Whatsapp

[bentaxle]

My son tells me I should put WhatsApp on my pc so he would be able to keep in touch via his smart phone when out of the country , is this a good idea as me and the pc are working well at the moment and I loathe to upset it with an app I know little about I've looked it up on the pc and I'm still not sure about it

[FatticusInch]

Don’t use it on my laptop myself but I have colleagues who do and they don’t mention any problems.

[ToraToraTora]

Yes he's bang on, My son is in South Korea and we use Whatsapp to video call all the time. It's a simple matter to install on your PC and it will sync with your phone.

[sunny-dave]

NB - you still need a smartphone.

Whatsapp needs to be installed on the smartphone with a sim card in it - you then link the PC to the Whatsapp account on the phone.

[Gettingonabit]

I'm not sure but I thought you needed WhatsApp to be on your smart phone first. If you do then there would be no need to put it on your laptop if you didn't want to, just use your phone.

[ToraToraTora]

Yes I assumed it was on the smartphone first.

[youngmafbog]

It will need the QR code to be authenticated by the 'owning' mobile device.

Signal and WhatsApp work fine on the PC if you want them on there.

[bentaxle]

Ah that's it I don't have a smart phone so Id better forget it Thank you all for your time and you have saved me time as I find I can get in a bit of muddle sometimes putting apps in then having to take them out
All the best

[ToraToraTora]

you can use Skype on the PC though and do the same thing, he'd have to put skype on his phone.

[Canary42]

This is encouraging. My niece wants me to get it, she says it is much better than Zoom which is what I use at present. But I think I understand it a bit more after reading this thread, so thanks for that peeps.

[fourteen85]

Can your son not put Whatsap on your pc using his smart phone, then keep in touch when he is away

[sunny-dave]

Nope the PC version of Whatsapp is associated with the smart phone which installed it - take the phone away for very long & it stops working.

[bentaxle]

I've had a word and he has another idea ,its he has an old iPhone 6 I can have and I could put a pay as you go card in , but the trouble is the battery drains very fast that's the reason he doesn't use it , I wonder can you get these batteries replaced at a reasonable price

[mouseymick]

I use it on my laptop , it’s ideal for importing pictures on screen and taking a snapshot of them , much better than squinting on a small phone screen. Much easier to read messages as well, which are free and protected in WhatsApp. I’ve used it for over 12 months and would strongly recommend it.

[bentaxle]

Thank you all for your advice and Mousey that's what I was thinking being 90 and two thirds them little smart phone buttons are to fiddly for my pinkies but what I could do is power the iPhone up with my laptop when I use It which is daily for two or three hours so a leaky battery wouldn't be a bother
Ill ask him to put a card in for me and have a go
Thank you all again
All the best