Facebook Portal Plus – Smart Video Calling 15.6 inch Touch Screen Display with Alexa – Black (Gen 1)
Portal Comparison
Portal+ | Portal TV | Portal 10″ | Portal 15.6″ | |
Display | 15.6″ HD adaptive touchscreen | Connects to TV with HDMI input | 10″ HD adaptive touchscreen | 15.6″ HD adaptive touchscreen |
Input | Touchscreen or voice command | Remote control or voice | Touchscreen or voice command | Touchscreen or voice command |
Alexa built in | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Enjoy your favourite apps | Spotify, Zoom, Plex and more | Spotify, Netflix, Zoom & more | Spotify, Zoom, Plex and more | Spotify, Zoom, Plex and more |
Available colours | Black or White | Black | Black or White | Black or White |
Dimensions | 45cm h x 14.6cm w x 22.3cm d | 3.17cm h x 19.05cm w x 5.7cm d | 17.85cm h 26cm w x 14.12cm d | 45cm h x 14.6cm w x 22.3cm d |
Dimensions: | 37.3 x 14.1 x 22.4 cm; 6.06 Kilograms |
Model: | 899-00048-13 |
Origin: | USA |
Seems to be an issue with WhatsApp connectivity which results in it connecting easily to someones phone but not to someone else’s portal. Cant get a straight answer from Facebook about whether a WhatsApp account is all you ned or whether you need to have an FB account too. Annoying how it also offers Messenger as well as a way of connecting, the is just confusing!
Camera follows you so easy to use for my elderly family and they have said they feel like Weare in the room… One of them was recently widowed
Bought for my mum who is deaf. Easy to install and then mum can use volume control on tv to hear and see the grand kids.
I have had doubts as to whether it would be good or not. Yet, as per usual I’m outstandingly surprised and the quality of the camera and the camera body. Sturdy, sits perfectly on top of the tv extremely easy to connect. I do advise to get a HIGH SPEED HDMI cable. better quality image and sound. the Microphone is amazing, it takes away surrounding noises and yet amplifies voices. My family is in the UK and I live in the Canary Islands. I wish I had bought it earlier on during the Pandemic. Recommended Buy 10/10
Found it worked better on the mantle Piece. Good Picture from N.Ireland . Picks up my WIFI Ok inspite of the Poor signal Strength . Glad I noticed it at special price. No complaints
My brother bought this about at year ago I could not justify the cost but when the price dropped to 54 I purchased one so did my son and daughter also bought one great produc
Very pleased with this item. Nice and easy to keep in touch and to see family and friends.
This is a really nice addition to WhatsApp communications
Easy to set up and use.
I like the full screen aspect and the fact that it follows you
Highly recommended
My second Portal TV purchase. Not sure whether having any of the other portals is of any value as you could do a video chat on a smart phone or a tablet. This works great and now all my family have one. You can have video chats via WhatsApp, Messenger (both of which I’ve used) and a couple of other media apps such as Zoom. Need good broadband speed to get good quality video – especially when contacting the other side of the world. Audio reception is very good from built in microphones. Seems a good quality product – a solid build. I would give 5 stars if it came with an HDMI cable and had a few more streaming apps.
I purchased a portal for my elderly, frail father and one for my disabled mother-in-law and one for us as we live in France and our parents are in the UK. The pandemic has meant we have not seen them for two years. We had been video calling on tablets/computers but the Portal TV has made us feel like we are in the room with them. We talked them through the setting up as neither are particularly IT literate, by asking them to point their tablet at their TV so that we could see exactly what was on screen. They both love it. I highly recommend.
I found portal easy to set up and use.All our friends comment how good it is.You can move about and the camera follows your movements.Happy with purchase. !!
Facebook Portal Tv is really great value. Not only does the device make the product hand free for easier conversation but the smart lens moves when you do to keep you all in frame. My children loved seeing the grandparents on the big screen & were also able to show off dance moves and run around without having to worry about going out of view. It’s really simple to set up, you don’t need a Facebook account to do this, it can be connected via WhatsApp. A simple plug in the wall, hdmi port connection & you’re ready to get started!
We are using this domestically but I imagine this could be an invaluable bit of kit for a company who may use video conferencing or even for school, colleges or universities.
A really worthwhile purchase
Talking to family via Facebook messenger or WhatsApp without holding the phone for long conversations is amazing. Family can see what’s happening in the background like other family members playing or the pets running around which they are enjoying. I like the photo frame option a lot and you can also add a picture folder for photos from your phone to show randomly. I don’t use build in Alexa as we have Google home for years and we are so used to ask Google but it does work. Sound is also not bad and can connect to you Spotify.
I bought this portal incase we had another lockdown and I could communicate with my son. However my dad has been diagnosed with cancer and we use it to make WhatsApp video calls so he can see us and we can see him, he lives 4 hours away from us. It’s been absolutely priceless for us as a family. Really worth every penny .
Works extremely well with Zoom, Messenger and WhatsApp- they’re the apps we’ve used with it.
Very good wide-angle lens enables the whole family to sit on the couch and be clearly seen and heard. A far better experience than huddling round an iPad or computer monitor. Takes a title time to set up initially but worth the investment of that time.
A great product, very happy with it.
Excellent product which we have been toying over for a while. The price was very good, as it had been reduced to 59. It was easy to set up and works very well. It will make video calling very easy in the future, plus you can close off the lens and mute the microphone so that it is secured privately. It works well with WhatsApp, which is a major plus.
The portal is great for video calls and you can search the Internet on it but don’t think this is like an alexa its not although you can download the alexa app ive not tried this my self as I already have an alexa
What a great gadget. Although we used Messenger to talk to each other on a daily basis, I was either talking to my mums feet or the top of her head. Now I get to see the whole if her and my sister. Mum is 83 years old and mastered it straight away (although a friend had to do the initial setting up for her). Great buy
Loved the interface, but was purchased to enable big screen viewing when calling other Alexa devises.
Purchaed on a whim as it was at a reduced price – didn’t research much but as it has Alexa built in thought we could call other Alexa devises, but you can’t – you have to use messanger, whatsapp or Zoom.
Only wanted it for calling Alexa to Porta so no good for us and returned.
Had this a few days now
I’ve mad many video calls and I’m more than happy contacted all my family miles away over new year flawless no buffering no interruptions just flawless video calls and the added bonus of having elexer but in having access to amazon music we haven’t had any time for TV would highly recommend portal tv
It’s a great thing to see Family and Friends when talking we had chats with them from all over, and it was great. When you got up to walk around the room the camera follows you by zooming in and out. The screen shows great pictures when not in use or you can just say Hey Portal Screen off and you have a blank screen.
Highly recommend
First time buying a portal and to be honest very impressed..
Only thing is that you can not use Teams on it but have read it is coming at some stage this yea
Bought for my brothers and his brood for Christmas. First time we could see everyone clearly. Honestly it’s a great idea and really does act like the advert shows
No more trying to chase my 22 month old with a phone to video call family and friends! The portal is so easy to use and means we can sit and relax and let little wander around while catching up with family and friends. Plus, the different effects are hilarious!
Easy to set up and use for all the music to play through Spotify and facetime with family and friends
I couldn’t believe there was no hdmi cable included! It should really be an add on item and made clear that one is not included instead of the teeny tiny little message on the back of the box. Otherwise it’s awesome
Really easy to set-up and use. Bought so that grandparents in Spain can keep up with a new grandchild. Good picture and audio and does follow the ‘action’ in the room well. Bought at lower ‘sale’ price and really pleased.
We absolutely love our portal go, love the smart camera feature and the fact that it’s portable is so convenient! I can take it with me anywhere around the house, especially with two young kids they’re always moving around! It’s become a must have staple in our home.
In our present circumstances. This little gadget. Is priceless. Not only can I face time with my daughters. Friends.and. Family. I can. Create a video. At the price Amazon is looking for a face book portal. It would be madness to over look i
Great item, great for keeping in touch with relatives and friends , just like they are in the same room as you.
My partner and I feel more connected to my parents as we can see them on the big screen TV. We bought one for my parents too and they love it, especially my mum who has trouble seeing us on the mobile phone.
With family not so close by I love that we can connect with portal and all keep in the frame 2! When the kids are running round nanny and grandad can still see them! And it doesn’t go unused as we use it as a photo frame 2! Best Buy for me!
Everything to like about this product ! Pre pandemic would have said a waste of money, but not now ! Love love love it !
Bought this for my Dad so he could cally sister in Spain easier and yep it does the job superbly!!! Just great how it. Aptures yourself and also gives them a better experience of yourself too. Love it!
Really enjoy using the Portal for video calls and Spotify / Movies, but I think I have a faulty device. A lovely thick black bar that never goes away. I will speak to returns.
My parents use this with just whatsapp and it works great. Love that it can follow them around the room and zoom in and out without them holding it – no more forehead shots and nose viewings! Unfortunately what they can see of me just using my phone screen is limited but might invest in a portal mini. Very pleased with this purchase.
I got one of these to talk to my friend in France whilst we cook and chat – she has an older version and no matter how hard we try by factory re setting and upgrade software, if I call her from my portal it goes to her phone and same vice versa. Asked for help and the service side is awkward and offered limited advice.
If you are just calling phones then it’s great!
The whole Amazon process was easy and faultless. Items were as described and came in really good packaging to protect during the delivery. As always the products were of good quality and of a good price giving value for money. I am more than satisfied with my purchase.
I just love Portal for it’s ease of use. Not only does it help me keep in contact with family and friends, I can also showcase my photos on tv. However the bit I love the most is when I ask Alexa to play some music it has the capability to put up the lyrics allowing me to sing along to the songs. Happy ma
Bought this for my grandfather. he is not techy but what a perfect idea to talk to them anytime in few simple clicks. it was easy to teach them and really convenient to get in touch with them to check how they are doing.
Very solid product, definitely worth the price.
I find this works great with Zoom and gives me easy access to online videos and music. I find the design a little awkward, with one stand to support the device but, overall, I would recommend it.
magic machine for talking to friend sand family, camera moves with you back and forth BUT it only works well if your person contacted has one too, otherwise it is not nearly so useful.
Great. Bought just before new one came out. Got it for my parents. Easy to use. Shame that it do not allws Skype to work. Amazon Alexa call do not work. You end up with WhatsApp and Facebook massager. Could do with proper Facebook, YouTube app. Very narrow usage. FB massager works great. Camera fallow works if one person. Otherwise closest person is priority. Video and sound is great.
The device is fine and works with well with WhatsApp when connected to your phone for making video calls. If you are more into Google’s ecosystem then consider a Home Nest.
Well I am very impressed so far with this product, I can talk with family without being tied to my phone, the cam follows me where ever I go in the room. What a fantastic Peace of equipment.
Does it’s job to the till. Wish it had a battery backup as it struggles to pan across the room. Missing MS teams is a big gap as it would have become the default mode for all of video calls and comma.
Love it!! Use the Portal for zoom meetings all the time. It’s so easy to use. Picture and sound quality it brilliant. Excellent value for money.
Delighted with item. Exactly as described and came quickly. Allows me to video chat with WhatsApp and Facebook friends. Lots of additional features too, but I use it to chat with friends recovering at home from recent surgeries. Sound quality is excellent. Delighted with purchase! A+++ for seller and item!
Bought this for my parents as they’re in their 70s and they wanted to keep in touch with family during lockdown. Easy to use and works with Facebook messenger and whatsup.
Present for my wife, who was initially unimpressed by the black box that she’d never asked for. Now permanently in use and loves it. One of my more successful present ideas!
Excellent video quality and sound
Brilliant that camera follows you around when in a video call
Would be an absolute buy for everyone if contacts and calls could be linked with Alexa and if there wasn’t a license issue otherwise a brilliant product and great that other apps can be accessible, just need to sort out access to YouTube on portal tv device as I believe YouTube can be accessed on other portal devices
This little device was a must to talk to my Mum and family due to the distance between us. I have only one complaint and that is in order to use the Portal with WhatsApp (rather than with Facebook Messenger) you cannot have WhatsApp running on a computer at the same time.
Sound is good, image quality is very good, and I can finally see my Mum when I talk to her. Grateful.
Bought on Amazon day and item was on offer with Facebook so got both discounts which made it really good value. The device is good fun to use although I’m still experimenting with all the apps. Not sure I’d pay full price for undoubtedly for someone who’s a bit more tech savvy it’s a nice buy
Having a daughter in Australia this has been a life saver. Its like siting in the same room as her and the kids. Can’t sing its praises enough although had to buy her one too. More apps would of been nice but doesn’t take away from its main functio
Best Buy. Easy to install , easy to use. Great way to keep in touch . It’s helped me not feel so lonely after loosing my husband recently
Got one for us and one for parents. Both work perfectly as needed. Ours has had loads of use now during Covid in providing face-to-face contact with family and friends.
Bought this to improve the calls to parents and family during COVID – we now have a son heading to uni – so the process will continue !
Imagine your family sitting around and watching the WhatsApp call on the tv – the auto focus is excellent – the camera will change to fit everyone in !! The sound is clear as a bell ! So no more propping the phone on coasters and squeezing four adults into the screen ! We love it and have shown it off !! So sit back and relax and just watch the call on your tv !!
I absolutely love it!
Best way to stay connected with your loved ones even in times that make it difficult to stay in touch.
I love this thing. It s working nice with my TV with amazing images and sound. I hope we will get updates in the future and maybe they will consider even more functions. The follow function and focus function is an amazing aspect. I am really happy with i
I love my Facebook portal and have used it since Christmas 2020 lots to stay in face to face contact with my daughters and parents during lockdown. A really worthwhile buy.
Unfortunately today the plug on the charger cable broke – one of the pins snapped off in the socket. Disappointingly, I can’t find anywhere where I can get a replacement cable so now can’t use the portal – can anyone help?
Sent it back. Couldn’t resolve echo issues apart from moving quite a away from TV which negates part of the reason for it. Also zoom function doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.
My mum is deaf and speaks using sign language i got this for her and she loves it she can now call me or any of her Facebook friends and talk to them fantastic gadge
The Portal voice commands are awful, and highly inaccurate. I can’t even say “Hey Portal, Set an alarm for 7am”. The device automatically updates and reboots regardless if you are mid-call. Alexa is brilliant and saves this device from the bin.
Delivered on time replacement for portal that only worked for 4 days good for special family occasions otherwise just a technology ornament sat on tv
I like that it’s so discreet and and doesn’t detract when you are making a video call. The way the camera follows you as you move about is cool, although sometimes a bit too sensitive and will suddenly jump to a corner of the room where there the slightest movement.
Portal tv is a good gadget to enable to see & keep in touch with friends etc. The only problem I have at times is feed back which is annoying.
Good camera and mic and easy to set up.
I bought this primarily to hold Zoom calls through my TV. Portal advertising prominently mentions that Portal is compatible with Zoom. Unfortunately, on reading the small print after purchase, I discovered that only applies to handheld Portal tablets. Otherwise, it’s fine.
This product has been an absolute Godsend during lockdown.
I can visually keep in touch with my daughter and our new grandson in England every day. Quality of picture and sound is very good.
I can even read him stories using the portal story app and transform myself into different characters in the story! He loves it!
Well worth the money.
This has made life so much better. We have relatives that we haven’t been able to see for so long and this has made video calls relaxing. I can sit back and have a good conversation and it’s more like being in the room with the other person. There is no more trying to balance a phone then knocking it over and causing motion sickness on the other end (wish some of my relatives would buy one!). My partner and I can also be on screen without being squashed.
The sound and picture quality is excellent.
For us this was a luxury buy but well worth it.
Brilliant bit of technology for putting Whatsapp, Facebook, Netflix and Prime Video on your TV. If your TV only has one HDMi port and you are already using it, then you may need a splitter.
Fantastic product if you have kids this is a must for it’s A.I storytelling. If you use messenger a lot like us we have family globally this will enhance your online communication greatly. Also a very cool feature aside from it’s voice activation capabilities is the picture mode. You see memories in a totally different concept. Brilliant simple easy to use.
Brilliant perfect for zoom meetings clarify really good. I have even done an art class using zoom
Wish it came with a proper (printed!) User Manual. Great way to video call your family though, without having to hold a small-screen smartphone or for two folks to have to sit very close so you can both appear on a small tablet screen. It really is just like being in the room with whomever you’re calling! Love it.
Bought as a gift for wife’s mother so she can keep in contact with family and friend during the pandemic we have had one for a while and love it as it will focus on you with the wide angle lens or zoom in if you are both sitting together.
plus you can call people without touching it buy talking to the portal and ask it to call whom you with to speak too.
What a great product. Follows you around the room so that the people the other end can see you all the time.
Works great with Wats App. We do quizes with four differnt family members all around the country.
Highly recommened.
Great video clarity. We occasionally get feedback from the audio which can be distracting but other than that, very pleased with the purchase.
Brilliant. Can see the family from the comfort of my armchair. No more squinting at tablet screen and keeping still to keep in shot.
We are very pleased with our Portal . Our son has one too so we are able to video call Portal to Portal . It is great that we can play games and different faces and backgrounds with our Grandchildren . We also like that you can add photo’s on to it and have them being displayed like a digital photo frame .
I bought this during the pandemic to keep in touch with my parents, you have to have a Whatsapp account verify to set up, it has a microphone and camera which you can switch off, you can listen to music, play games, cook with step by step instructions, surf the web, give it commands, ask about the weather, set a timer, mine it the mini and it does the job. Highly recommended
Especially in the lock down home schooling times that we are in, this is awesome!
Bigger than expected, but defiantly a good buy!
Works as a video call, has silly filters, even has a story telling option for those that are maybe away from children,
It has spotify, photo albums, browser, games, notes, zoom and more,
connects pretty well to whatapp and facebook calls, and and you can have more than one account on it,
Overall very happy with i
It is wonderful. The grandchildren love all the playful extras. Lifts a phone call to a whole new level. During lockdown it is incredible.
I managed to purchase 3 of the Facebook Portal TVs in March 2020 before we went into lockdown. (Plus an HDMI for each one) Over the last 12 months they have been essential for our 3 families to keep in touch across the country.
I set mine up for my elderly parents and they find it so easy to use – they can answer it when it rings and know how to dial out. They can sit on their sofa and see everything on a big screen which suits them perfectly.
At Christmas we played all sorts of virtual games and as the camera moves about so well, we could do all sorts of physical games in our own homes as well as normal board/card games. If you set the angle up properly the camera can see everything.
You can have 4 WhatsApp callers at once but we use Facebook Messenger normally as can have 8 callers and for some reason it seems clearer. I really do think these are brilliant and in our new virtual world – it’s well worth the money.
This was bought for wife to get involved with daily family chats and quizzes.
She finds it much easier than using computer and web cam , and a lot easier than using phone as multiple pictures on a phone are hard to see
Generally this does the job it’s supposed to do very well, with a couple extra features like streaming music (decent enough speaker) and setting alarms either through Alexa or the portal chat. Would be perfect if it had the recipe display options I’ve since seen other tablets offer. The automatic camera is brilliant though as it allows us to sit with our new son and show him off hands free 🙂
Great to have a larger screen fir FaceTime with our extended family. The smart camera which automatically focuses makes for interesting views.
Sent one to my son who was sceptical when package arrived but now loves it also.
Great quality image and really great on 65inch TV. Following works quite well and quite smooth. Easy set up too. A bit of a sound echo when calling other portals which is a niggle and makes this not quite perfect.
I bought this as a enhancement to our communication with friends and family as we are stuck in Spain during worldwide lockdown. Easy to set up, much more value for money through the UK Amazon as Spain wanted an extra 100 for the same item. Have now moved my firestick onto another tv and my echo to another room as well as this has Alexa, Netflix, Amazon prime and others. Only doesn’t have Disney+, please Facebook people sort that out, it is an android OS after all so shouldn’t be any hassle.
Mums smash present to keep in touch with all of the family. Works really well. Tracks people and zooms etc very good. Easy to use.
Love it. At Christmas time we couldn’t go to our daughter’s as we had planned. We bought both children (grownups really!) and ourselves a portal and had real life size pics on the tv screen. We were able to play games and talk together all day. It was really lovely and made Christmas enjoyable even though we were all apart.
Facetiming with family so much better with the portal as you can see everyone in the room, feels like you’re actually sat in the room with them. There have been problems with connections and also using the Alexa option for requesting calls hence the 4 stars.
I’m very pleased with this portal, I’ve added several new apps to it, I use it for zoom too. The sound is really good too.
I purchased it when there was an offer so it’s worth checking for the offers.
I purchased the tv one too as there was 50 off that one as well. Love the big screen, unfortunately I can’t get zoom on there yet.
I turn the camera and mic off when I’m not using it.
Very quick delivery. We haven’t got to grips with using Alexa yet but have had hours of fun with the grandchildren who we haven’t seen ‘in the flesh’ for many months. The Portal really makes you feel as though you are in the room with them with the added bonus of being able to get up ad leave the room for a break anytime you eat!
Bought for my mum. Much easier to keep in touch with people than a laptop. Feels like you are in the room together as it follows you around so you can get on with things whilst speaking. Also great for zoom calls. She also loves it for Alexa and playing music
We use the Portal to Zoom and whats app video call abroad and here in the UK.
Great to have a large picture rather than just phone size.
Good clarity, reception and sound
A life line in these Covid times
I was apprehensive at first thinking it’s a gimmick. But even after first use I was glad I got one. Video calls via messenger and what’s app are great. No longer trying to get family all into a small screen, just sit back and chat away while the camera keeps our active little one in screen. Highly recommended.
A great device bought for my elderly mother to do face time .just a little difficult to set up if they don’t own a smart phone. but the picture quality is very good via Facebook messenge
Very pleased. Easy to set up, we don’t use Alexander so cannot comment on voice control, but would greatly enhance product if it supported Google assistant. Spotify app is great too Only complaint is that remote is a bit fiddly.
This is better than I dared hoped it would be. Bought for elderly Grandparent who are not very techy, so initial set up required a small degree of assistance by slightly savvy teenager. Usage after that very straight forward, Use of facebook and Alexa not required, can be setup purely for Whatsapp which is what we wanted, Clarity of camera, clarity of microphone both excellent. The follow me /zoom feature of the camera is ideal for older less agile grandparents who can sit casually in their own chair and have an almost normal conversation with grandchildren as if they are in the room with them. My 93 year old Dad thinks it is marvelous, far better than trying to prop up a mobile phone to talk to his grandson. The price could be a bit off putting, but the price has come down in the last few weeks and what price is the pleasure of grandparents seeing grandchildren, life size on the television in the corner, to talk to them like they are in the room.
When Londoners were suddenly not allowed to travel for Christmas, threw money at the problem and bought a portal tv for me and one for the family. Was amazing and meant I got to open gifts and eat lunch with my family. Since then and the national lockdown, I sit in the comfort of my sofa and chat to friends and family – like being in the same room as them. Totally worth the money!
This transforms FaceTime, Zoom etc into a comfortable experience! After my son gave me one, I gave as presents to other family members- all delighted with them; enabled comfortable get togethers!