WhatsApp Web QR code: how to scan it and fix problems

To log in to WhatsApp Web, open web.whatsapp.com on the computer. Then open WhatsApp on your phone, tap Linked devices (in the three-dot menu on Android, in Settings on iPhone), tap Link a device and scan the QR code. If the code won't scan, choose Link with phone number and type the eight-character code.

Below: the steps on each phone, the phone-number option and where it works, a fix for each way the code fails, how to stay safe, and the limits on linked devices. Details are as of October 2026.

How do I scan the WhatsApp Web QR code?

1. 1On the computer, open web.whatsapp.com in a normal browser window and wait for the QR code. On a shared computer, untick Stay logged in on this browser, so the session ends when you close the tab.
2. 2Android: open WhatsApp and tap More options (the three dots) > Linked devices > Link a device.
3. 3iPhone: open WhatsApp and tap Settings or your profile picture > Linked devices > Link device.
4. 4If asked, unlock with your fingerprint, face or phone PIN.
5. 5Point the phone at the QR code on the computer screen.
6. 6If WhatsApp says it doesn't recognise the device, tap Link device only if you started this yourself. Otherwise tap Don't link.

Your chats appear after a short wait: the phone sends an encrypted copy of your recent messages to the browser, which takes a few minutes for a long history. The same steps link the WhatsApp app for Windows or Mac, which shows its own code, and the WhatsApp Business app links devices from the same Linked devices menu.

Scan from Linked devices only. The QR code beside your name in WhatsApp's Settings, and the scanner behind it, are for adding contacts: that code lets people save your number, doesn't expire unless you reset it, and has nothing to do with logging in.

How do I link WhatsApp Web with a phone number instead?

If the phone's camera is broken or the code won't read, link with a code instead:

1. 1On WhatsApp Web or WhatsApp for Windows, click Link with phone number, which may read Log in with phone number.
2. 2Choose your country, enter the number of the phone that has WhatsApp, and click Next. The screen shows an eight-character code.
3. 3On the phone, tap the notification from WhatsApp asking you to enter a code. Or open Linked devices > Link a device > Link with phone number instead.
4. 4Check the device name and location the phone shows. If it is your computer, tap Confirm and verify it is you.
5. 5Type the eight-character code on the phone.

Where this works, as of October 2026: for personal accounts, WhatsApp's help centre lists WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp for Windows. For the WhatsApp Business app it lists WhatsApp Web only, and you have to log out of any personal account already open in that browser first. Everywhere else, scan the QR code.

Why is the WhatsApp Web QR code not loading or not scanning?

Clearing cookies also ends any WhatsApp Web session in that browser, so expect to scan again afterwards. And there is no way to link without the main phone: WhatsApp needs it to link every new device.

Is it safe to scan a WhatsApp Web QR code?

Yes, when you start the link yourself, on a screen you control, at web.whatsapp.com. The risk is linking a screen that isn't yours: a linked device can read your new messages and send as you. So:

• Type web.whatsapp.com yourself. WhatsApp says to link only on WhatsApp Web, its Windows and Mac apps, Android tablets, companion phones and AI glasses, and warns that fake WhatsApp apps and websites made by third parties can take over an account to send spam and scams, and that linking one can get your account banned, temporarily or permanently.
• Never scan a code, or type a linking code, because someone asked you to. A link request you didn't start is a reason to tap Don't link.
• Keep notifications on. When a device is linked, the notification lets you review it and remove it if it wasn't you.
• Check Linked devices every few weeks and log out anything you don't recognise. WhatsApp can't tell you who accessed your account, when, or from where.
• Turn on two-step verification.
• On Chrome, Edge or Firefox, WhatsApp's Code Verify extension checks that the WhatsApp Web code you are served is genuine, and warns you if it isn't.

How many devices can you link, and for how long?

Up to four linked devices at a time alongside the main phone, and each browser counts as one. They keep working while the phone is off, but all of them log out if WhatsApp on the phone goes unused for more than 14 days, and WhatsApp disconnects any linked device that has been inactive for 30 days. On the WhatsApp Business app, a Meta Verified subscription can raise the limit to as many as 10 devices.

WhatsApp linked devices limits covers which devices count, and why WhatsApp Web keeps logging out goes through every reason a session ends early. In India, the Department of Telecommunications' SIM-binding directions may change how long web sessions last; where the SIM binding rule stands has the latest.

Linking a business number

On a shop or office number the four places fill quickly: a reception PC, the owner's laptop and a manager's tablet leave one free. Give the number its own phone, keep it charged and online, open WhatsApp on it daily, and decide who gets each place before anyone needs one. WhatsApp Business with multiple users compares the ways a team can share one number.

Tools that connect by QR code take a place too. WavesFlo links each number the same way, by scanning from Linked devices: the phone keeps working as normal, the link uses one of the four places, and the phone still has to open WhatsApp at least every 14 days. Connecting a number with Linked devices shows the steps.