How to Change Your WhatsApp Phone Number

Don’t lose access to your account over a new number

By
Dawna Roberts
Dawna Roberts
Dawna Roberts
Writer
  • University of Phoenix
Dawna M. Roberts has 20+ years' experience in technology. Her works have appeared in Forbes, Huffington Post, Actiontec, Hackernoon, and other publications.
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Published on April 7, 2020

People change their phone numbers for a variety of reasons. If you need to change your phone number, but don’t want to lose your WhatsApp messages and chat history, here's how to keep WhatsApp and change numbers to transfer over your account safely.

How to Change WhatsApp Number on the Same Phone

Changing your WhatsApp phone number on the same phone is very easy. WhatsApp includes a feature in the menu system to do this automatically for you.

Before using the WhatsApp change number feature, be sure to activate your new phone number using the SIM card on your phone. 

Follow the steps below to learn how to change your number on WhatsApp:

  1. Open WhatsApp.

  2. Tap the three-dot menu at the top right.

  3. Tap Settings.

  4. Tap Account.

  5. Tap Change number.

    Change WhatsApp phone number.

  6. Read the disclaimer, then tap Next.

  7. Enter your old phone number, then enter your new phone number.

  8. Enable Notify contacts, then choose who to notify.

  9. Tap Done at the bottom. You will be prompted once again to enter your new phone number.

    WhatsApp change phone number.

    If you ever start to wonder what your WhatsApp number is, tap Settings > Profile and you'll see your current registered number there. 

How to Change WhatsApp Number on a New Phone

Changing your WhatsApp number on a new phone is easy, but requires a couple of additional steps. Start on your old phone and backup WhatsApp, then follow the steps below to complete the process.

  1. Open WhatsApp, then tap the three-dot menu at the top right.

  2. Tap Settings > Account > Change number.

  3. Use the Change number feature on your old phone to migrate your account to the new phone number before switching over. Your old account will be deleted automatically.

  4. On your new phone, install WhatsApp and verify your new phone number. Your account and profile will be migrated over.

  5. You can then restore your WhatsApp chat history from the backup you made. 

  6. Be sure to notify all your contacts that you are switching phone numbers, especially if you use a new phone. 

Messages and chat history cannot be transferred between phone types. For example, you cannot go from an Android phone to an iPhone or vice versa and keep your messages.

What Happens When You Change Your WhatsApp Number?

When you change your WhatsApp number, this is what will happen:

  • Your old account will be deleted, and your contacts will no longer see that number. 
  • All your chats will be saved to your new account. 
  • Your groups will stay the same, with no change on your end. 
  • All your settings and profile information will remain intact. 

Why Change Your WhatsApp Phone Number?

The most common reason people change their phone numbers is to avoid someone and start fresh. Other reasons include moving to a new area of the country, switching jobs, or having a similar number to someone else’s, and you keep getting unwanted calls or texts.

Regardless, you probably don't want to lose your message history when registering a new WhatsApp number.

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