How to Log In to WhatsApp

• The phone with your number in it, able to receive an SMS or a call
• Your two-step verification PIN if you set one

1. 01Understand what login means hereThere is no password to remember and no email address on the account. WhatsApp identifies you by your phone number and proves it by sending a six-digit code to that number by SMS, or by calling it and reading the code aloud. That is the whole login. If a page or app asks you for a WhatsApp password, it is not WhatsApp.
2. 02Log in on a new or reset phoneInstall WhatsApp, open it, accept the terms and enter your number in full international format — country code first, no leading zero on the local part. The code arrives by SMS in a few seconds and on Android is often filled in automatically. Enter it, and if you have two-step verification enabled you are asked for your six-digit PIN as well. Then accept the restore-from-backup prompt if you want your history — that offer appears only here, during setup.
3. 03When the SMS code does not arriveWait the full countdown before doing anything, because requesting again resets it and repeated requests can trigger a temporary block. Then check the obvious: the number typed correctly with the right country code, the phone able to receive an ordinary SMS from anyone, and no third-party blocker or DND setting filtering unknown senders. If the SMS genuinely will not come, use Call me — an automated call reads the code out, and it works when SMS delivery is the problem.
4. 04If you set two-step verification and forgot the PINThe PIN is not recoverable. If you added an email address when enabling two-step verification, WhatsApp will send a reset link to it. If you did not, the account is locked for seven days from the last activity, after which you can register again without the PIN — losing any chat history not held in a backup. This is worth knowing before you enable the feature, and it is why adding the email address at the time matters.
5. 05Log in on a computer or a second phoneNot really a login at all — you link a device to the account that is already signed in on your phone. On a computer open web.whatsapp.com and scan the code from Linked devices on the phone, or use the link-with-phone-number option. On a second phone, install WhatsApp and choose the link-to-existing-account option rather than entering a number. Either way the phone stays the account and the other device is a view of it.
6. 06Moving your number, or logging in somewhere elseA number can be signed in on only one primary phone at a time. Verifying it on a new handset signs it out of the old one immediately — which is normal when you upgrade, and a warning sign when you did not do it. If you are moving to a new number rather than a new phone, use Change number in Settings before you stop using the old one, so your contacts and groups move with you.

• There is no WhatsApp password — anything asking for one is a phishing attempt
• Wait the whole countdown before requesting a new code; repeated requests can get you temporarily blocked
• Use Call me when SMS will not arrive — it works over a voice line instead
• Add an email address when enabling two-step verification, or a forgotten PIN locks you out for seven days
• Never share the six-digit code with anyone. Every WhatsApp account takeover starts with someone asking for it

Signed in on the phone with your history restored, and a working understanding of why WhatsApp login has no password and what to do when the code will not arrive.