How to Use WhatsApp On Multiple Devices With a Single Phone Number in 2026

Multiple sales agents can log in to the same WhatsApp Business account to manage client interactions, automate quick replies, and provide personalized solutions to customers.

By linking WhatsApp Business across multiple devices, you can strategically manage lead volume, reduce response times, and drive high-quality conversions at scale.

You can use the free WhatsApp Business app across 5 devices, and can even go upto 10 devices with WhatsApp Business Premium. However, the 10-device phone limit has only 1 primary phone and 9 companions. 

In this article, we’ll guide you on how to use WhatsApp Business on the web, desktop, and other devices by linking them to your phone.

What are the Steps to Link a New Device to the WhatsApp Business App?

Below are the steps to link a new device on WhatsApp Business App:

Step 1: Update Your WhatsApp Business App

To use the latest WhatsApp Business feature, you need to update your WhatsApp Business app to the latest version.

Step 2: Link Your Account to Additional Devices

• To link your account to an additional device, follow these steps:
• Open WhatsApp Business on your phone
• Go to Settings
• Select “Linked Devices”
• Click on “Link a New Device”
• Follow the instructions on the screen to scan the QR code on the device you want to link
• Repeat these steps for up to four devices.

Step 3: Use WhatsApp Business on Other Devices

Once you’ve linked your account to other devices, you can use WhatsApp Business on the linked devices by visiting https://web.whatsapp.com/ or downloading the desktop app.

When you use WhatsApp Business on linked devices, all your chats, contacts, and media will be synced across them. 

So you can start a conversation on your phone and continue it on your desktop or in a web browser.

Step 4: Manage Linked Devices

To manage your linked devices, go to Settings > Linked Devices in iOS, or Three dots (⋮) > Linked devices on Android.

From here, you can unlink any device or view the list of devices linked to your account.

How to Set Up WhatsApp Business for Small to Medium Businesses?

The WhatsApp Business app was created for small businesses and was initially designed to work on only two devices at a time. But things changed recently.

The free WhatsApp Business app allows up to 5 devices per account (one primary phone plus four linked devices).

You can link one WhatsApp account to 4 different devices (desktop, mobile or tablets) as companions. Each device operates on its own, syncing messages, creating backups and maintaining contacts. 

Using the app on more devices is a short-term solution. Over time, you’ll face problems like:

• There is no way for team members to communicate within the app.
• There is no way to see how individual team members are using the app.
• There are not many options to automate tasks.

To use all the advanced features, businesses must use the API.

How to Set Up WhatsApp Business For Medium to Enterprise Businesses?

For big companies that need more than 4 people to use WhatsApp Business, there’s a special tool called the WhatsApp Business API. It allows you to:

• Work with many users: You can share messages with your team, talk among yourselves, and assist more customers together.
  
• Make chats automatic: Set up chatbots, establish guidelines, and have instant or automated responses ready.
  
• Learn from data: Keep an eye on how many chats you’re handling, how fast you’re closing them, common questions, and more.

Unlike the standard WhatsApp Business App, WhatsApp APi does not use the “Linked Devices” QR code menu on your phone. 

Instead, you can connect your number to a provider like Wati once, and then add your entire team through a web-based dashboard.

How to Use WhatsApp Business With Multiple Agents via API?

The WhatsApp Business API doesn’t have a direct system you can use. You need a tool like Wati. Joining Wati is fast and easy:

• Choose the plan that suits you from our pricing page.
• Link your WhatsApp Business number with Wati.
• Get the verifications done, and you’re good to go.

Now let’s look at how you can add more team members to your WhatsApp Business API account.

How to Add Unlimited Agents via the Wati Dashboard (API)

You can add more users to your account by following the steps below.

1. On the top panel on the Wati dashboard, select ‘User Management.’

2. On the next screen, click the ‘Add User’ button (Ensure you are in the “Operators” section).

3. Fill in operator details and click the ‘Save’ button.

How to Create a Team and Assign Users to a Team?

The “team” in Wati is to divide users into different, smaller teams. Per the permission rule, users in the same team can see each other’s tickets, and vice versa.

 If the user isn’t on the team, they can’t see the ticket.

To see which team can see the current ticket, click the “team” button on each ticket.

How to Create a Team?

To create a team, the user needs to access the “User Management” screen –> “Teams” tab.

Then click the “Add Team” button.

A popup will be displayed that will allow you to enter a team name.

After that, click on the “Add New Team” button.

Note:

• There is only 1 team that can be checked as a “Default Team.”
• The Default Team can see all messages
• If the team is selected as “Default Team”, once the customer starts chatting without any keyword routing to any team, it will be assigned to this default team.
• The non-default team(s) can see only messages assigned to their team.

How To Add Users to Teams?

Firstly, access the “User Management” screen –> “Teams” tab. Then, click the “Edit” button (pencil icon).

Then a new popup will be displayed. You have option to edit the team name here as well, and you can add operators you want to be a part of this team.

Once done, click ‘Save’.

How to Assign Conversations to a Team?

Use Wati’s auto chat assignment feature. Automatic chat assignment refers to the process by which the Bot will automatically assign newly opened chats directly to a Team Inbox user belonging to the team to which the chat is assigned.

The Bot will check for the team members who are online (available) at that point in time and assign a new chat to each member one by one, in a round-robin manner.

How to Set Up Automatic Chat Assignment?

If your team is small and you don’t get too many WhatsApp messages, your team can easily decide who responds to each message. This method ensures that no message is answered twice.

However, for larger teams or when you receive lots of messages through WhatsApp Business, dividing them up by hand takes too much time.

To make this easier, you can set up an automatic system. By using a ’round-robin’ rule, you make sure that each team member handles the same number of messages each day.

How Does Automatic Chat Assignment Work?

• Let’s assume a new chat has been started by a customer. In this case, the chat gets assigned to the Default team.
• When the automatic assignment setting is turned on, the chat will get assigned to any of the online members of the Default team, instead of getting assigned to the Bot.
• Then the next incoming chat will be assigned to the next team member, ensuring that each team member gets covered one by one.
• Similarly, suppose you have set up a Keyword Action to route an incoming chat to a particular team. In that case, the automatic assignment setting will assign the incoming chat to an online team member.

What are the High Impact WhatsApp Business API Use Cases for Teams?

Below are the benefits of WhatsApp Business API for sales teams:

1. Make chatting easier with chatbots

Customer service can be super busy and stressful, especially when there’s a lot to do. If you take too long to respond, customers can get unhappy. That’s why using some automatic help is a good idea.

In Wati, you can use a WhatsApp chatbot. This chatbot can collect customer details, answer simple questions, and direct customers to the right person on your team. This way, even if many people are working together, no messages are forgotten or missed.

Read more: WhatsApp for customer service: Serving customers with personalized responses

2. Send automatic messages when no one is there to answer

Using Wati for WhatsApp Business lets you set up automatic replies when your team isn’t around. This way, your customers get a response even when your business is closed.

This feature is really helpful because you can’t just ‘shut off’ your WhatsApp when you’re closed. Customers might message you anytime, and with auto-replies, they’ll always get an answer.

What are the Use Cases of WhatsApp API?

By leveraging the WhatsApp Business API through a platform like Wati, businesses can transform simple messaging into a high-performance workflow.

Here is how different departments optimize their operations.

1. Optimization for Customer Support Teams

• Automated Ticket Routing – Automatically direct incoming customer queries to the most qualified agent based on specific keywords or predefined triggers within the message.
  
• Intelligent Workload Distribution – Use “Round Robin” assignment to evenly distribute messages across the support team, preventing agent burnout and reducing wait times.
  
• Seamless Manual Handoff – Allow supervisors to monitor live chats and manually reassign high-priority conversations to senior specialists whenever complex issues arise.
  
• Centralized Team Collaboration – Enable multiple support agents to manage thousands of conversations simultaneously from a single official WhatsApp Business number.

2. Optimization for Marketing and Sales Teams

• High-Conversion Click-to-WhatsApp Ads – Transition prospects directly from social media ads into a live WhatsApp chat, capturing lead data instantly without external landing pages.
  
• Instant Lead Notifications – Alert your sales representatives the moment a high-intent prospect initiates a chat, ensuring a “speed-to-lead” advantage over competitors.
  
• No-Code Chatbot Qualification – Deploy automated bots to ask preliminary questions, such as company size, location, and industry. to filter and qualify leads before they reach a human agent.
  
• Interactive Data Gathering – Use “List Messages” and “Reply Buttons” to collect customer preferences and contact details in a structured, friction-free conversational format.
  
• Automated CRM Syncing – Integrate WhatsApp interactions with your existing sales stack to ensure every conversation is logged and no follow-up is ever missed.

Also read: WhatsApp and HubSpot integration to optimize sales strategy with contextual data.

Note: If you are using the API (Wati), you can stop using the “Linked Devices” menu on your phone entirely. Your phone essentially becomes a “silent” host for the number, while all business happens on the dashboard.

What are the Best Practices for Using WhatsApp Business on Multiple Devices?

To ensure optimal usage of WhatsApp Business on multiple devices, consider the following best practices:

1. Keep devices secure: Use secure devices and regularly update their operating systems and applications to protect sensitive business data.
2. Manage notifications: Customize notification settings to avoid unnecessary distractions while ensuring you don’t miss important messages.
3. Regularly logout: If you no longer use a device, remember to log out of WhatsApp Business to maintain account security.

Double Down on Low-Hanging Fruits!

Using WhatsApp Business on multiple devices can help you stay connected with your customers and improve productivity.

It also enables new agents to pick up old conversational progress and understand the sales case before reinitiating contact with the customer.

Following the above steps, you can link up to four devices to your WhatsApp Business Account or use them simultaneously, or you can give Wati’s WhatsApp Business API a try!

Sign up for a free demo to convert better and faster with Wati’s WhatsApp Business API.

Frequently Asked Questions: WhatsApp Business on Multiple Devices

Have more questions? Refer Below!