The hassles associated with changing to a new phone number are numerous, so it is worth reducing them with a quick system to notify our WhatsApp contacts that we have a different number and we will use the old one.
We will also present the option of sending a mass message to all contacts on the agenda, optional, but the key step is to use the WhatsApp assistant to change the number , which offers many advantages.
If we use WhatsApp’s own tool to change from the old number to the new, all conversations are maintained, we will also continue in the groups with the new number without additional steps, so everything is much easier.
How to remove WhatsApp completely
It is also possible to send a notification to notify our contacts of the change and to save the new number in the phonebook, avoiding doing it manually.
Change number from WhatsApp
We are going to see the process step by step, which is carried out in the old number associated with WhatsApp , and which requires receiving an SMS in the number to which we are going to change , as a verification method.
For this last step, we can ask an acquaintance to let us put the SIM card in their phone for a few minutes, just to get the verification code and finish the process.
- If we change the number, but not the phone, the conversation histories are maintained. If we have bought another mobile, we must first follow the tutorial to make backup copies in WhatsApp , thus preserving the chats in the cloud.
- This option does not work if the mobiles do not share an operating system (when switching between Android and iOS), although there are some solutions to transfer WhatsApp messages between Android and iPhone , which are not perfect, but they can help us.
- Once the backup is done (recommended, but not mandatory), we begin the tutorial. From the main “Chats” tab we open the three-point menu at the top right, using the mobile with the old WhatsApp number :
- From the drop-down menu that opens we choose the “Settings” option :
- We will have to go to the “Account” section that appears under the profile photo:
- We look for the option “Change number” and enter:
- First we will see an explanation that the groups, conversations and account information will be migrated, we will press “Next.” (“Next”) if it suits us:
- Now we have to indicate the old telephone number and the new one to which we want to change, checking that the prefix of our country has been correctly chosen:
- In the confirmation screen we have to mark “Notify my contacts” , in this way WhatsApp will notify them of the change. It is possible to choose the specific contacts to notify, only those with whom we have a conversation or the entire agenda:
- They will send us an SMS message with a verification code to the new number , the easiest thing is to put the SIM for a moment in the phone of an acquaintance to obtain it, and enter it in the WhatsApp of the old number:
- If we keep the same physical phone, it only remains to change the SIM card to that of the new number, otherwise we must install WhatsApp on the terminal and restore the WhatsApp backup to keep conversations.
We have already finished the procedure, and when we notify our contacts, a window will have appeared to add our new number to their agenda , something very convenient.
Send a broadcast message
Optionally, it is possible to add an additional notice with a text written by us , the same for all our contacts. For this, the distribution lists are useful, which make it easy for us to send a WhatsApp message to several contacts at the same time .
This is how we can do it:
- On the main WhatsApp screen, from the “Chats” tab, we open the three-point menu that appears at the top right:
- We choose the “New broadcast” option :
- Now we will mark the contacts in the agenda that we want to notify with a message of our own:
- The text to send depends on us , a possible idea would be something like this:
Hi, I’m First Name Last Name. I have changed the phone number, the new one is XXXXXXXXX. Please add the new one to the phonebook and delete the old one. Thanks.
- It only remains to send the text, which all contacts on the broadcast list will receive . A distribution list is not the same as a group, therefore, if they answer us, we will receive it in private, it will not be read by the rest of the contacts.
In the end, the steps to notify contacts when we decide to change the number on WhatsApp are not that complicated . It is simpler than it seems, although that does not prevent annoyances from arising if some person or company does not find out about the modification and keeps trying to contact the previous one.
