How to install WhatsApp on tablet
To activate an account on WhatsApp, you know, you need to verify your identity using a valid mobile number: this is why the app has never officially landed on tablets (and probably never will). But if I used the term “official” it is because there are tricks that allow you to install WhatsApp on tablets bypassing, at least partially, the obstacle.
I warn you, these are not always comfortable procedures to put into practice, but for the moment they represent the only ways to have WhatsApp on Android tablets and iPads (including models with only Wi-Fi connection). The secret – if we want to call it that – consists in forcing the installation of the app on your device and activating a new account using a mobile number not yet registered on WhatsApp (that of a traditional mobile phone is fine too, it doesn’t have to be a smartphone). If you use a number already registered on the service, you will lose the ability to access WhatsApp with your phone as WhatsApp limits access to only one device per number).
Alternatively, if you want to use the same WhatsApp account on your smartphone and tablet, you can download applications that allow you to use WhatsApp Web on your tablet. In this way the tablet acts as a “repeater” of the smartphone (which must remain on and connected to the Internet) and allows you to chat on WhatsApp without losing access to the latter. Read on if you want to know more.
Index
- How to install WhatsApp on Android tablet
- How to install WhatsApp on tablets with SIM
- How to install WhatsApp on SIM-free tablets
- How to install WhatsApp on Apple tablets
How to install WhatsApp on Android tablet
If you are wondering how to install WhatsApp on an Android tablet , know that you can download the application directly from the Play Store or from the official website of the famous messaging app (ideal solution if you have a device without Google services) and activate it using the SIM present in the tablet or the number of a SIM present in a phone that you have not yet used to register a WhatsApp account. Here are all the details.
How to install WhatsApp on tablets with SIM
If you have an Android tablet with SIM , you can install WhatsApp and activate it with the number associated with the card. If you don’t know what your SIM number is, retrieve it by following the instructions you find in my tutorial on how to recover SIM number.
At this point, if you have a device equipped with Google services, to download and install WhatsApp, just connect directly from your tablet to the app page on the Play Store and tap the Install button.
Alternatively, access the Play Store by selecting the appropriate icon in the app menu (the colored ▶ symbol), type “WhatsApp” in the search bar and first select the WhatsApp icon from the search results and then the Install button .
Do you have a HUAWEI or other brand tablet without the Play Store? In this case you can install WhatsApp on HUAWEI tablets or other devices that do not have Google services by “manually” downloading the app installation file from the official website.
To do this, open the browser you usually use to browse online from your tablet, connected to whatsapp.com/android and then click on Download to start the download of the WhatsApp.apk file .
At the end of the download, to open the file, tap on Open in the notification that just appeared, or go to the Download section of your tablet to find the WhatsApp APK package.
Once the APK package is open, tap on the Settings item from the browser notification. At the item Allow the installation of the App , tap on the lever to activate this option. This will allow you to activate the installation of apps from unknown sources and install applications that do not come from the Play Store.
After this step, tap on the back arrow to return to the WhatsApp installation, then on Install and finally on Open, once the process is complete.
Now you can proceed with the configuration of WhatsApp Messenger . After opening the app, tap Accept and Continue to continue or, if you want to read the privacy policy, click on the appropriate link to open it on the browser.
At this point WhatsApp will ask you to enter the number of the SIM inserted in the tablet and to choose the country from the drop-down menu to automatically find the international prefix. Alternatively, you can manually type the prefix (the one for Italy is +39 ).
After having entered the country code and the phone number of the SIM of the tablet, tap on Next, then on OK to confirm or on Change to change the number if you entered it wrong.
In a few seconds, you will receive a verification SMS on your tablet with a 6-digit code that you must enter in the appropriate field to activate WhatsApp on your tablet. If you do not receive the code, tap on Call me to receive a call during which the code will be dictated to you.
If you have installed WhatsApp Messenger by downloading the APK package, for security reasons, I recommend that you reset the block for apps installed from unknown sources. To do this, go to the tablet Settings by tapping on the gear icon and then on the Security and Privacy item .
From here, press on Other to expand the options, select the item Install Unknown App and then on your browser . Then tap the Allow app installation switch to activate the lock again.
Mission accomplished! Now you just have to use WhatsApp as you would also on your smartphone.
How to install WhatsApp on SIM-free tablets
If you have reached this point of the guide, you will probably also want to know how to install WhatsApp on tablets without SIM only WiFi . The procedure for obtaining the WhatsApp Messenger app is the same as that illustrated in the previous chapter. As for using WhatsApp Messenger without a SIM in the tablet, you will necessarily have to use the number of a phone with a SIM not yet registered on WhatsApp .
So, if you usually use WhatsApp on your smartphone, you won’t be able to use the same phone number to receive the verification code. How do you say? Don’t have a smartphone without WhatsApp? In this case you can get a secondary SIM to insert in your smartphone (if it is a dual SIM) and use it to configure WhatsApp on your tablet.
Otherwise you can connect the WhatsApp app on your smartphone to your tablet using WhatsApp Web and access your chats from the tablet (although this is probably not what you wanted to do). To do this, just connect from your tablet to the website.whatsapp.com and scan the WhatsApp Web QR with your smartphone.
How to install WhatsApp on Apple tablets
Unlike Android models, WhatsApp cannot be installed on iPad . However, you can use WhatsApp Web via the Safari browser to receive and send messages to your contacts.
The procedure to follow is always the same: just connect from the tablet to the website.whatsapp.com and scan the QR of WhatsApp Web with your smartphone. If the page does not have the QR code, tap on the A A icon at the top right and select the Request Desktop Site option .
Once done, you will see a QR code on your Apple tablet’s WhatsApp Web page.
WhatsApp Web is a very convenient solution, the only drawback is that you will only receive notifications on the tablet if you leave the browser open. If you need background notifications, you could download some third-party apps that only offer a browser dedicated solely to WhatsApp Web with support for background notifications. They often feature banner ads and, as these are unofficial solutions, they can stop working at any moment, but there are no other alternatives.
You can find the apps in question – for example PadChat for WhatsApp Messenger – you can simply search for “WhatsApp” in the App Store . Please, always read the comments to understand if an application is valid or not. For further information, I refer you to my tutorial on how to use WhatsApp for iPad.