Linked devices are for one person
WhatsApp lets you use your account on a few extra devices, but it is still one account and one line, built for one user.
How to receive WhatsApp calls on multiple devices or as a team
Your customers call you on WhatsApp, and the number lives on one phone. Sooner or later someone asks: can the calls also ring on my laptop, or on a colleague’s phone? This guide explains what WhatsApp’s own apps allow, where they stop when several people need to answer, and how teams take WhatsApp calls together without sharing a phone.
One phone, one call at a time
While you are on a WhatsApp call, the next customer who calls your number reaches a line that is already busy.
A team needs the API route
Through Meta’s WhatsApp Business Platform, one number can take many calls at once and ring several agents.
The problem: one number, one phone, several people
Most businesses start WhatsApp on the owner’s or the shop’s phone. It works while one person answers. It breaks when calls grow: the phone is in someone’s pocket, the colleague who is free can’t pick up, and nobody else sees which calls came in.
The usual workarounds are passing the phone around, giving the number to whoever is on shift, or opening WhatsApp on a shared computer. They help with messages. For calls they don’t change the basic limit: there is still one line behind the number.
What WhatsApp linked devices can do for calls
WhatsApp, and the WhatsApp Business app, let you link up to four extra devices to your primary phone: a computer through WhatsApp Web or the desktop app, a tablet, and a few others. Linked devices stay connected as long as you open WhatsApp on your primary phone regularly, at least every 14 days according to WhatsApp’s help center.
You can make and take voice calls on WhatsApp Web and the desktop app, with a microphone and speakers or a headset on the computer. During a call, WhatsApp also lets you move it to another of your linked devices.
- Up to four linked devices on one account
- Voice calls from WhatsApp Web and the desktop app
- Moving an ongoing call to another of your linked devices
- Your primary phone must log in at least every 14 days
What linked devices can’t do
Linked devices extend one person’s account to more screens. They are not a way to give a team separate lines. Everyone who uses a linked device is acting as the same account, so you can’t tell who answered which call, assign calls, or see a shared history of missed calls with who called back.
Above all, they don’t add capacity. The number still behaves like one line: while one call is in progress, a second customer who calls cannot be put in a queue, routed to a free colleague, or greeted with a message. They simply get a busy line or no answer, and often call a competitor instead.
Why one phone means busy lines
Picture a busy hour: you are on a call with a customer, two more customers try to reach you, and a colleague is free at the next desk. With one phone, the two callers hit a line that is already in use, and the free colleague never hears anything. After the call, you may not even know who tried.
This is not an effort problem. It is a routing problem: the calls have nowhere to go except the one device that is already busy.
The team route: WhatsApp Business Platform and Dialaunch
To let several people answer the same WhatsApp number, the number has to run on Meta’s WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API, with the Business Calling API) instead of the app. Dialaunch connects your number through that platform and turns it into a contact centre for WhatsApp calls. Customers still call from WhatsApp as usual, with no extra app.
One WhatsApp number can then take many simultaneous calls. Each call goes to the next free agent, waits in a queue with your hold music, or follows the step you configured in the call flow, such as a keypad menu, a voicemail, a message or an optional AI agent. Callers get queued, routed or answered instead of hitting a busy line.
- Queues that ring agents all at once or in turn, with wait limits
- Opening hours with holidays and time zones
- Agents answer in the browser, on a SIP phone or on their own WhatsApp
- Full call history, with missed calls and a call-back button
- Reporting on answer rate, missed and abandoned calls, and waiting times
What changes when you move the number
Once a number is connected to Dialaunch, it stops working in the WhatsApp Business app, and the app’s chat history does not move over. If you want to keep using the app, you can connect a different number to Dialaunch instead.
Before connecting, Dialaunch checks that your account and number are eligible for WhatsApp calling. Calling customers back on WhatsApp needs their permission, which Meta requires: Dialaunch sends the call permission request, and you can call once they accept.
What to know before you start
Can WhatsApp calls ring on several devices at once?
WhatsApp lets you use your account on up to four linked devices and take voice calls on WhatsApp Web and desktop. It is still one account for one person, and it does not let a team take several calls on the number at the same time.
Can several people answer calls on the WhatsApp Business app?
Not as a team with separate lines. Linked devices share one account, so there is no queue, no routing to a free colleague and no record of who answered. For that, the number needs to run on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
What happens if a customer calls while I’m already on a WhatsApp call?
On a single phone, the number behaves like one line, so the second caller reaches a busy line. With Dialaunch, that caller is routed to the next free agent, queued with hold music, or handled by the step you set up.
Can I keep using the WhatsApp Business app on the same number?
No. Once a number is connected to Dialaunch, it stops working in the WhatsApp Business app and the chat history does not move over. You can connect a different number if you want to keep the app.
Do my agents need a Dialaunch app on their phone?
No, there is no Dialaunch mobile app. Agents answer in the browser with a headset, on a SIP desk phone or softphone, or on their own WhatsApp.
How is Dialaunch priced?
Per agent, per month, from 3 agents, with admins and supervisors free. Meta may bill your WhatsApp Business account directly for some usage. See the pricing page for details, and the 14-day trial starts once your first line works.