How to change the number in WhatsApp Business without losing chats

The short answer

To change number in WhatsApp Business without losing chats, use the app's built-in Change number feature rather than registering the new number from scratch. WhatsApp then moves your account information and settings to the new number, including your profile photo, display name, privacy settings, individual chats and group chats, and it deletes the account on the old number. The whole job takes about 20 minutes, and most of the work is telling customers and replacing the old number everywhere it is printed.

The steps below are from WhatsApp's Help Center as of 31 Oct 2026. If your number is connected to the WhatsApp Business API through a provider, skip to numbers on the API: the app's Change number feature does not apply there.

What changes and what stays

WhatsApp's list does not mention the catalogue, labels or automatic messages by name. Open Tools after the change and check your catalogue, greeting and away messages, quick replies and labels before you start replying to customers.

Before you start

• The new SIM is active and can receive an SMS or a call. WhatsApp also asks for an active cellular connection on iPhone.
• The old number is still registered on this phone. Check it under Settings by tapping your profile.
• The new number is supported. VoIP, toll-free, premium-rate and universal access numbers (UAN) cannot be registered. Landlines are accepted, but only on the WhatsApp Business app.
• You are on the primary phone. The Change number option is greyed out on linked devices, and you cannot change number from WhatsApp Web or desktop.
• The new number is not already in use. If WhatsApp says it is already registered, it may be a recycled number that a previous owner used on WhatsApp.

Step 1: tell customers before you change

WhatsApp recommends telling your contacts about the new number before you change it and asking them to save it. For a business this matters more than for a person, for one reason in WhatsApp's own help text: if you use broadcast lists, only people who have added your new number to their phone's contacts will receive your broadcasts afterwards. Customers who never save it simply stop getting your offers, and nothing tells you.

A worked plan for Rangoli Home, an example home-decor shop in Jaipur moving from the owner's personal number to a dedicated business SIM:

1. A week before: set the status and the About line to "New WhatsApp number from 10 Nov: +91 98290 12345".
2. Sent one broadcast: "Namaste! Rangoli Home is moving to a new WhatsApp number, +91 98290 12345, from 10 Nov. Please save it as Rangoli Home so you keep getting our new arrivals and order updates. This number will stop working on WhatsApp after that."
3. Added the same line to the greeting message for anyone who wrote in that week.
4. On 10 Nov: ran Change number with Notify contacts → Contacts I have chats with.

Step 2: run Change number

Insert the SIM with the new number, open WhatsApp Business and use either path:

• Tools → Profile → Phone number → Change number → Next, or
• Settings → Account → Change number → Next.

Then:

1. Enter your old number in the first field and the new number in the second, both in full international format. For India that is the country code 91 followed by the 10-digit number, with no leading 0.
2. Tap Next.
3. Turn on Notify contacts if you want contacts told, and choose All contacts, Contacts I have chats with or Custom... (search and select the contacts you want). Your groups are notified whatever you choose.
4. Tap Done.
5. Register the new number with the 6-digit code sent by SMS or call.

Which notify option suits a business? For most shops, Contacts I have chats with reaches your customers without messaging every number in your address book, such as old suppliers or relatives. Use Custom if your phone is mostly personal contacts and you want only a short list of regular customers told.

Step 3: back up again straight away

WhatsApp's backups are linked to the phone number used when the backup was created. After the change, every backup made with the old number is useless for restoring. Go to Settings → Chats → Chat backup and tap Back up (Android, to your Google Account) or Back up now (iPhone, to iCloud) as soon as the new number is registered. Until you do, a lost or reset phone means lost chats.

Changing the number and the phone at the same time

Do it in this order, or you lose your chat history:

1. On the old phone, insert the new SIM and run Change number as above.
2. Still on the old phone, create a backup with the new number: Google Account on Android, iCloud on iPhone.
3. On the new phone, install WhatsApp Business, register the new number and restore the backup.

WhatsApp warns that if you register the new number on the new phone without changing numbers on the old phone first, you lose your chat history. Remember too that Android backups cannot be restored on an iPhone or the other way round; moving between the two uses WhatsApp's separate chat transfer process.

Step 4: update everywhere the old number appears

The old number's WhatsApp account is deleted, so every link, QR code and button that points to it now fails. Make a list and replace them in one sitting:

• wa.me links in your Instagram and Facebook bios and your Google Business Profile
• The WhatsApp button on your website. Our guide to adding a WhatsApp button to your website has a ready snippet
• QR codes on counters, menus, packaging and visiting cards
• Invoices, delivery slips, email signatures and SMS templates

The WhatsApp link generator builds the new wa.me link with a pre-filled message, and the QR code generator turns it into a print-ready code. If you have only been using the business for a short time, review your profile too; our WhatsApp Business setup guide lists the fields worth filling.

Numbers on the WhatsApp Business API

A number on the WhatsApp Business API is not in a phone app, so there is no Change number button. In practice you add the new number and retire the old one:

Your customers' opt-in was given to your business, but they will see a new number in their chat list, so announce it in a template message from the old number while it is still active. If the number is staying the same and only the provider is changing, read how to migrate your WhatsApp number to a new provider instead.

Coexistence numbers. If your Business app number is also connected to the API through coexistence, Meta's coexistence documentation does not describe changing the number while it is connected. The safe order is to disconnect in the app (Settings → Account → Business Platform → Disconnect), change number, then connect the new number again through your provider.

If you are about to move the business to a dedicated number anyway, it may be the moment to decide between the app and the API: the app vs API comparison and the WhatsApp marketing strategy guide help with that. Agencies doing these changes for clients can run client numbers under their own brand on a white-label platform.