Can an iPad make phone calls at all?

Not on its own, even a cellular iPad with its own eSIM. It can relay calls through a nearby iPhone signed into the same Apple Account, either through the iPad’s own Phone app on iPadOS 26.1 and later, or through Calls on Other Devices in FaceTime’s settings on any earlier version.

Does a cellular iPad have its own phone number?

No. Apple has never sold an iPad plan that includes voice service; the SIM or eSIM in a cellular iPad authenticates a data connection only, the same one a travel eSIM buys in a phone.

Can I call 911, or another emergency number, from an iPad?

Only if Wi-Fi Calling is set up on the paired iPhone. Apple states this is a requirement rather than an optional extra, so it is worth switching on before a trip rather than discovering the gap during one.

Why did calling stop working on my iPad?

Almost always because the paired iPhone is off, out of Wi-Fi range with Wi-Fi Calling not configured, or signed into a different Apple Account than the iPad. Check those three before anything else.

How to Make and Take Phone Calls on an iPad

Published 2024-02-03 · Updated 2026-09-04 · 5 min read

A young woman in a striped shirt using a tablet outdoors in a sunlit square, a historic building behind her. — This iPad has cellular built in and still cannot place a call on its own. That takes a nearby iPhone, or nothing at all.

An iPad cannot dial a phone number on its own, not even a cellular one with its own eSIM. Apple has never sold an iPad plan that includes a voice line: the modem in a cellular iPad is there for data only, so buying more data changes nothing about this.

What actually places the call is a nearby iPhone, relayed to the iPad over the same Apple Account. Two ways to do that exist now: a Phone app built into the iPad itself since iPadOS 26.1, and the older Continuity relay hiding inside FaceTime’s settings on every version before it.

Why the iPad itself has nothing to dial with

Every cellular iPad Apple has sold carries a modem for data and nothing else. There is no iPad plan, from any carrier, that assigns the device its own phone number for voice calls: the SIM or eSIM in it authenticates a data connection, the same job a travel eSIM does in a phone. A cellular iPad with no iPhone nearby is, for calling purposes, exactly as capable as a Wi-Fi-only one: not at all.

The two ways it actually works

Both start from the same requirement: an iPhone signed into the same Apple Account as the iPad, and reachable by it. Which one is on offer depends on the iPadOS version installed.

The Phone app, on iPadOS 26.1 and later

Apple added a Phone app to the iPad itself in iPadOS 26.1, released 3 November 2025. Apple’s own description of it says it "lets you make and take calls from your iPhone" with the same features as the iPhone version, Call Screening, Hold Assist and Live Translation among them. Every call it places or answers still routes through the paired iPhone’s cellular connection rather than through the iPad’s own modem.

On the iPhone: Settings → Apps → FaceTime → Calls on Other Devices, turn it on, and choose the iPad from the list.
On the iPad: sign in with the same Apple Account and open the Phone app. Recents, Contacts and the keypad work exactly as they do on the iPhone.

Calls on Other Devices, on any earlier iPadOS

Without a Phone app, the same relay is reached through FaceTime’s own settings instead, which is what every iPad before iPadOS 26.1 has to use. Apple’s own setup guide covers the steps.

On the iPhone: Settings → Apps → FaceTime → Calls on Other Devices, then allow the iPad.
On the iPad: sign in with the same Apple Account and connect to the same Wi-Fi network as the iPhone.
Answer or place calls by tapping a number in Contacts, Messages, Calendar or Safari, since there is no dedicated Phone app to open.

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What has to stay true for either one to work

The same Apple Account, signed into both devices.
The iPhone switched on and reachable: the same Wi-Fi network, or Bluetooth range for the first pairing.
Wi-Fi Calling turned on for the iPhone’s own line, which is what keeps the iPad working once the iPhone leaves the room, and the reason emergency calls succeed at all.

What it still will not do

It does not give the iPad a phone number of its own. Every call, in or out, is still the iPhone’s number, so a caller sees the same name they always have. And it stops the moment the iPhone is switched off, out of Wi-Fi Calling range, or signed into a different Apple Account: no plan, no eSIM and no cellular data on the iPad changes any of that, because this is entirely an Apple Account and Continuity feature, unrelated to whichever SIM sits in the iPad, if it has one at all.

If the iPad is travelling alone

None of the above helps when there is no iPhone on the trip at all, a Wi-Fi-only iPad or one whose paired iPhone stayed home. The fix is the one a travel eSIM already needs: making and taking calls on a data-only plan covers voice and video over data, and a paid VoIP app for reaching an ordinary phone number the same way.

A travel eSIM on the iPad buys data either way, never a number, so pricing it is the same exercise as pricing one for a phone: compare eSIM plans for the destination rather than assuming whatever the iPad shipped with is the cheapest option.

Common questions

Can an iPad make phone calls at all?: Not on its own, even a cellular iPad with its own eSIM. It can relay calls through a nearby iPhone signed into the same Apple Account, either through the iPad’s own Phone app on iPadOS 26.1 and later, or through Calls on Other Devices in FaceTime’s settings on any earlier version.
Does a cellular iPad have its own phone number?: No. Apple has never sold an iPad plan that includes voice service; the SIM or eSIM in a cellular iPad authenticates a data connection only, the same one a travel eSIM buys in a phone.
Can I call 911, or another emergency number, from an iPad?: Only if Wi-Fi Calling is set up on the paired iPhone. Apple states this is a requirement rather than an optional extra, so it is worth switching on before a trip rather than discovering the gap during one.
Why did calling stop working on my iPad?: Almost always because the paired iPhone is off, out of Wi-Fi range with Wi-Fi Calling not configured, or signed into a different Apple Account than the iPad. Check those three before anything else.