved. Add it to the contact first.
"Couldn't read your settings."
Tanvik could not reach Meta. Click Refresh in Recent activity; if it keeps happening, check your channel in Settings → Channels & WhatsApp.
Was this article helpful?