How to Make Phone Calls from an iPad Without an iPhone
Yes, an iPad can make phone calls. The catch is how Apple built it. The Phone app on iPad relays calls "through your iPhone", in Apple's words, so it only works when your iPhone is switched on, signed in to the same Apple Account, on the same Wi-Fi, and within 30 feet. No iPhone, no Phone app. A cellular iPad doesn't change this. Its plan is for data; it has no phone line of its own.
Without an iPhone, two real options remain. Call people inside an app you both use, like FaceTime or WhatsApp, which works well for friends and badly for a bank, a hotel, an airline or anyone else who answers a phone number rather than an app. Or use an internet calling service, in Safari or as an app, that dials real phone numbers, landline or mobile, and charges by the minute. That second route is what we make, so the steps below use it, and the limits section is honest about what an iPad still can't do.
Four ways to call from an iPad, and what each one needs
| Method | Who you can call | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Phone app on iPad (current iPadOS) | Anyone, on your own number | Your iPhone nearby: same Apple Account, same Wi-Fi, within 30 feet. Calls use the iPhone's line and plan. |
| FaceTime audio | Other Apple users | Wi-Fi, and the other person on an iPhone, iPad or Mac |
| WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger and similar | People who have the same app | Wi-Fi, and an account on each side |
| Internet calling service (Safari or an app) | Any phone number: landlines, mobiles, businesses, toll-free lines | Wi-Fi and a few dollars of credit. CallTuv works this way in Safari with nothing to install, or as the CallTuv app from the App Store. |
What Apple's own way needs
Apple's iPad guide is plain about it, and worth quoting in full because every forum answer garbles some part of it. "You can relay phone calls and text messages through your iPhone to your iPad." The setup lives on the iPhone, under Settings, Apps, Phone, Calls on Other Devices, and the devices you allow "can make and receive calls when they're near your iPhone, connected to the same Wi-Fi network, and signed in to the same Apple Account". The troubleshooting section adds the distance: "your devices must be within 30 feet (10 meters) of one another."
So the iPad is a second handset for your iPhone's line. Useful on the sofa. Useless on a trip where the iPhone stayed home, died, or was stolen. Apple's page also notes that "cellular charges may apply" and that "Wi-Fi Calling isn't available from all carriers", because the calls run on the iPhone's plan, roaming rates included.
That covers the case the top search results are about. The rest of this page is for everyone else: the iPad-only household, the kid's iPad, the old iPad in a drawer, the traveller whose phone is gone.
How to call any number from an iPad with no iPhone
An internet calling service does what a carrier does, minus the carrier. It takes your voice over Wi-Fi and hands the call to the ordinary phone network at the other end, so the person you call picks up a normal call on a normal phone and has no idea it started on a tablet. They don't need an app. Or an account. Or an iPad. With CallTuv it goes like this.
- Open Safari and go to calltuv.com, or install the CallTuv app from the App Store. The app is designed for iPhone, so an iPad runs it in Apple's iPhone-sized window; the browser dialer runs at full size and needs nothing installed. Your credit and call history are the same in both.
- Create an account and add credit. The minimum top-up is $5. No subscription, no monthly fee, and the credit doesn't expire.
- Allow the microphone when Safari asks. That's the only permission a call needs.
- Type the number with its country code and read the rate before you press call. A US number, including 800 and 888 toll-free lines, is $0.03 a minute; a UK landline is $0.04. Every one of the 232 destinations has its landline and mobile rate on the rates page.
- Press call. If you land in a phone menu, the on-screen keypad works after the call connects, so "press 2 for existing customers" works from the iPad the same as from a phone.
AirPods work. So does any Bluetooth headset, and so do the iPad's own speaker and microphone. On a Wi-Fi-only iPad there's no SIM at all, which doesn't matter: no SIM is needed, because the call never touches a cellular network on your side.
Does a cellular iPad make calls?
Not on its own. An iPad with Wi-Fi + Cellular has a data plan, which gets it online anywhere, and that's all it has. No phone number. No voice line. Apple's Phone app on iPad still relays through an iPhone on a cellular model. What the cellular plan does give you is the connection for everything above, so an internet calling service works from a cellular iPad in a car or on a train, not just on Wi-Fi.
What an iPad still can't do
Receive calls on a phone number. No iPhone in range, no number for anyone to ring. An internet calling service, ours included, is outbound only: it makes calls, it doesn't receive them, and it doesn't give you a number. If someone needs to reach you, that's FaceTime or a messaging app.
Call emergency services. Neither an iPad nor any internet calling app can place a call to 911, 112 or 999. Emergency calls need a carrier to route them and pass on your location, which is why CallTuv doesn't connect to emergency numbers. In an emergency, use any phone with a SIM, or a landline.
Read the verification texts on your old number. Bank codes go to the SIM they were sent to. If the phone with that SIM is gone, see our guide to a phone stolen abroad, which is built around exactly this problem and includes the carrier and bank numbers to call from an iPad or a laptop.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make phone calls from my iPad?
Yes. With an iPhone nearby on the same Apple Account and Wi-Fi, the iPad's Phone app relays calls through it. Without an iPhone, use FaceTime or a messaging app to reach people who have them, or an internet calling service in Safari to dial any real number.
Can you make calls on an iPad without an iPhone?
Yes, but not through Apple's Phone app, which needs the iPhone within 30 feet. An internet calling service such as CallTuv dials landlines and mobiles from Safari on the iPad, or from its App Store app, with no iPhone involved.
Does the iPad have a Phone app?
On current iPadOS, yes; Apple's guide for iPadOS 26 and 27 covers it, and it's downloadable from the App Store if it's missing. It only works by relaying through an iPhone signed in to the same Apple Account.
Can an iPad with cellular make phone calls?
Not by itself. The cellular plan is data only, with no phone number attached. It does let an internet calling service work away from Wi-Fi.
Can I call a landline from my iPad?
Yes, with an internet calling service. FaceTime and WhatsApp reach only other users of those apps; a service that dials real numbers reaches landlines, mobiles and toll-free lines.
How much does it cost to call from an iPad?
FaceTime and app-to-app calls are free over Wi-Fi. Internet calls to real numbers are charged by the minute; with CallTuv a US number is $0.03 a minute and a UK landline $0.04, with the rate shown before you dial.
Can I receive calls on my iPad without an iPhone?
Only inside apps like FaceTime or WhatsApp. There's no phone number to receive on, and internet calling services are outbound only.
Can I use my old iPad for calls?
Yes. As long as it connects to Wi-Fi and runs a Safari recent enough to open the dialer, an old iPad with no cellular plan and no iPhone in the house works fine for outbound calls this way, and it's a common way to give a spare tablet a job.