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Calling and messaging are the two things most people buy a phone for in the first place. Yet surprisingly few people know all the ways their phone can do both — or the differences between them that can save you money every month.

This article covers everything from making a basic phone call to sending a WhatsApp voice note — including the options that cost airtime, the ones that use data, and the ones that are completely free on Wi-Fi. By the end you’ll know exactly which method to use in which situation.

Making a phone call

Dialling a number you haven’t called before

1. Find the Phone app on your home screen — it looks like a small telephone handset, usually green
2. Tap it to open it
3. Tap the keypad icon — it looks like a grid of dots or numbers, usually at the bottom of the screen
4. Type the number you want to call using the on-screen keypad
5. Tap the green call button — a circle with a phone handset icon
6. Hold the phone to your ear and wait for the other person to answer

To end the call, tap the red button that appears on screen while the call is active.

Dialling format in South Africa: When calling a South African number from within South Africa, dial the full 10-digit number including the area code or network prefix — for example 021 555 1234 for a landline or 082 555 1234 for a mobile. You don’t need to dial a 0 before an international code, but for local calls always include the full number.

Calling someone in your contacts

If you’ve already saved someone’s number, you don’t need to type it every time.

1. Open the Phone app
2. Tap Contacts or the people icon at the bottom of the screen
3. Scroll through your contacts or type a name in the search bar at the top
4. Tap the person’s name to open their contact
5. Tap the phone number or the green call button next to it

Saving a contact

Saving numbers means you’ll always know who is calling you — and makes calling or messaging anyone much faster.

1. Open the Phone app
2. Tap the Contacts tab
3. Tap the + button (usually top right)
4. Type the person’s name in the Name field
5. Type their number in the Phone field
6. Tap Save

A good habit: Save every number you use regularly — your doctor, your bank’s customer service line, family members, your building’s managing agent. When scammers call from unknown numbers, seeing “Unknown number” rather than a saved name is itself a useful warning sign.

Answering and rejecting calls

When your phone rings you’ll see the caller’s name (if saved) or their number on screen.

• To answer: Swipe the green button to the right, or tap Answer
• To reject: Swipe the red button to the left, or tap Decline — the call goes to voicemail if you have it set up
• To silence without rejecting: Press either volume button once — this stops the ringing but lets the call continue. The caller doesn’t know you’ve silenced it. Useful when your phone rings at an inconvenient moment but you don’t want to cut the person off entirely

During a call — the on-screen options

While a call is active your screen shows several buttons you may need:

• Mute — taps the microphone off so the other person can’t hear you temporarily. Tap again to unmute
• Speaker — switches to speakerphone so you don’t need to hold the phone to your ear. Useful when your hands are busy
• Keypad — opens the number pad, useful when a phone system asks you to “press 1 for English” or similar
• Hold — pauses the call. The other person hears hold music while you attend to something

Sending a text message (SMS)

An SMS is a short text message sent over the phone network — the same network that carries your calls. It doesn’t use the internet or data. It uses airtime.

1. Open the Messages app — it looks like a speech bubble, usually in green or blue
2. Tap the compose button — a pencil icon or a + symbol
3. In the To field, type a name from your contacts or a phone number
4. Tap the message field at the bottom and type your message
5. Tap the send button — an arrow pointing to the right

When to use SMS: SMS is reliable and doesn’t need internet, making it useful when data is off or signal is poor. Banks and SASSA send OTPs and notifications via SMS precisely because it doesn’t need data. For everyday conversation however, WhatsApp is free and far more capable.

WhatsApp — the most used communication tool in South Africa

WhatsApp is a messaging app that uses your internet connection — Wi-Fi or mobile data — instead of airtime. Sending a WhatsApp message, photo or voice note to another WhatsApp user costs you nothing beyond your normal data usage, which for text messages is negligible — you could send thousands of text WhatsApps for less than 1MB of data.

If you’re on Wi-Fi, WhatsApp is completely free to use regardless of how much you send.

Sending a WhatsApp text message

1. Open WhatsApp — the green app with a white telephone inside a speech bubble
2. Tap the Chats tab at the bottom if you’re not already there
3. Either tap an existing conversation to continue it, or tap the pencil/compose icon to start a new one
4. If starting new, find the contact by typing their name in the search bar
5. Tap the message bar at the bottom of the screen — the area that says “Message”
6. Type your message
7. Tap the green send arrow

Sending a WhatsApp voice note

Voice notes are one of the most beloved features of WhatsApp in South Africa — many people find speaking faster and more natural than typing, especially on a small keyboard.

1. Open the WhatsApp conversation you want to send a voice note in
2. Tap and hold the microphone icon on the right side of the message bar
3. Speak your message while holding the button
4. Release the button when you’re done — the voice note sends automatically

To listen before sending: Instead of releasing, slide your finger to the left to the lock icon — this locks the recording so you can stop holding. Tap the red stop button when done, then tap the play button to listen. Tap send when you’re happy with it, or the bin icon to delete and start again.

To cancel a voice note while recording: Slide your finger to the left all the way to the bin icon and release — the recording is deleted without sending.

Making a WhatsApp call

WhatsApp also allows you to make voice and video calls over the internet — free to any other WhatsApp user anywhere in the world, using only data or Wi-Fi.

1. Open the WhatsApp conversation with the person you want to call
2. Tap the phone icon (voice call) or the video camera icon (video call) at the top right of the screen
3. Wait for them to answer — it works just like a regular call

Video calls are particularly popular for keeping in touch with family in other cities or provinces. As long as both people have WhatsApp and a reasonable signal, you can see and speak to each other in real time at no airtime cost.

Understanding the difference — airtime vs data

This is one of the most commonly misunderstood things about modern smartphones and it’s worth being very clear about:

	Uses airtime	Uses data
Regular phone call	✓ Yes	✗ No
SMS text message	✓ Yes	✗ No
WhatsApp text message	✗ No	✓ Yes (very little)
WhatsApp voice note	✗ No	✓ Yes (a little)
WhatsApp voice call	✗ No	✓ Yes (moderate)
WhatsApp video call	✗ No	✓ Yes (more)

The practical implication: If you’ve run out of data but still have airtime, you can still make regular calls and send SMS messages. If you’ve run out of airtime but have data or Wi-Fi, you can still WhatsApp freely. Knowing this prevents the panicked feeling of thinking you’re completely cut off when in fact you still have one option available.

A note on WhatsApp calls vs regular calls

WhatsApp calls use data and are free to other WhatsApp users. Regular calls use airtime and are charged per minute by your network. For most everyday calls within South Africa, a regular call is perfectly fine. But for long calls, calls to people in other countries, or video calls, WhatsApp is significantly cheaper — often free entirely if you’re on Wi-Fi.

Group chats and broadcast messages

WhatsApp groups are conversations that include three or more people simultaneously. Everyone in the group can see and reply to every message. Groups are commonly used by families, neighbourhoods, church communities, work colleagues and sports teams.

To create a group:

1. Open WhatsApp
2. Tap the pencil/compose icon
3. Tap New group
4. Select the contacts you want to add
5. Tap the green arrow
6. Give the group a name and tap the green tick

A note on group etiquette: South African WhatsApp groups have a reputation for being very active — sometimes overwhelmingly so. If a group becomes too noisy, you can mute it without leaving. Open the group, tap the group name at the top, scroll down to Mute notifications, and choose a duration. You’ll still receive messages but your phone won’t buzz every time.

Checking your missed calls

If you miss a call, your phone shows a notification. To see all missed calls:

1. Open the Phone app
2. Tap the Recents or Call log tab
3. Missed calls are shown in red
4. Tap a missed call to call back, or long press for more options

Try this now

Send a WhatsApp voice note to a family member or close friend. Open WhatsApp, find their conversation, hold the microphone button, say something brief — even just “testing, testing” — and release to send. That’s it. You’ve just used one of the most popular communication features in South Africa. If they’re surprised to receive it, you can tell them you’re learning something new — most people find that rather charming.

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