Move your WhatsApp number to a new provider

Can you keep your number?

Yes. Your WhatsApp Business number is yours, and customers keep writing to the same number.

How it works changed in 2026. Meta's page Updates to WhatsApp Business accounts describes a new account model. Meta says it rolled out from 23 September 2026 and reaches all businesses by mid-October 2026 (checked November 2026). Under it:

• Your WhatsApp account holds your phone number and business profile. It always belongs to you.
• A Messaging account holds your templates and billing. Each provider you work with gets its own.

Meta says that moving a number from one provider to another is not supported in the new model. Instead, you share your existing WhatsApp account with the new provider. The number does not move, and conversations carry on without a break (Meta's account model page; Migrate a phone number via Embedded Signup, checked November 2026).

Before you start

Make a short list of what you have with your current provider:

• your approved templates, with their wording and category;
• your contacts, and where each person's consent came from;
• chatbot menus and saved replies;
• any links or QR codes you have printed;
• any old chats you want to keep.

Then make sure you can sign in to your Meta business. The connection happens with your own Facebook login and Meta business account.

Step 1: Share your WhatsApp account with the new provider

This happens through Meta's own sign-in, called Embedded Signup. Meta's Onboarding changes page says businesses already working with one provider can sign up with a different one using their existing phone number. The sign-in makes a new Messaging account for the new provider (checked November 2026).

1. Your new provider gives you a button that opens Meta's sign-in.
2. Sign in with Facebook and choose your Meta business.
3. Choose your WhatsApp account and number, and follow Meta's steps.
4. You come back to the new provider, which can now send and receive on your number.

Meta's account model page also says (checked November 2026):

• Sharing adds a provider. Keeping or removing your old provider is your decision, and you can do it later.
• Display names, quality ratings and messaging limits stay as they are.
• When more than one provider uses the same number, they share its sending speed and its daily messaging limit.

Step 2: Remake your templates

Templates belong to a Messaging account, and Meta says they are not shared between Messaging accounts. So your approved templates do not come along by themselves. They can be made again in the new Messaging account, or copied with Meta's Template Migration API. Meta says copied templates start again with a baseline quality rating and need about 2 to 4 weeks to ramp up (Meta's account model page, checked November 2026).

After you connect, check your template list. Remake any that are missing and send them to Meta. See our guide on getting templates approved first time.

Step 3: Add a payment method

Meta says each Messaging account has its own payment method, separate from any other (Meta's account model page, checked November 2026). Add one to the new Messaging account in Meta's settings so Meta can bill your messages.

Step 4: Bring your contacts, with consent

Export your contacts from the old tool as a CSV. Keep a column for each person's consent and where it came from, such as a website form or a tick at checkout.

When you import, only mark someone as having said yes if you can show how they said it. Meta's Get opt-in for WhatsApp page says businesses must get opt-in before messaging people, and that people can block or report a business.

Step 5: Save your old chats

Chat history in your old provider's tool stays there. Export what you need before you close your account with them.

Step 6: Switch off the old provider

Once messages flow through the new provider, decide whether to keep the old one. If you close it, make sure it no longer sends anything from your number, and update any webhooks or software that called the old provider.

How Qubox helps you move

If you are moving to Qubox, we help you move for free. On a call, we go through it with you step by step:

1. Tell us what you use. We go through your templates, contacts, chatbot and the links you have printed.
2. Connect your WhatsApp account. You sign in with Facebook in Qubox and share your existing WhatsApp Business account with Qubox through Meta's official sign-in. The number stays yours and stays in your account.
3. Remake your templates. We help you remake your templates in Qubox and send them to Meta for approval.
4. Bring your contacts. Import them from a CSV, with each person's consent and where it came from. Qubox only accepts a yes on import when you type in the proof.

Good to know:

• Old chat history stays with your old tool. Keep an export if you need it.
• Meta bills your own WhatsApp account at Meta's rates. Qubox adds nothing.
• Every Qubox plan has every feature, so nothing waits for an upgrade. See the pricing page.

Read more on the Switch to Qubox page, or book a demo to plan your move.

Sources

• Updates to WhatsApp Business accounts, Meta for Developers — new account model, rollout dates, no number migration, sharing, templates, billing, what stays the same
• Onboarding changes, Meta for Developers — signing up with a new provider using an existing number
• Migrate a phone number via Embedded Signup, Meta for Developers — number migration not supported on the new account model
• Get opt-in for WhatsApp, Meta for Developers — opt-in before messaging; blocking and reporting

Questions