How to call on a Chromebook in 2026, step by step

Can a Chromebook make calls through my Android phone?

Not through Phone Hub. It links a Chromebook to an Android phone, but the features Google lists are signal and battery status, quick commands, Chrome tabs, notifications, recent photos and app streaming^[1]. Connecting the phone also lets the Chromebook send and receive text messages^[8]. Neither help page mentions placing or answering a call, so your phone's calls stay on the phone.

Phone Hub needs ChromeOS M89 or later and a phone on Android 5.1 or later, so it is no use with an iPhone^[1]. App streaming works only with a Pixel 4a or later, two Nothing phones and a few Xiaomi models, on the same Wi-Fi network as the Chromebook^[1], and no Google page I read promises call audio through it.

Windows differs here: Microsoft's Phone Link relays your phone's calls to the PC over Bluetooth^[9], as my Phone Link comparison explains.

The exception is Google Fi, which is sold only in the US^[10]: if your Fi phone is an Android, you can make and receive calls on your Fi number in a browser tab, even with the phone off^[11][12]. iPhone and iPad users don't get this feature^[11].

Which ways of calling work on a Chromebook?

Most options run in a Chrome tab. Google Voice gives US residents free calls to US and Canada numbers^[2], TextNow does the same for US and Canadian residents^[13], web dialers charge per minute, and capped free dialers cover a short call. WhatsApp Web reaches only WhatsApp users. Which fits depends on where you live and whether you have a phone number to verify.

Checked November 1, 2026. Google Voice's free calls apply when you call from the US. TextNow and WhatsApp don't list ChromeOS, so I can't confirm their calling works there.

How do I call from a Chromebook, step by step?

Switch on the microphone, open the dialer in Chrome, allow the microphone for that one site, and type the full number with its country code. I took the menu names below from Google's ChromeOS and Chrome help pages as they read on November 1, 2026.

1. Turn on Microphone access: select the time, then Settings, Privacy and security, Privacy controls. A physical microphone switch, if your model has one, must be on too^[27].
2. Open the dialer in Chrome. Google Voice supports Chrome OS^[3], TwinPhone says it works in Chrome on a Chromebook^[19], and Yolla Web lists Chrome^[20].
3. Sign in and add credit if the service charges per minute; TwinPhone's smallest top-up is $10^[28].
4. When Chrome asks, allow the microphone for that site^[29].
5. Type the country code before the number^[2], as in the table below.
6. Check the per-minute rate, which TwinPhone and Yolla show before the call connects^[19][20], then press Call.
7. Keep the tab open until you hang up; a headset stops the other person hearing an echo^[19].

How to type the number

From the ITU's country-code and dialling lists and the IFT's notices on Mexico's 10-digit dialling, checked November 1, 2026.

If the other person can't hear you

• Blocked site: in chrome://settings/content, find the dialer under "Not allowed to use your camera or microphone" and switch it to Allow^[27][29].
• Wrong microphone: choose a default microphone for sites in Chrome, useful with a headset^[29].
• Android app: its microphone permission lives in the Android Preference Center, not in Chrome^[27].

How do I use Google Voice on a Chromebook?

If you live in the US, Google Voice is the free route: Chrome OS is on its supported list^[3], and from the US almost all calls to US and Canada numbers cost nothing^[2]. Open voice.google.com in Chrome, type the number on the keypad and click Call. The "Call as" field at the top right shows the Google Voice number you are calling from^[2].

Personal accounts are US-only^[4], sign-up texts a code to a phone number you already have^[14] and asks for a government-issued ID^[15], and incoming calls ring on the Chromebook only while you are signed in with the browser window open^[34]. Elsewhere, see what to use if Google Voice isn't available to you.

Can I use Android calling apps on a Chromebook?

Sometimes. Google says the Play Store is available on only some Chromebooks, and that some apps don't work with some Chromebooks^[35]. To check, select the time, then Settings, Apps, Manage Google Play preferences; if that option is missing, your Chromebook doesn't run Android apps^[35].

An app's sign-up may still want a phone number: Yolla's app, for one, asks for yours in international format^[36]. I didn't install calling apps on a Chromebook, so I can't say which run well; a web dialer in Chrome avoids the question.

What does a call from a Chromebook cost?

Calls to US and Canada numbers cost nothing on Google Voice from the US^[2] or on TextNow^[17], and WhatsApp-to-WhatsApp calls are free^[22]. Outside those, you pay per minute on a web dialer. Yolla's published starting rates are lower than TwinPhone's to the US, UK mobiles and India, and the two match on UK landlines^{[5][37][38][6]}.

Per minute, lowest published rate on the date checked. Scroll sideways on a phone.

TwinPhone lets you sign up with no phone number^[19] and rent an optional US, Canadian or Puerto Rico number from $3.19 a month^[41]; calls to it ring in the browser tab and cost $0.02 a minute^[42]. Against that: no free calls or trial credit^[43], numbers in those three places only, and 145+ countries on one page against 165 destinations on its rates page^[19][6].

Free dialers cap you: PopTox allows the same number 5 times a day^[24] from one shared caller ID^[44], and Call2Friends one or two calls a day^[25] of 120 seconds to the US^[45].

Why can't I call from my school or work Chromebook?

Because the administrator decides. Google's help pages warn that on a work or school device you may not be able to change the microphone settings^[29], add the Play Store^[35] or use Phone Hub^[1]. A web dialer needs its site to load and the microphone to be allowed, so ask the administrator for both on the one site you need.

What shouldn't I rely on a Chromebook for?

Emergency calls. Google Voice says you can't make emergency calls with it^[2], TwinPhone and Yolla rule them out as well^[43][46], and a Chromebook has no phone line to fall back on. Keep a mobile or a landline within reach for 911, 112 or 999.

My guide to 911 and 112 from a computer covers the exceptions, such as Google Voice's paid plans^[47].

Caller ID differs by service: your Google Voice number^[2], a shared TwinPhone number unless you rent one or verify your mobile for $1 a month^[48], and on Yolla your own number^[49], though the Yolla Web page doesn't say which number web calls show^[20]. My note on which number the other person sees goes further.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Guides

  Phone Link calls vs browser calling: what each needs and when it works

  Phone Link calls run through your own phone over Bluetooth. I compare its requirements with browser dialers that need no phone, and say when each one works.

• Guides

  Calling from a Mac: the iPhone relay, FaceTime or a browser dialer

  Phone calls on a Mac: Calls from iPhone and the Phone app, FaceTime for Apple users, and Safari web dialers for a Mac with no iPhone, with costs and limits.

• Countries

  How to call Mexico from the US: the dial string, the 10-digit rule and costs

  How to call Mexico from the US: dial 011 52 and the 10-digit number. Why 044, 045 and the extra 1 are gone, and the Mexico rates I checked on 1 Nov 2026.