Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- WhatsApp is rolling out a new update to its tablet app that lets you link your main account with the WhatsApp app on your Android tablet.
- Account linking for tablets is only available to WhatsApp’s beta testers right now. However, we got it working through an APK download.
WhatsApp is pushing out a banner to some users announcing that “WhatsApp for tablet” is now available for beta testers.
We noticed the banner on version 2.22.24.27 of WhatsApp on Android. Since we haven’t signed up for WhatsApp’s beta program, we got the beta version of the updated tablet app from APKMirror. The APK link essentially downloads version 2.22.25.8 of the WhatsApp app on your tablet.
Until now, you could only use WhatsApp on an Android tablet by registering a standalone phone number. You could not link your existing WhatsApp account from your Android phone and continue using the same one on your tablet. This changes today with the WhatsApp for tablet update.
Once you get access to the updated WhatsApp app on your Android tablet (through the APK or the beta testing program), you’ll be asked to scan a QR code on the tablet app with your phone app. It’s essentially the same process of linking a device as a Windows or macOS PC.
After the linking process is complete, WhatsApp will transfer your chats to the tablet app, and you can continue the conversations from your phone app on your Android tablet.
Given that WhatsApp is testing the new feature in beta, it won’t be long before the Facebook-owned service rolls it out widely to all users. Until then, you can just install the APK if you can’t wait for an official rollout.
