According to WhatsApp, you can’t install and
use its instant-messaging service on a Wi-Fi only
tablet. Yes, you can. Here we show you
how to use WhatsApp on an Android tablet with no
3G or 4G connectivity.
If you’re browsing Google Play on a Wi-Fi-only
tablet WhatsApp won’t be presented in the search
results because it’s not officially supported on
your device. To get around this you simply need to
download and install the WhatsApp APK file — just
Google ‘WhatsApp APK’ and you’ll find loads of
download sites.
Before your Android tablet will allow you to install
the WhatsApp APK file you’ve just downloaded you’ll
need to enter your tablet’s Settings menu, scroll down
to and select Security, then enable Unknown sources
under Device Administration.
You can go back and
disable this option once you’ve installed WhatsApp. You should now be able to simply click on the
WhatsApp APK file-download notification in your
tablet’s notification bar, then click Install. Once the
app is installed press Open.
The next challenge is to bypass WhatsApp’s phone
verification system. Enter your usual phone number,
then click OK. You will receive a text message on your
phone, but it won’t be detected on your tablet.
After five minutes WhatsApp will report that SMS
verification has failed and you should try voice
verification. Tap Call me, then answer the call on your
smartphone to get the verification code you need.
You can now enter this code on your tablet and
get started using WhatsApp.
Note that WhatsApp will ask whether you want to
restore your message history from its backup, but this
didn’t work for us — presumably because none of that
data is stored on the tablet.
Next...
Using WhatsApp on a phone and a tabletat the same time
