For the past few years, WhatsApp has enabled its users to link secondary devices to the main smartphone for easier access to one’s chats and history.
Even WhatsApp Web demands the users to scan the QR code on their phone first in order to stay logged in. Moreover, it needs the main smartphone’s internet to be switched on at all times.
This has acted as a hindrance in the user experience because the smartphone ultimately acts as an intermediary, in the absence of which one fails to stay logged in to other devices.
The latest update of the app, on both Android and iOS versions, will finally curb this issue.
How to Enable this Feature?
In order to stay logged in regardless of your phone’s connectivity status, users will have to opt for the “Beta” feature.
Once you update to the latest version of the app, you must go to the menu and choose the “Linked Devices” option to enable this feature.
This will cancel out all your previously linked devices and thereafter link to a new device through which you can carry out your functions. End-to-end encryption will still be offered through this method, whether your smartphone is online or not.
For How Long Can We Stay Connected Through This Method?
After connecting through your secondary device, you can go on messaging for a period of 14 days once your main phone goes offline or switches off.
Therefore, it can merely work for a transitory period. It’s still not a permanent remedy.
Are There Any Limitations or Drawbacks to This?
The iOS version of the app disallows users to delete messages from a linked device, unlike the smartphone feature that facilitates this function.
Moreover, tablets and other smartphones still can’t be linked as secondary devices to enable the workings of the app.