How to change your phone number on WhatsApp from the same phone or a new phone

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• You can change your WhatsApp number if you're using the same phone, or if you got a new phone and still have access to the old one.
• If you no longer have access to your old phone, you'll need to set up an entirely new WhatsApp account.
• When you change your number, you won't be able to access your account using your old number anymore.

Getting a new phone often means transferring over all of your data to the new one. If you have WhatsApp, you'll need to update your phone number so that you can get into your account with your new phone.

Here's what happens when you change your WhatsApp number, and how to do it.

What happens when you change your number on WhatsApp

There are a few things that happen when you change your number on WhatsApp:

• Your WhatsApp profile, settings, and groups will be moved over to your new phone number.
• You won't be able to access your WhatsApp account on your old phone.
• The account associated with your old phone number will be deleted, so your contacts through the app won't see it listed in their contacts list.

Because of all these consequences, it's a good idea to give your WhatsApp contacts a heads up about your new phone number. That way, they won't accidentally lose touch with you when you make the change.

How to change your phone number on WhatsApp

There are two ways to change your phone number on WhatsApp: from the same phone or from a new phone.

On the same phone

When you change your phone number in WhatsApp on the same phone, your account will retain all your contacts, profile information, and message history.

Here's how to do it:

1. Open WhatsApp.

2. If you have an Android, tap the three-dot icon. (iPhone users can skip to the next step.)

3. Select Settings.

4. Choose Account.

5. Tap Change number.

6. Hit Next.

7. Add your old phone number to the first field, followed by your new phone number in the next field.

8. Select Next.

9. You can choose if you want all your contacts, only contacts you have chats with, or custom contacts to be notified of your number change. However, WhatsApp will automatically tell your group chats about your new number.

10. Tap Done.

11. Follow the prompts to register your new phone number.

Quick tip: Make sure to use the international format when entering both your old and new phone number.

On a new phone

If you use your new phone to change your WhatsApp number and want to transfer your chat history, you'll have to make a backup in Google Drive or iCloud. Here's how to make a manual backup:

1. Open WhatsApp.

2. If you have an Android, tap the three-dot icon. (iPhone users can skip to the next step.)

3. Go to Settings.

4. Tap Chats.

5. Choose Chat backup.

6. Hit Back Up.

If you still have access to your old phone, you'll need to go through the steps above to change your number on your old phone. Or, if you still have your old phone, you can simply delete your account associated with that number on that phone.

Then, follow the steps below to set up WhatsApp on your new phone.

1. Install WhatsApp on your new phone.

2. Register the new phone number you want to be associated with your WhatsApp account.

3. Restore your account backup.

Quick tip: If you no longer have access to your old phone and can't change your number or delete your account, all your account data associated with the old phone and phone number will be deleted if the new owner of your old phone activates WhatsApp after 45 days. You'll also need to set up an entirely new WhatsApp account.

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