Have you recently received a new SIM, and are unsure what this means for your use of WhatsApp? Have you got a new phone and a new number, and are worried about updating WhatsApp for fear of losing your chat history?
Well, we’re pleased to say you’ve come to the right place. To learn how to change your phone number on WhatsApp, just follow our step-by-step tutorials below. For any additional information, or if you have any further questions, please see our FAQs at the end of this article.
Table of Contents
- How to change your phone number on WhatsApp (same phone)
- How to change your phone number on WhatsApp (new phone)
- Frequently asked questions
- Why would I want or need to change my phone number on WhatsApp?
- Can I have more than one number registered on WhatsApp?
- How often can I change my phone number on WhatsApp?
- Will I lose my chat history if I change my phone number on WhatsApp?
- If I change my phone number on the mobile WhatsApp app, will it also be changed on the desktop version (or vice-versa)?
- Related Posts
How to change your phone number on WhatsApp (same phone)
- Turn off your phone, remove the old SIM card, and insert the new SIM card into your phone.
- Turn your phone back on, and follow any instruction on-screen to complete the installation process for the new SIM card
- Next, launch WhatsApp
- From the homescreen, tap the three vertical dots in the top right
- From the drop-down menu, select ‘Settings’
- Next, tap ‘Account’
- Now, tap ‘Change number’
- Once on the next screen, read the information carefully before tapping ‘Next’
- Enter your old phone number with the correct country code in the relevant line, and then enter your new number with country code (that being the number associated to the SIM card you just inserted) into the next line, and finally press ‘Next’
- On this screen, you are able to choose if you wish to inform your WhatsApp contacts about the change to your number. To do so, toggle the option ON, and then choose whether to inform all contacts, only those you have chats open with, or a ‘Custom’ list of contacts. Follow on-screen instructions to complete this process if you select ‘Custom’. Once ready, press ‘Done’
- Your groups and individual chats will be automatically notified of the change to your number
- WhatsApp will send you an SMS verification code to your new number, once you’ve received it, confirm your number by entering the code on the next WhatsApp screen
- You’ve successfully changed your phone number on WhatsApp, and the account associated with your old number will be deleted. Your new number account will appear to your friends as did your old one, and all your chat history will be retained.
How to change your phone number on WhatsApp (new phone)
- On your old phone, open up the WhatsApp app and tap the three vertical dots in the top right of the homescreen
- From the drop-down menu, select ‘Settings’
- Next, select ‘Chats’
- Scroll down to and tap on ‘Chat backup’
- Now, tap ‘Back up’ and follow any further on-screen instructions to complete this process, ensuring that you wait until the process is complete before moving onto the next step
- Insert your new SIM card into your new phone, turn it on, and follow any on-screen installation instructions to complete the integration of your new SIM card
- On your old phone, head back to WhatsApp’s ‘Settings’
- From there, tap ‘Account’
- Now, tap ‘Change number’
- Once on the next screen, read the information carefully before tapping ‘Next’
- Enter your old phone number with the correct country code in the relevant line, and then enter your new number with country code (that being the number associated to the SIM card you just inserted) into the next line, and finally press ‘Next’
- On this screen, you are able to choose if you wish to inform your WhatsApp contacts about the change to your number. To do so, toggle the option ON, and then choose whether to inform all contacts, only those you have chats open with, or a ‘Custom’ list of contacts. Follow on-screen instructions to complete this process if you select ‘Custom’. Once ready, press ‘Done’
- Your groups and individual chats will be automatically notified of the change to your number
- WhatsApp will send you an SMS verification code to your new number on your new phone, once you’ve received it, confirm your number by entering the code on the next WhatsApp screen on your old phone.
- You have successfully updated your number on WhatsApp on your old phone, now head back to your new phone, and download the WhatsApp app, if you’ve not done so already
- Open the WhatsApp app, and follow the on-screen instructions to restore your chat history from the backup you’ve just created. Once finalised, you’ll be able to use WhatsApp on your new phone just like you did on your old phone, with all of the same chats, chat histories, settings, and account information.
And there you have it! Whilst it’s a little more of a complicated and drawn-out process if you have a new number and a new phone, it’s super simple if you just pay close attention to our instructions. And remember: back up your chat history!
For any additional information, or for help with any issues you may encounter, please see our FAQs below.
Frequently asked questions
Why would I want or need to change my phone number on WhatsApp?
WhatsApp is one of the world’s most popular instant and group messaging services, used by millions all over the world every day to send text, images, video, music, and GIF-based messages.
WhatsApp isn’t like other social media apps though, in that it requires a phone number (AKA a SIM card) in order to function. As such, whilst you can download WhatsApp for your computer or your tablet, you’ll need to first have it downloaded and registered on a phone with an operational phone number/SIM card for it to work.
Thus, changing numbers on WhatsApp is a necessary part of using it, whenever your number changes, or you get a new phone. WhatsApp must always be registered with your current number, in order to function.
Can I have more than one number registered on WhatsApp?
No. Having more than one number on WhatsApp is not only impossible but unnecessary. Since you can only have one SIM card in a phone at any one time, it wouldn’t make sense to have two numbers registered to WhatsApp, since you’d only ever be able to send and receive messages via the number registered to the installed SIM card.
How often can I change my phone number on WhatsApp?
Technically as often as you like. There’s really no limit to the number of times you can change your phone number on WhatsApp, but you should only do it if you’re changing it to a number that you will then proceed to use. There’s no point in changing it around too frequently since this can confuse your contacts, and puts you at risk of losing your chat history in the process.
Will I lose my chat history if I change my phone number on WhatsApp?
This depends. If you are keeping your current phone, but changing your number (presumably you’re getting a new SIM card), then you’ll be able to do so without putting your chat history, personal settings, and other WhatsApp configurations at risk of being lost.
However, if you’ve got a new number and a new phone, then you must make sure you perform a backup of your information and chat history via the WhatsApp app settings before you change your number, and you must then change your number first on your old phone, before activating WhatsApp on your new device. We’ll walk you through this process above.
Note: WhatsApp chat history cannot, unfortunately, be transferred between two different types of OS devices (i.e. between an Android phone and an iOS/Apple phone)
If I change my phone number on the mobile WhatsApp app, will it also be changed on the desktop version (or vice-versa)?
Yes, it will. It doesn’t really matter, since the desktop and tablet versions of WhatsApp don’t really rely on your phone number. All they need is for your WhatsApp to be properly registered to a number in use, and they’ll function just fine.
