How to Use WhatsApp on Two Phones with the Same Number

You have a work phone and a personal phone, and WhatsApp lives on only one of them. Every message lands on the phone you left at home, and the one in your hand stays silent. WhatsApp now has a built-in answer for exactly this: you can link a second phone to the same account, so both phones show the same chats at the same time — no second number, no clone app, no moving your account back and forth.

What "two phones" means here

Three different setups get mixed up under the same question, and only one of them puts the same account on two phones:

This guide covers the first one: one account, two phones, both live at once. The second phone becomes a companion device, the same kind of linked device as WhatsApp Web or the desktop app. Your number stays registered on exactly one phone — the primary phone — and the companion is linked to it, not to a second number.

Before you link

Get these four things ready and the whole process takes under a minute:

1. Both phones have WhatsApp installed and updated. The companion option only appears in a reasonably recent version, so update from the Play Store or App Store first if you have not in a while.
2. Your primary phone is with you and unlocked. It does the scanning, and it will ask for your fingerprint, face or PIN before it scans.
3. The second phone has no number registered in WhatsApp. Do not enter a phone number there. Registering a number on the second phone moves your account to it and signs you out of your primary phone — the exact opposite of what you want.
4. Both phones are online. The companion needs a connection to pull in your chats after linking.

Link an Android phone as a companion

Start on the phone you want to add, not on your main phone — the new phone shows the code, and your main phone scans it.

1. Install WhatsApp on the second Android phone from the Play Store and open it.
2. Tap Agree and continue.
3. Do not enter a phone number. Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and choose Link as companion device. A QR code appears on the screen.
4. Open WhatsApp on your primary phone.
5. On Android, tap the three-dot menu, then Linked devices, then Link a device. On an iPhone, go to Settings, then Linked devices, then Link device.
6. Unlock your primary phone when prompted — fingerprint, face or PIN.
7. Point your primary phone at the QR code on the second phone and scan it.

Your recent chats then load on the second phone. Give it a minute or two on a slow connection. When the link succeeds, the companion phone shows "This is a linked device" in its Settings, and your primary phone lists it under Linked devices with its last active time.

Link an iPhone as a companion

An iPhone can be the second phone too, and the flow is the same idea with one extra tap:

1. Install WhatsApp on the second iPhone from the App Store and open it.
2. Tap Agree & continue.
3. If it asks for a phone number, tap Use a different number instead of entering one.
4. Tap the menu and choose Link as companion device. A QR code appears.
5. On your primary phone, open Linked devices and scan the code, exactly as in steps 4–7 above.

Link WhatsApp Business on a second phone

A WhatsApp Business account links the same way. Install the WhatsApp Business app on the second phone — not the regular WhatsApp app — and follow the same steps: Agree and continue, the menu, Link as companion device, then scan from Linked devices on the main business phone. Your customer chats then appear on both phones.

You cannot link a personal WhatsApp account to the WhatsApp Business app as a companion, or the other way round. The two apps hold separate accounts, so the app on the second phone must match the account on the primary phone.

What works on the second phone — and what does not

Most of WhatsApp behaves the same on a companion phone. Chats, groups, photos, voice messages, documents, reactions and deleting messages all work, and changes sync across your devices. Messages stay end-to-end encrypted on every linked device. The gaps are specific, and they are all on the main phone's side:

The 14-day rule that logs the second phone out

Linked devices keep working when your primary phone is switched off or offline — the companion connects to WhatsApp's servers on its own. But the arrangement has a clock on it: if you do not use WhatsApp on your primary phone for more than 14 days, every linked device is logged out at once. Open WhatsApp on your main phone at least once every two weeks and the companion stays connected.

WhatsApp also disconnects a linked device after a period of inactivity on that device itself, so a spare phone left untouched for a month will need linking again even if your main phone is in daily use.

How to unlink a phone

Removing a companion is as quick as adding one. On your primary phone, open Linked devices, tap the phone you want to remove, and tap Log out. On the companion phone itself, open Settings — where it says "This is a linked device" — and log out from there. Either side ends the link, and the other phone keeps working normally.

If linking does not work

Work through these in order before assuming the feature is broken:

1. "Link as companion device" is missing. Update WhatsApp on the second phone. The option only appears in a recent version, and an older install shows only the phone-number screen.
2. The QR code will not scan. Brighten the second phone's screen, clean the primary phone's camera lens, and hold the phones steady about 15–20 cm apart. If the code has been on screen for a while, go back and generate a fresh one.
3. You entered a number on the second phone and got signed out of the first. That is the registration flow, not the linking flow — entering a number and verifying the OTP moves the account. Re-register your number on your main phone, then link the second phone again through Link as companion device.
4. Old chats are missing on the second phone. WhatsApp acknowledges a known issue where some linked devices do not display up to a year of chat history. Your full history is still on your primary phone, and keeping WhatsApp updated on the linked device is WhatsApp's own advice while the fix rolls out.
5. The second phone suddenly signed itself out. The usual cause is the 14-day rule: your primary phone has not opened WhatsApp recently enough. Open WhatsApp on the primary phone, then link the companion again.

FAQ