How to Call a Phone From Your Computer (4 Ways, 2026)

The four ways, compared

The right method depends on one thing: whether your phone is with you. The first two borrow your phone's line; the last two don't need a phone at all.

Windows: Phone Link

Phone Link makes your PC a speaker and keyboard for your phone. It works with Android phones and iPhones, and needs Bluetooth on both the PC and the phone. The call runs through your phone, so it uses your mobile number and plan.

1. Open Phone Link on your PC and pair your phone when it asks.
2. Select Calls.
3. Search for a contact or type the number, then select the dial button.

Keep the phone within Bluetooth range for the whole call. If the phone has no signal, the call won't connect: Phone Link doesn't add a line of its own.

Mac: calls from your iPhone

A Mac can place calls through your iPhone when both are on the same Wi-Fi and signed in to the same Apple Account. Turn it on once:

1. On the iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Calls on Other Devices, turn on Allow Calls on Other Devices and select your Mac.
2. On the Mac, open FaceTime, choose FaceTime > Settings > General and select Calls from iPhone.
3. To call, click a phone number in Contacts, Safari, Messages or Calendar, or type it in the Phone app (macOS Tahoe) or FaceTime.

Like Phone Link, this uses your iPhone's number and plan, and your iPhone has to be nearby with a signal.

Google Voice (US)

If you live in the US and have a Google Voice number, you can call from the Google Voice website in any browser. Open Calls, type the number and call. Calls to the US and Canada are free; other countries are charged per minute.

The catch is signing up: personal Google Voice asks you to verify with an existing US phone number and is only offered in the US. Business Google Voice comes with Google Workspace in a list of other countries. See where Google Voice is available.

No phone: a browser dialer

A browser dialer is a phone line that lives in a web page. Your computer's microphone and speakers carry the call, so it works when your phone is lost, flat, out of signal, without a plan, or in another country. This is what BubblyPhone does:

1. Create an account and add credit (the minimum top-up is $5).
2. Open the dialer in Chrome or Firefox and allow the microphone when the browser asks.
3. Pick the country, type the number and press Call.

It runs on any computer with a modern browser: Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux. A headset isn't required, but it stops the other person hearing an echo of themselves.

If you don't have a SIM at all, our guide to calling without a SIM card covers phones and tablets too. For free options, see free calls online.

Calling your own phone to find it

If you want to call your own phone because you can't find it, use the manufacturer's finder instead: it rings even on silent. For Android, sign in to Google's Find Hub (formerly Find My Device) with the phone's Google account and choose Play sound. For iPhone, sign in to Find My on iCloud and choose Play Sound. Any of the methods above will also ring it, but a phone on silent won't make a sound.

What happened to Skype?

Skype shut down on May 5, 2025. Microsoft moved Skype users to Teams Free and kept a dial pad there and on the Skype web portal for people with existing Skype Credit. For everyone else, the options are the ones above. Our Skype alternatives guide compares them in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

Related resources