How do you switch from WhatsApp to WhatsApp Business without losing your chats?

Before you start: 4 checks

The switch happens on the phone where WhatsApp is already installed, with the same number. Nothing needs deleting. Take five minutes to prepare.

1. Back up. Android: ⋮ > Settings > Chats > Chat backup > Back up (to your Google Account). iPhone: Settings > Chats > Chat backup > Back up now (to iCloud).
2. Protect your contacts. If you use WhatsApp contacts, turn them off in WhatsApp settings and choose to save all contacts to your phone’s address book.
3. Keep the phone that receives this number’s text messages at hand: WhatsApp Business sends a 6-digit code by SMS.
4. Have your business name and category ready. The business profile comes at the end and you can edit it later.

On iPhone, WhatsApp Help asks for the latest iOS and free space, in iCloud and on the phone, of at least 2.05 times the size of the backup.

Switch to WhatsApp Business on Android

1. Update WhatsApp, then download WhatsApp Business from the Google Play Store.
2. Open WhatsApp Business.
3. Read the Terms of Service and tap Agree and continue.
4. WhatsApp Business shows the number you use in WhatsApp. Tap it. (Use a different number is for registering another number.)
5. Tap Continue > Allow: WhatsApp Business gets access to your chat history and media.
6. Enter the 6-digit code you receive by text message.
7. Create your business profile, then tap Next.

Switch to WhatsApp Business on iPhone

1. Update WhatsApp, then download WhatsApp Business from the App Store.
2. Open WhatsApp Business.
3. Read the Terms of Service and tap Agree & continue.
4. WhatsApp Business shows the number you use in WhatsApp. Tap it.
5. Enter the 6-digit code you receive by text message. You skip this step if iCloud Keychain is on and you have verified this number on this phone before.
6. Tap Continue > Continue to allow access to your address book (or Continue > Don’t Allow).
7. Create your business profile, then tap Next.

The iPhone article in WhatsApp Help shows no screen dedicated to chat history. Still, the WhatsApp Business download page says the migration brings over chat history and media, on iPhone as on Android. The iCloud backup you made first is your safety net.

What carries over, what changes

You can change your mind: WhatsApp Help describes going back to WhatsApp with a backup and a restore. Data specific to WhatsApp Business, such as catalog items and collections, does not move.

Mistakes to avoid

• Deleting your WhatsApp account to “free up” the number. The switch does not need it. According to Meta, deleting the account to register the number on the API loses the history.
• Uninstalling WhatsApp before the end. WhatsApp Help says to update it, not delete it: that is where WhatsApp Business recognises your number.
• Tapping Use a different number when you want to keep yours.
• Skipping the backup. It costs nothing and protects you if something cuts out.
• Forgetting WhatsApp contacts. Those not in the address book disappear.
• Expecting the same number in both apps. It is not possible: to keep a personal WhatsApp, you need a second number.

• Separate work and personal WhatsApp →

Next: connect the number to WYP.chat without leaving the app

WhatsApp Business is still an app for one phone. To reply as a team, from a computer, with assigned conversations, Meta offers coexistence: the same number works both in the app and in software connected to the WhatsApp Business API. Messages sent and received appear on both sides.

Meta’s conditions

• WhatsApp Business 2.24.17 or later on the phone.
• A number already in the WhatsApp Business app. A number still in WhatsApp has to move there first: otherwise, for the API, Meta asks you to delete the WhatsApp account.
• The phone has to stay active: after about 14 days without activity, Meta disconnects the number from the API.

Connecting, step by step

1. Create your WYP.chat workspace, no card needed.
2. Write to us: until Meta approves WYP.chat, we open the “Connect WhatsApp” window with you. Tick “This number is already used in the WhatsApp Business app and I want to keep using it”.
3. In the Meta window, choose to connect an existing WhatsApp Business app account and enter the number. Meta shows a code: copy it.
4. On the phone, a message from the official Facebook Business account arrives in WhatsApp Business. Tap Connect, then Connect to the Business Platform.
5. Choose whether to share your chat history, then paste the code.
6. Finish in the Meta window. Keep WhatsApp Business open during the sync, which can take several minutes.

WYP.chat then brings in your contacts and up to 6 months of one-to-one chats, if you chose to share the history. Replies sent from the phone show in WYP.chat, signed “WhatsApp Business app”.

What changes in the app

What it costs

According to Meta, messages sent from the WhatsApp Business app stay free. Those sent through the API follow Meta’s pricing, and a message sent from the app neither opens nor extends the API’s 24-hour window. The WYP.chat subscription is separate, with a free plan.

Changing phone or disconnecting

• New phone, reinstall or new registration of the number: Meta disconnects the number from the API, then reconnects it on its own within a few minutes, unless you opt out on the registration screen. Linked devices have to be relinked by hand.
• To leave coexistence, you disconnect from the account settings of WhatsApp Business (Business Platform, according to Meta’s documentation).
• WYP.chat alerts you if the number is detached: open the app on the phone, then reconnect the number.

• The WhatsApp Business API with WYP.chat →
• Using WhatsApp Business with several people →
• WhatsApp message pricing →