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

Internet connection

• 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 speedtest.net
• a wired internet connection will provide best video quality, but you can also use Wi-Fi or a mobile 3.5/4G data service
• 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

Computers, tablets and mobiles

• PC or Mac with at least a 2GHz dual-core, ideally i5, processor and 3GB of memory
• Operating system, either Microsoft Windows 7 or later or Mac OS 10.12+ on Intel
• Android phone or tablet, less than two years old with Android 5.1 or above and front facing camera
• iPhones (iPhone 5S or later), iPad Air or later, iPad Mini 2 or later, iPad Pro

Web browser

• Google Chrome — version 80+ (Windows, Android, MacOS) — download Google Chrome
• Apple Safari — version 12+ (MacOS, iOS) — MacOS is optimised using the Chrome browser in Video Call
• Firefox — version 75+ (Windows, Android)
• Microsoft Edge — version 80+ (Windows, MacOS) — MacOS is optimised using the Chrome browser in Video Call
• Microsoft Edge — version 44+ (Android)

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

Camera

• 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

Microphone

• 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

Speakers

• 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