How to install and use WhatsApp on your PC
WhatsApp
is the most-used messaging and social networking platform today.
However, WhatsApp is limited to smartphones and you cannot use it on
most tablets and all PCs as yet. Certain 3G Android tablets which allow
you to make phone calls are the only ones which can use WhatsApp for
now. The iPad and iPod touch, even though they feature 3G SIM card slots
for the Internet, cannot have WhatsApp working because of
incompatibility with the device.
Also Read: Finally, WhatsApp puts a blue ticks option in new update
A few days ago, we showed you how you can install WhatsApp on an iPad
even though it did not have a SIM card slot. We experimented with an
iPad mini with Wi-Fi and successfully managed to get WhatsApp working on
it. What’s nice about the feature is that you did not need to jailbreak
the iPad to get WhatsApp running on it and safely keep your warranty in
place too.
Also read: How to install and use WhatsApp on your iPad
In
order to install WhatsApp and have it actively running on your PC or
laptop, you need to download Bluestacks, an Android app player. The
software is nothing but an Android emulator for Windows or Mac operating
systems. Windows users can download the software from here and Mac
users can download Bluestacks from here.
Once
downloaded, install the software. Follow the procedure on the screen
and get Bluestacks installed on the desktop/laptop. Don’t worry; there
is no rocket science involved and even a lay computer user can get it up
and running in a matter of minutes. The installation procedure will ask
you if you want to enable App Store access and App notifications.
Enable it and continue with the installation. Once done, you may get a
notification about your graphics drivers that need to be upgraded. You
may choose to do so or avoid it—it won’t make a difference, but we
recommend doing it. Bluestacks will be installed on your PC and is ready
to be used.
Once
installed, start Bluestacks, initialise and bring you to the home
screen with a few tabs on it. Now you need to install WhatsApp on
Bluestacks. You will not find any icon for Google Play Store. You need
to click on the ‘Search’ icon and simply type ‘whatsapp’. Below the
search field, you will find a clickable link which states ‘Search Play
for whatsapp’. Click on that link and you will be directed to the Google
Play Store. Here you shall get a new window with a message to enable
AppStore and App Sync. Click on continue, and feed in your Google
account details to associate the Bluestacks with your Google account.
Once done, you will be taken to the Google Play Store. Here you can find
the WhatsApp app and download it. Once installed, hit the ‘Home’ button
icon on the bottom left and start WhatsApp by clicking on the
‘WhatsApp’ icon.
WhatsApp
has finally been installed on your desktop/laptop via Bluestacks.
WhatsApp will not enable the service on the PC and you will need to give
in details about your phone number. Don’t worry; you don’t need to
connect your phone to it or insert your SIM card anywhere. Key in the
phone number you need to associate WhatsApp with and hit the ‘OK’
button. The app will now prompt you to verify the phone number you keyed
in. Click on ‘OK’ WhatsApp will now connect to its servers and send you
an SMS on number you specified.
In a few minutes, you should get an SMS from WhatApp stating ‘WhatsApp code 1XX-7XX’.
The message will be unique to every phone number. After a few minutes,
WhatsApp on the PC will give popup a field where you need to put in this
verification code. Once done, WhatsApp is installed and you can start
using WhatsApp with ease. If you get errors with SMS codes, you can
choose to get a call from WhatsApp. Receive that call and an IVR from
the other side will tell you your code. Write down that code and use it.
WhatsApp has been successfully installed on your PC.
Make
sure you are not using WhatsApp on another device using the same
number. If you do, then the device will be deactivated and ask you for
reverification on the phone again. If you verify it, the PC WhatsApp
will be disabled. This is usual, since WhatsApp can be used only from
one device using a single phone number. If you have another phone number
and don’t use WhatsApp on it, you may use that number so that you can
use WhatsApp from both numbers.
Apart
from WhatsApp, Bluestacks can also be used to install and run your
favourite apps and games. You can also run the Android apps and use them
to test and confirm if you are happy with the application before you
install it on your phone. You can install almost every app for Android
on Bluestacks. Do note, there will be a few apps that are will not be
compatible with Bluestacks. These could be due to hardware limitations
(such as Skype, since you cannot use a camera with it), country
limitations, handset compatibility, and alike.
We
know there are a few users who have been using WhatsApp from the PC for
a while now. We would urge them to kindly put down your experience in
the comments below so that others can benefit from it.
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