Making a call with an iPad

I have a data only plan with AT&T. I have been able to use Messages to send texts. But mysterious as it make seem, if I click on a phone number, it says "Make a call". What does that get billed as? Do people with iCloud accounts get to make calls? Does the iPad send and receive audio over those calls? Do I need a special headset for the headphone jack that has a microphone, or can I talk into the ports on the side of the screen that appear to have speaker grills? It is an iPad Air 2 running iOS 9.2.1. I am in the U.S. And that brings me to another question, if that does not let me make regular phone calls, are there any free Apps that do for the U.S.?

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2), * I may get paid from macmaps links

Posted on Sep 26, 2016 9:53 AM

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4 replies

Sep 26, 2016 10:28 AM in response to a brody

As Diana explained, if you have an iPhone and you meet all of the other requirements, you can make phone calls on the iPad. Those calls would be charged to your wireless carrier for the iPhone. You can read how to set it up and use the feature here.

Use Continuity to connect your Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple Watch - Apple Support


You can also make FaceTime audio calls to other iOS devices that work over WiFi and there would be no charge for the calls at all. You would simply pay for your internet service that gets you the WiFi connection.


You can also download apps like Skype that will allow you to make audio calls to other users that have Skype. I believe that there are other apps that let you make calls, but I am not familiar with any of them. You can search the App Store for them.

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Making a call with an iPad

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