Help & questions
How do we start a call?
- Both phones open this link and tap 📞 Long distance.
- Both type the same room name (for example FAMILY) and the same 4-digit PIN (for example 1234).
- Each phone picks the language that person speaks: "I speak English" or "මම කතා කරන්නේ සිංහලෙන්".
- Tap Start call. It does not matter who joins first; the first phone waits and rings when the other arrives.
The PIN keeps strangers out. A phone with the wrong PIN never reaches your room.
Can we do a voice call without video?
Yes. Before you tap Start call, tap 🎥 Video call so it changes to 📞 Voice only. The phone then only asks for the microphone. A voice call uses much less data and works better on a weak signal. To switch between voice and video, end the call, change it, and start again.
It never asked for the camera or microphone, or it says blocked
The phone has blocked this site, or the link opened inside another app.
- Open the link in the real browser: Safari on iPhone, Chrome on Android. Not inside WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram.
- iPhone: in Safari tap aA (left of the address), then Website Settings, set Camera and Microphone to Allow, reload.
- Android: in Chrome tap the icon left of the address, then Permissions, set Camera and Microphone to Allow (or Reset permissions), reload.
- Still nothing? Check the phone's own Settings: the browser itself must be allowed to use the camera and microphone.
- Close any other app using the camera, such as a WhatsApp or FaceTime call.
කැමරාව හෝ මයික් එක අවහිර නම්: මේ ලින්ක් එක Safari (iPhone) හෝ Chrome (Android) එකෙන් අරින්න. සැකසුම් වල කැමරාව සහ මයික් එකට ඉඩ දෙන්න.
We hear each other, but there is no translation
Both phones are probably set to the same language. Each phone must say the language that person speaks: one on English, one on සිංහල. The status line shows "you: ... · them: ..." and warns you when they match. You can change "I speak" during the call; no need to hang up.
The translation is nonsense
- Wrong language chosen: if a phone is set to Sinhala and the person speaks English, it hears English as Sinhala and produces nonsense. Check "I speak" on both phones.
- Phones hearing each other: if both phones are in the same house, each picks up the other's voice and translates it again. Test from separate rooms with doors closed, ideally with earphones.
- Noise: TV, music or several people talking at once confuse it. One person at a time works best.
Someone left and came back, and the video froze
Stay on the call. When the other person comes back, the video and voice reconnect by themselves within a few seconds. If nothing happens after 15 seconds, both tap End call, then Start call again.
Why is there a delay before the translation?
About 3 to 4 seconds, in three steps: the phone waits to be sure you have finished speaking, the sentence is translated, and the voice is made. It waits a little on purpose so it does not cut people off mid-sentence. Short sentences and a small pause work best, like talking through an interpreter.
I cannot hear anything
Turn the volume up. On iPhone, check the silent switch on the side of the phone (orange means silent). If a "Tap to hear" message appears, tap it once and sound will flow from then on.
An error says 429 or "too many requests"
The server is asking the phone to slow down. Tap End call, wait one minute, and start again. If it keeps happening, tell Maheshika.
How do I get the newest version?
Close the app completely and open the link again. The version is shown at the very bottom of this page. Both phones should show the same version, or they may not find each other.
Same room and Subtitles: what are they?
Same room: one phone sits between two people. Auto detect listens for both languages; in a noisy room tap "English only" or "සිංහල පමණයි" before each person speaks.
Subtitles: during a WhatsApp call on speaker, put a second phone or tablet beside it. It shows large live subtitles and never speaks.
Is it private?
Your room is protected by its PIN. Speech is sent to Microsoft (to hear it and to make the voice) and to Anthropic (to translate it); Paalama does not keep a copy. The conversation history stays only on this phone. Tap "Clear this conversation" above to delete it.
