How to use WhatsApp without a SIM card
As I told you at the beginning, there are different systems to be able to use WhatsApp without SIM card: all those you find indicated in the steps below. Try, therefore, to identify the solution that you think will do the most for you and start exploiting it immediately.
How to use WhatsApp without SIM with old number
Do you have an old cell phone locked in your drawer for years? Well, if there is a SIM still active in that mobile phone, even without credit but able to receive SMS, you can use it to pass the initial WhatsApp activation phase and use the application on your device without a card. Of course, the number to which the SIM belongs must not already be associated with a WhatsApp account, otherwise the procedure will not be successful.
That said, in order to use WhatsApp without SIM with old number on your cardless phone, connect your device to a wireless network and download the official client of WhatsApp for Android and iOS, as explained in my tutorial dedicated to the topic: just open the smartphone store, search WhatsApp Messenger and proceed to download the app by pressing the button Installa / Ottieni.
Then start WhatsApp, tap the button Accetta and continue and type il your old mobile number in the screen that opens (complete with international prefix). When the operation is completed, press the button OK twice in a row and wait for theSMS with the activation code service, it should take a few seconds.
Then type the verification code on the smartphone on which you are installing WhatsApp and complete the procedure for creating your account by choosing a name it's a photo to be associated with your personal profile. Mission accomplished! You have officially entered WhatsApp and now you can use the application even if your mobile is without a SIM.
If an error message appears on the smartphone screen telling you that the SMS verification failed, do not worry. Press the button Call me, answer the call that you will receive on the other mobile phone and enter the verification code that will be dictated to you by voice by an automatic service.
The procedure just seen together applies not only to smartphones, but also to tablets Android without SIM. The only difference is that you may need to download WhatsApp in the form of package .apk instead of from the Play Store, as explained in my specific guide on what to do.
The situation turns out to be a bit more complex if I wanted to use WhatsApp without SIM on iPad. In this case, in fact, since the famous messaging app is not available for iPadOS, it is necessary to take advantage of WhatsApp from the Web, which, however, works as a sort of "satellite" of the "real" application. You will find everything I explain in a much more precise way in the step dedicated to how to use WhatsApp without SIM on a PC present later.
How to use WhatsApp without a SIM with a temporary number
Do you want use WhatsApp without SIM but you don't have a mobile phone on which to send the application activation code? Then you could go to Google and look for a disposable phone number.
You may not have heard of it yet, but there are some Internet sites that offer temporary phone numbers to be used to receive activation SMS from services such as WhatsApp (a bit like temporary emails for registrations to social networks or online services). Unfortunately, it is not easy to find one that works with WhatsApp, as it is very likely that the numbers offered have already been used to activate other accounts, but trying doesn't hurt.
So, to try to use WhatsApp without SIM with temporary number, just search the Internet for terms like "Fake phone number for verification" o "Fake number SMS", in such a way as to be able to find services of this type, as in the case of those I reported to you in my guide on the subject. Usually no email registrations or phone numbers are required to be used as confirmation of identity. If you find sites asking for registration information or even charging you, stay away, they are probably scams.
Once you have found one of the sites with temporary phone numbers, locate the number that has the fewest messages to its credit and click on it to view all the SMS received in the last few hours. If there is already some WhatsApp activation code among the messages, choose another number, the one is probably no longer usable.
Once you have identified a "free" phone number, use it to use WhatsApp on your device, by downloading and installing the well-known messaging app on your phone and activating the account, as I explained to you in the previous step.
How to use WhatsApp on SIM-free tablets
Web WhatsApp is a feature that allows you to use WhatsApp from your computer using Chrome, Firefox or other very popular web browsers (except Internet Explorer). What not everyone knows is that, in reality, the service is also accessible from mobile devices by activating the browser's desktop view mode.
This means that if you failed to use WhatsApp without SIM by following one of the procedures illustrated above, you can activate WhatsApp Web on yours tablets (but also from your smartphone, it makes no difference) and access the service with this trick, not to mention the fact that you can use it directly from computer.
But be careful, in this way you will not get a new WhatsApp account but only a "repeat" of what you already have on your mobile (which must be turned on and connected to the Internet to make WhatsApp Web work). Is that okay with you? So here's how you need to proceed to succeed use WhatsApp on tablets without SIM.
- Open the browser on the device on which you want to use WhatsApp;
- Connect to the web.whatsapp.com address and, if you are working from mobile, activate the desktop view of the browser. For example, on Chrome just press the button (...) located on the right and select the item Request desktop site from the menu that appears, while on Safari you have to tap on the icon aA located on the address bar and select the item Request desktop site from the menu that opens;
- Select the item related to WhatsApp Web / Desktop from settings menu of WhatsApp on your main smartphone and frame the QR code appeared on the screen of the SIM-free device.
What else to add? Congratulations! Now you can use a "cloned" version of your WhatsApp on the device you are currently using but without a SIM card.
If you find it more convenient, I will also point out the existence of third-party applications such as Tablet Messenger for Android and PadChat for iPad which allow you to use WhatsApp Web on tablets Android and on iPad without having to "tinker" in the browser settings. For more information, read my tutorials on how to install WhatsApp on tablets and how to download WhatsApp on iPad.
Also, if you are interested, I inform you that there is an official WhatsApp client for Windows e MacOS which allows you to use WhatsApp from a computer without opening the browser. Find out how it works in my tutorial on how to use WhatsApp on PC.
Other solutions to use WhatsApp without SIM
There are some on the market SIM made specifically for WhatsApp. One of these is ChatSIM which has its own phone number (to be used instead of that of your main smartphone) and allows you to use WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, QQ International, WeChat, LINE, Telegram, BBM, Hike and Kakao in various countries around the world without worrying too much of roaming costs. This is a fairly useful solution for those who travel a lot, but its operation is not without problems and its costs are not so low.
A ChatSIM costs $ 5, to which we must add $ 20 / month top-up (Or $ 25 / year) to activate the plan to chat and send emojis in an unlimited way. To these figures it may then be necessary to add the purchase of the credits necessary for sending photos and videos and for making VoIP calls.
Each $ 20 top-up in Zone 1 allows you to send 100 photos, 40 videos and make 80 minutes of VoIP calls. Additional refills are optional. If you do not recharge the SIM for over 1 year, the number is deactivated. Also it is good to know that there are traffic thresholds which can be exploited in the various areas and therefore it is good to inquire about this aspect before making the purchase.
Having made these necessary clarifications, I suggest you take a look at the ChatSIM website and carefully evaluate the opportunity to use this SIM to activate your "spare" WhatsApp. You can order the card directly from the ChatSIM website or from Amazon (where it comes with credit). After receiving the SIM, you must perform the activation process through the official website of the service, after which you must configure the APN on your smartphone following the instructions provided by ChatSIM and that's it.
Alternatively, you can consider activating a new tab with a virtual operator, as an example ho.mobile e Kena (or even Iliad, although it is not a virtual operator), which allow you to carry out the operation in question in a fairly cheap way, with tariff plans with unlimited minutes and SMS and a large number of GB for data connection, and to dedicate the use of the numbering obtained solely and exclusively to WhatsApp. For further information, I recommend reading my guide dedicated to the best rechargeable rate.
