Use WhatsApp on multiple devices: Here’s how
With WhatsApp you have contact with all friends, acquaintances and colleagues right in your pocket on your smartphone. Anyone who uses two smartphones, for example a business and an everyday mobile phone or a tablet and smartphone, can finally use WhatsApp on several devices at the same time.
The option to register a WhatsApp account on several devices at the same time is one of the most sought-after features. After years of waiting, the developers finally have a look and are introducing the function for linked devices. Small drawback: It is still not possible to install a WhatsApp account on several smartphones in a simple way. GIGA explains how you can still use the messenger with one account on several smartphones without always having the “main” smartphone with you.
Video: You should know these WhatsApp tricks
Using WhatsApp on multiple devices: This is how it works thanks to WhatsApp Web
If you try to log in with an existing WhatsApp account on a second device, the account on the old device will be logged out. You can now use a WhatsApp account via WhatsApp Web on up to five devices at the same time without the โmainโ smartphone having to be nearby. To do this, the account must be linked to the various devices as follows:
Opens Whatsapp. Tap on the top right three points. Here you will find the option “Linked devices“. The function is currently still in a “Beta phase“. So errors and changes can still occur. Confirms the corresponding message. Then select “add device“. If you have set up an unlocking method on your mobile phone, you now have to use the device via face recognition, fingerprint or code unlock. Now you can scan the QR code to set up your WhatsApp account on the additional device.
Use a WhatsApp account on multiple devices: Here’s how
This way is actually intended to link WhatsApp to a computer. You can also set up a WhatsApp account on other smartphones. To do this, first open WhatsApp Web in the browser app of your choice with the new mobile phone. Then you have to display the “desktop view” in the browser settings instead of the mobile website. In Safari on the iPhone you reach the view via the “aA” symbol in the search bar, in Chrome for Android via the three-point menu. You can then use the smartphone on which WhatsApp is installed to scan the QR code on the second device and use the messenger on it. This doesn’t just work with a second smartphone. In this way, you can also use WhatsApp on a tablet without having to have your main device with you.
At the beginning of the year, the creators of the app made it possible to use WhatsApp on the PC via the browser. You can use this function to set up WhatsApp on a second smartphone or tablet.
Open the Chrome browser on your second device. WhatsApp Web controls the messenger’s web client. Ensures that the browser works in the “desktop” and not in the mobile view under Android. Now you can display the QR code that is required to connect your primary WhatsApp account to the browser version. If the code has been successfully scanned, your messages and contacts will now also appear via the browser on your tablet or smartphone.
The messages are of course also transmitted to the linked device using end-to-end encryption. The message “Your security number has changed” may appear in all chat histories as soon as you connect a new device. But that’s not a problem.
One should pay attention to that
Even if you can now use WhatsApp on two or more mobile phones, apart from the somewhat cumbersome setup via WhatsApp Web, there are some restrictions:
If WhatsApp is not used on the installed smartphone within 14 days, all linked devices are automatically logged off. You should keep this in mind, for example, when you take a second device with you on vacation. If you want to install WhatsApp on another mobile phone in app format, the account must still be verified. If the same number is used, the account will be logged out on a previous device. If the main device is an iPhone, chats on linked devices cannot be deleted. Users with an outdated WhatsApp version can no longer be contacted. Live location is not available on linked devices. Broadcast lists cannot be created or viewed on linked devices.