orca.floHow to move your WhatsApp number to WhatsApp Business without losing chats
Moving your number from WhatsApp (WhatsApp calls it WhatsApp Messenger) to the free WhatsApp Business app takes a few minutes. Your chat history comes with you, and you get a business profile, away and greeting messages and quick replies. Here are WhatsApp’s own steps for Android and iPhone, what to do before you start, and what changes if you later move the number to the official API.
Updated
Before you start
- Back up your chats. WhatsApp recommends making a backup of your account before you move; its Help Center explains how on Android and iPhone (linked under Sources).
- Save your contacts to your phone. Contacts saved only inside WhatsApp (WhatsApp contacts) aren’t supported in the Business app yet and are lost when you move. In WhatsApp you can turn WhatsApp contacts off in settings and choose to save them all to your phone’s address book first.
- Keep the phone with the number at hand. WhatsApp sends a six-digit code by SMS to verify it.
- One number, one app. WhatsApp says you can’t use the same number on WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business at the same time, although you can move between them. To keep a personal WhatsApp, put it on a different number.
On Android
Update and install
Update WhatsApp, then download WhatsApp Business from the Google Play Store.
Agree to the terms
Open WhatsApp Business, read the Terms of Service (and, in some regions, the WhatsApp Business App Privacy Policy), and tap Agree and continue.
Pick your number
The app finds the number you use in WhatsApp. Tap it to continue, or tap Use a different number to register another one.
Bring your chats across
Tap Continue, then Allow, so WhatsApp Business can access your chat history and media.
Verify the number
Enter the six-digit code WhatsApp sends you by SMS.
Create your business profile
Add your business details and tap Next. You can keep editing the profile once the account is active.
On iPhone
Update and install
Update WhatsApp, then download WhatsApp Business from the App Store.
Agree to the terms
Open WhatsApp Business, read the Terms of Service (and, in some regions, the privacy policy), and tap Agree & continue.
Pick your number
The app finds the number you use in WhatsApp. Tap it, or tap Use a different number.
Verify the number
Enter the six-digit code sent by SMS. You can skip this if iCloud Keychain is on and you’ve verified this number on the same phone before.
Allow your contacts
Tap Continue twice to let WhatsApp Business use your phone’s address book, or Continue then Don’t Allow.
Create your business profile
Add your business details and tap Next.
What you get in the Business app
- A business profile with your address, email, website and hours.
- Lists to organise your contacts and find chats quickly.
- Messaging tools: away and greeting messages and quick replies, all free.
- No Facebook Page or Instagram account needed: WhatsApp says neither is required to create or use a WhatsApp Business account.
Wait 10 days before you automate
If you plan to connect an AI assistant, use the Business app normally for at least 10 days first. WhatsApp watches new Business accounts closely, and a number that starts sending automated replies within days is far more likely to be restricted. That’s why OrcaFlo asks for a WhatsApp Business account at least 10 days old. The other habits that keep a number safe are in how to avoid a WhatsApp Business ban.
Moving the number on to the official API
Moving to the WhatsApp Business app is not the same as moving to Meta’s official API, which software platforms use. Without Meta’s coexistence option, Meta’s guide says you must first delete the WhatsApp account on the number before registering it on the Cloud API: the chat history is lost and the number can’t be used with the WhatsApp Business app again.
With coexistence, which your provider has to support, the Business app keeps working on the same number, chats stay in sync and up to 180 days of history can be imported, but broadcast lists are disabled and linked devices are unlinked. Before you decide, read the Business app vs the API and what the API costs in the UAE.
Connecting OrcaFlo after the move
OrcaFlo connects to the WhatsApp Business app itself, not to the API. In the OrcaFlo panel you scan a QR code from Linked devices → Link a device in the app, the way you open WhatsApp Web, and your number, chats and app stay on your phone. Moving from another WhatsApp tool? Your contacts and, where the old tool exports them, past conversations can come across too.
Questions
Not if you follow WhatsApp’s steps: on Android you allow the Business app to access your chat history and media, and it carries on from there. Back up first, as WhatsApp recommends, and save your contacts to your phone’s address book, because contacts saved only inside WhatsApp aren’t supported in the Business app yet.
Not at the same time. WhatsApp says one number can’t be used on both apps simultaneously, but you can move between them. To keep a personal WhatsApp, use a second number for it.
Yes. It is free to download and use, on Android and iPhone. In some countries it also sells optional extras, such as business broadcasts and the Meta Verified subscription.
No. WhatsApp says an Instagram account, an Instagram business account or a Facebook Page is not required to create or use a WhatsApp Business account.
WhatsApp says it is possible to move between the two apps. Check its Help Center for the current steps on your phone, and back up before you move.
Because automation on a brand-new WhatsApp Business account is far more likely to be restricted. Use the app normally for 10 days, then connect.
Stop losing customers to slow replies.
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