How to Use WhatsApp Business on a PC or Laptop

To use WhatsApp Business on a PC or laptop, link the computer to the WhatsApp Business app on your phone. Open WhatsApp Web in a browser, or install the WhatsApp desktop app for Windows or Mac, then scan the QR code from your phone’s Linked devices screen. There’s no separate login with a password: your phone is the key.

This guide is for one person who wants to answer business chats from a bigger screen. It covers which option to pick, the exact linking steps on Android and iPhone, what doesn’t work on a computer, and how to fix the usual problems, such as a computer that keeps logging out or won’t connect.

WhatsApp Web or the desktop app?

Both show the same chats and both are linked devices. WhatsApp’s Help Center lists WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Desktop among the places you can link a WhatsApp Business account. The download page offers one WhatsApp desktop app; you link your Business number to it in the same way.

If your computer’s system is too old for the app, WhatsApp says to use WhatsApp Web in a browser instead. WhatsApp Web doesn’t work in old browsers such as Internet Explorer.

How to link WhatsApp Business to your computer

Open WhatsApp Web or the desktop app on the computer first, so the QR code is on screen. Then, on your phone:

Android

1. Open WhatsApp Business and tap the three-dot menu.
2. Tap Linked devices, then Link a device.
3. Confirm it’s you with your fingerprint, face or phone unlock PIN if asked.
4. Point the phone at the QR code on the computer screen.

iPhone

1. Open WhatsApp Business and go to Settings (or tap your profile picture).
2. Tap Linked devices, then Link device.
3. Confirm with Face ID, Touch ID or your phone’s passcode if asked.
4. Scan the QR code on the computer.

Your chats then appear on the computer. If WhatsApp doesn’t recognise the device, it asks you to confirm before it links. Only approve a computer you’re sitting at.

WhatsApp Web may also ask you to create or use a passkey, which checks it’s you with your device’s own lock, such as a fingerprint or screen lock, rather than a password.

Link with a phone number instead of a QR code

If your phone camera won’t scan the code, WhatsApp for Windows and WhatsApp Web let you link with your number and a one-time code:

1. On the computer, choose the option to log in with a phone number.
2. Pick your country, type your WhatsApp Business number and continue. An 8-character code appears.
3. On your phone, tap the Enter code notification from WhatsApp, or go to Linked devices › Link a device › Link with phone number instead.
4. Check the device name and location shown, confirm it’s you, and type the code.

What works on a computer, and what doesn’t

Day-to-day chatting works: you can read and reply, send files by dragging them into a chat, and get notifications even when your phone is offline. The desktop app also has voice and video calls if you give it your microphone and camera.

WhatsApp’s Help Center says these don’t work on linked devices of the Business app:

• Broadcast lists: you can’t create or view them on a computer.
• Live location: sharing and viewing it.
• Status: adding or deleting status updates.

WhatsApp’s general linked devices article adds that WhatsApp Flows, the in-chat forms some businesses send, can’t be used from a linked device. WhatsApp also lists a known issue where some linked devices don’t show up to a year of older chats; the full history stays on your phone.

More on what the free app can and can’t do in WhatsApp Business app limitations.

Why WhatsApp Business keeps logging out on your PC

A linked computer doesn’t need your phone online, but it does depend on the phone being used. Work through these causes in order:

WhatsApp’s rule is that you must open WhatsApp on your main phone at least every 14 days to keep linked devices connected. If the phone is lost or broken, see moving WhatsApp Business to a new phone.

When WhatsApp Web or desktop won’t connect

A yellow Computer not connected bar usually means the computer has no internet connection. If the internet works and you still can’t connect, try these steps from WhatsApp’s Help Center:

1. Refresh the WhatsApp Web page, or close and reopen the app.
2. Clear your browser’s cache and cookies (WhatsApp Web only).
3. Log out and link again from the phone.
4. Restart the computer: turn it off, wait 30 seconds, turn it on.
5. Try another network or your phone’s hotspot. WhatsApp notes that office or college Wi-Fi can cause problems.
6. Ask your IT team to let traffic to web.whatsapp.com and .whatsapp.net through.

If the QR code or passkey step fails

• Update WhatsApp on the phone and the browser or app on the computer.
• Don’t use incognito or private browsing.
• Turn on Bluetooth on both the phone and the computer.
• For a passkey, sign in to the same Google account (Chrome and Android) or Apple account (Mac and iPhone) on both.
• Check your browser is recent enough: WhatsApp lists Chrome 109, Safari 16, Edge 109 and Firefox 122 or newer for passkeys.
• Work computers may block the WebAuthn feature passkeys need. Your IT team can check.

Keep your business chats safe on a computer

Anyone at a linked computer can read every chat, so treat it like your phone:

• Check Linked devices on the phone regularly and log out anything you don’t recognise: tap the device, then Log out.
• Log out of shared computers when you finish, and lock your own computer when you step away.
• Only scan QR codes on official WhatsApp screens, never one sent in a message or shown on another website.

Never link a device, share a code or scan a QR code because a message asked you to. See how to spot a fake WhatsApp Business account.

When a computer isn’t enough: a team inbox

Linking a laptop works well for one person. It gets harder when several people reply from the same number, because everyone shares one login and there’s no record of who answered. That case, with the four-device limit and Meta Verified multi-agent, is covered in WhatsApp Business for multiple users.

With the WhatsApp Business API there are no linked devices to manage. In Automate AI’s shared team inbox, every plan includes unlimited users with their own logins, and the inbox works in any browser on a PC or Mac, as an Android app you download from your dashboard, or added to the home screen on an iPhone. Automation keeps answering when no phone is online.

You can keep the Business app on your phone too, with WhatsApp coexistence. Note one limit: under coexistence, WhatsApp for Windows isn’t supported as a linked device, though WhatsApp Web and other supported devices are. Plans are on our pricing page.