Customer Ratings & Reviews

if we could figure out issues with sound quality and the extreme lack of compatibility with Amazon and other streaming this might not be a bad product. The phone app is pretty much useless and very little available in the way of support. I love how it tracks and the visual quality is great but this just misses the mark. The echo sounds when talking to others just make this impossible to use. I have the mini the pro and the tv portal and all have major issues with sound quality. You just cannot understand anyone else speaking.

I buy this device in clearance and was a good buy. I can call my wife in the house via WhatsApp because this equipment has that app and also WebEx.

I bought this for my daughter's birthday and she LOVES it!! So many cool features above and beyond the video calling. Our family keeps in touch much more because of this!

We had to buy this because we needed something compatible with the television version of the portal that we got for our mom. Asking it questions has proved that it cannot answer everything as good as an echo/alexa.

Overall I like this device, it has great screen resolution, and also the feature of camera focusing you while on call is awesome. I only wish it could be connected to my other smart devices at home.

Great item, I gave it to my mom who has trouble walking alog with a echo for her room. Only problem is that it has Alexa but it wont make video c alls with Alexa only with Messenger and Wassap.

I gave these as gifts to my siblings so we can stay in touch better through out this pandemic along with the fact sometimes we all get snowed in. These are perfect for us!

If 72 percent of people in North America have Facebook, then Facebook Portal just might be a convenient way for you to connect with others using Facebook Portal Mini. In particular, if you’re looking for a device to video message someone easily without a hassle – and they have Facebook – the Portal Mini should a device to consider. Here are some observations of this device: DESIGN - It literally looks like a photo frame – and even acts like one (more on that later). The Portal Mini has an eight-inch screen and is super slim. I have the white one, and while it does have large screen bezels, it is masked by a white border to match the frame of the device. If you get the black Portal, it is the same, with a black border around the screen bezel. Personally, I think the white one looks very sleek and modern, and not like a piece of tech on your desk or counter. The Portal is held up by an interesting stick that props it up and acts as the power cable for the device. While interesting, the downside to the power stand thing is that it is proprietary, so if something happens to the stand or power cable, you are kind of out of luck. One cool thing is that you can orient the Portal Mini in either landscape or portrait mode. Kind of cool in terms of flexibility. SCREEN – The 8-inch screen on the Portal Mini has a 1200x800 resolution, which isn’t HD-quality, but images (and video) still look perfectly fine. It is bright and colors look fine, but I think a bit more saturation and contrast could help. You can manually adjust brightness you let it auto adjust based on ambient light. I find that the ambient mode makes the screen a little too dim for my tastes, so I just leave the option off. A mere personal preference. VIDEO – Let’s remember that the main purpose of this device is to make video calls with your friends on Facebook Messenger. Using its 13-megapixel camera, image quality is pretty good for its purpose (assuming you also have a fast-enough Internet connection). One cool feature of the video conferencing feature is that the Portal seemingly follows you around so that you are always within frame (within reason). So, if I’m in the center frame and I move to the left a bit to reach for something, it kind of zooms in to the left as well so that I’m still somewhat center frame. Pretty neat! AUDIO – The Portal Mini has a four-microphone array. They do a pretty dang good job at picking up your voice whether you’re near the device or a short distance away. For audio output, there are two drivers on the side and a subwoofer on the back. While the Portal Mini does not produce superior sound, it sounds good enough. I would compare it to a Google Home Mini in terms of sound quality. FEATURES – There are several more features on this device that kind of deliver more bang for your buck. The Portal Mini, in addition to video calling using Facebook Messenger, can also serve as an Alexa device. That’s right! If you do not have an Amazon Echo in the room, simply connect it to your Amazon account and boom – an instant Alexa device now exists. That is PRETTY dang cool. You can also listen to music (again, with the speaker setup that sounds reasonable for a small room). Supporting services include Spotify, iHeart Radio, and Pandora. Video options are also available with the Facebook Watch app, although you theoretically could watch YouTube with its built-in web browser. There is also a Photo Booth app that can overlay some quirky AR cutesie features. It’s something fun for kids maybe. The standout feature though, in my option, is its photo frame mode. Connecting your Facebook and Instagram accounts turns this device into a fun way to see some photos you may have posted to the accounts in the past. I’ve noticed it seems to only play images that I’ve posted in the past year only. Maybe it shows older photos, but I haven’t really noticed. So who is the Facebook Portal Mini for? Well, anyone who wants an easy way to video call friends and family who are also on Facebook (and assuming they have a means to accept and share video calls from their Portal or another capable device). Is this device good? Yes, it is… if you know what you’re buying. The fact that it is Amazon Alexa-compatible and connects to several popular music streaming services means that this really does provide a lot of value for its price. While you can pick it up on sale at a fabulous discount, even at full-retail cost, the Portal Mini is a pretty good device.

These make great gifts and hold 50 pictures. You do need to have a good place for this as it needs to be plugged in and yet in an area where you would want to video call.

We bought 3 to share with family - what great times we have talking and seeing each other when everyone is in a different state.

Love it for video chatting! My kid loves the story time. I wish it had more official apps to install like YouTube, Pinterest, etc and capabilities to integrate with my blank mini home camera!

Great way for the family to stay connected during COVID. Family members all use it to check in on each other. Great concept. Security features are flaky because it’s Facebook.

I like the fact you can face time and chat with people. Its a little too boxey looking for my liking. Good sound and good clarity. Id give it a 7/10

Gave this as a Christmas gift to my daughter and grandson so they could talk and keep up with her son who is in the military she was/is very pleased!

This sits on my office desk and I am able to use for work calls, personal messenger calls and doubles as a photo frame displaying my social media posts.

Bought as a gift for my mom and she loves it being able to video call hands free while in the kitchen, besides having Alexa build into it for assistance

Fantastic video calls and great connection. Love being able to have the kids see the grandparents that live over 2 hours away!!

Fantastic video calls and great connection. Love being able to have the kids see the grandparents that live over 2 hours away!!

The Facebook Portal has been a good addition to our house. My family lives in Nevada so being able to do face to face calls with them at about 2000 miles away is very nice especially for the kids to be able to catch up and talk rather than text... The device comes in a nice box that, once opened, has a nice presentation. Setup is super easy, basically plug it in and configure it for your wifi connection. It walks you quickly through everything. There are some privacy settings to go through that allows you to determine what you want to allow the device to transmit or not. As a plus, and since I work with people in London and Singapore, it has an integration with WhatsApp that is also very helpful. Although I haven’t done it yet, you can add up to four users of the device which is a nice feature. Everyone can have their own list of contacts, favorites and suggested calls based on your history. Turn it on, choose who will be using it and make your call. Simple. You can use this to call friends and family that may not have a portal. They can use their own mobile device using messenger Voice control comes in handy and allows you to make calls, check the weather and various other actions from across the room. Alexa is also built in so you can enable and use all the same skills that you may be using to in other areas of your home or as your first device with the assistant built-in. An interesting feature of the the camera is that it automatically follows you around the room as you move from one side to another or away from it. When someone new enters the viewing area of the camera, it will adjust in order to also put them into the screen. You can tap on someone’s face on the screen and the device will focus on that person until you click off of them. I was able to get four people at one time but it will connect up to 8 simultaneously. Fun additions for during calls are putting cartoonish faces on yourself along with changing your voice. I have been using it as a speaker to play my Pandora stations and the sound is solid. It isn’t a large speaker but for the size, there is certainly sufficient bass and clear output. While not in use, it will show your photos as a screensaver and you can also customize which photos are used along with any reminders and updates you configure it to show. There are plenty of other apps you can download and try out. Weather, news, and some games. There is a lot to do with this device and guaranteed it will be fun to use and will come in handy when trying to stay in touch with loved ones and friends anywhere in the world.

Excellent product. Works well, and the Alexa integration is decent. Good addition to our home automation system and a great video phone.