WhatsApp Business on multiple devices: link a second phone, WhatsApp Web and staff laptops safely

The short answer

Yes, you can use WhatsApp Business on multiple devices. The free app lets one primary phone link up to four other devices at the same time: a second phone, WhatsApp Web in a browser, the WhatsApp app on a Windows or Mac computer, or a tablet. All of them show the same chats from the same business number, and they keep working when the primary phone is switched off. The limits are that only the primary phone can register the account and link new devices, linked devices log out if the primary phone is not used for 14 days, and a few features (broadcast lists, status, live location) stay on the primary phone.

This guide is for shop owners, clinics, coaching centres and other small businesses where two to five people reply to customers from one WhatsApp Business number. If you have not set the app up yet, start with how to create a WhatsApp Business account. The device counts and menu names below come from WhatsApp's Help Center, checked on 31 Oct 2026; the iPhone layout differs slightly from Android, and WhatsApp renames buttons between versions.

How many devices, and which ones

WhatsApp lists these as supported linked devices: Windows, Mac, WhatsApp Web, Android tablets, iPad, Wear OS watches, companion phones, Meta AI glasses and VR headsets. For a business, the useful ones are a second phone, WhatsApp Web and the desktop app.

Meta decides which Meta Verified plans each business is offered, based on its activity on WhatsApp, and current prices are on WhatsApp's Meta Verified pages. If you cancel a subscription that gave you extra devices, only your four most recently active devices stay linked. Our article on the blue tick and Meta Verified explains what the badge does and does not do.

Before you start

1. Update WhatsApp Business on the primary phone and on the device you will link. WhatsApp recommends the latest version for companion phones and phone-number linking.
2. Open the Linked devices screen. On Android, tap More options (the three dots) > Linked devices. On iPhone, go to Settings > Linked devices. Anything already linked is listed here with its last active time.
3. Count the free slots. If four devices are already linked, log one out before adding another.
4. Have the primary phone's screen lock ready. WhatsApp asks for the fingerprint, face unlock or the phone's PIN before it links a device.

Step 1: link a second phone as a companion device

A second phone does not register the business number again; it joins the account as a companion. This is the usual setup for a shop where the owner keeps the primary phone and an assistant answers from a phone at the counter.

1. Install WhatsApp Business on the second phone and open it.
2. Tap Agree and continue. Do not enter the business number for SMS verification.
3. Open the More options menu on that first screen and tap Link as companion device. A QR code appears.
4. On the primary phone, open Linked devices > Link a device (on iPhone: Settings > Linked devices > Link a device).
5. Unlock with your fingerprint, face or phone PIN when asked, then point the primary phone at the second phone's QR code.

Once linked, the second phone shows This is a linked device in its Settings. WhatsApp's help article covers Android and iPhone companions in the same way. On companion phones, live location and adding status are not available.

Step 2: link a computer or tablet

For anyone who types a lot of replies, a laptop is faster than a phone. You have three options:

• WhatsApp Web: open web.whatsapp.com in Chrome, Edge or another browser. Nothing to install.
• WhatsApp for Windows or Mac: the desktop app from WhatsApp's download page. WhatsApp says the desktop app syncs more message history than WhatsApp Web.
• Tablet: open WhatsApp Business on an Android tablet or iPad and it shows a linking QR code.

To link with a QR code, open Linked devices > Link a device on the primary phone and scan the code on the screen. On WhatsApp Web you can instead click Link with phone number, enter the business number, and type the 8-character code it shows into the primary phone (WhatsApp Business sends an Enter code notification, or go to Linked devices > Link a device > Link with phone number instead). WhatsApp currently offers phone-number linking only on WhatsApp Web. If the browser is already signed in to a personal WhatsApp account, log that out first.

On a shared office computer, untick Stay logged in on this browser before you scan, so the session ends when the tab or browser closes.

What a newly linked device shows

Right after linking, the primary phone sends an encrypted copy of your recent message history to the new device. It can take a few minutes. Not every old chat is copied; to search your full history, use the primary phone. Deleting a message syncs to all devices that are online.

What works and what does not on linked devices

Broadcast lists are the gap most owners notice: WhatsApp's help article says they are not supported on Windows, Mac or Web, so a Diwali offer to your saved customers must go out from the primary phone. Our WhatsApp broadcast list guide covers the steps and the 256-contact limit. To cut down repeated typing on every device, set up the greeting message, away message and quick replies from the auto-reply guide.

Step 3: give staff access safely

Linked devices are built for one account owner with a few devices, not for a team with separate identities. Every linked device sees every chat, two people can answer the same customer at once, and the app keeps no record of who said what. A few house rules prevent most problems. Take Arjun's mobile shop in Indore, with two counter staff:

• One owner per chat. Arjun created labels named Ravi and Sana and the rule is: whoever replies first applies their label, and the other person does not touch that chat.
• Sign replies. Staff end the first reply with their name ("This is Sana from Arjun Mobiles") so customers know who they are talking to. Customers cannot see which device replied.
• Business devices only. The counter phone and the shop laptop belong to the shop. Nobody links the business number to a personal phone they take home.
• Official apps only. WhatsApp warns that linking your account to unofficial apps or websites can get it temporarily or permanently banned, and can expose it to spam and scams. Avoid any 'multi-login' or 'WhatsApp CRM' extension that asks you to scan your QR code into its own site.
• Two-step verification on. Go to Settings > Account > Two-step verification on the primary phone and turn it on. WhatsApp is moving this from a 6-digit PIN to a password; either way, nobody can register your number on another phone with just the SMS code.
• Same-day offboarding. When Ravi leaves, Arjun opens Linked devices, taps Ravi's device and taps Log out. If staff used a shared phone, also change that phone's screen lock.

Step 4: keep the primary phone active and review devices

Two timers decide whether linked devices stay connected:

1. 14 days: linked devices log out if WhatsApp Business is not used on the primary phone for more than 14 days. If the owner travels and leaves the primary phone in a drawer, the shop laptop goes offline. Open the app on the primary phone every few days.
2. 30 days: WhatsApp automatically disconnects a linked device that itself has not been used for 30 days. The weekend tablet you forgot about will drop off on its own.

Keep push notifications on for the primary phone: WhatsApp says this lets you spot and remove a device you do not recognise by tapping the notification. Once a week, open Linked devices, check the list and last-active times, and log out anything you do not recognise.

When a shared team inbox is the better fit

Linked devices are enough while two or three people share one number and trust each other to coordinate. These are the signs you have outgrown them:

• You need more than four devices and do not want a paid plan just for device slots.
• Customers get two answers, or none, because nobody knows whose chat it is.
• You need each person to see only their own chats, or a record of who replied.
• Staff leave often and you want access removed by switching off a login, not by finding their device.

On the WhatsApp Business API, the number has no phone app; your team answers from a browser, each person with their own login. In Broadchat that is the shared inbox under CRM → Live Chat, where chats can be assigned to one agent, routed by department and handed over by a chatbot. Our comparison of one WhatsApp number with multiple agents sets the three options side by side, and the WhatsApp team inbox and CRM page shows what the inbox does. Meta charges per delivered message on the API, not per agent, so adding people does not add Meta costs.

In India you do not have to give up the phone app to get there. WhatsApp coexistence connects the same number to the API while the owner keeps the Business app. On a coexistence number the app can still have up to four companion devices, but WhatsApp for Windows and Wear OS are not supported as companions, and existing linked devices are logged out when you onboard, so you link them again afterwards. If you are still deciding between the two products, read WhatsApp Business app vs API first.

Agencies that manage WhatsApp for local clients can offer the API inbox under their own brand through a white-label WhatsApp platform.