Change your phone number on Rakuten Viber
Got a new phone number? Update it on Rakuten Viber without losing any of your chats or settings!
Make sure your new SIM card is activated, and you’re able to receive an SMS/phone call to get your activation code, before you change your phone number on Rakuten Viber.
Notes
- The phone number can’t be changed on a tablet or desktop. Once you update your phone number on your phone, the change will be applied to all other devices (desktop/tablet) on which you use Rakuten Viber
- You will be prompted to enter your PIN in each step if you have 2-step verification set up
Change SIM card
If you put in a new SIM card, Rakuten Viber will detect it.
You can choose to change your phone number to the one attached to the SIM or keep the number you’re already using on Rakuten Viber.
Keep the same number: You can continue using Rakuten Viber with your old phone number; however, if your account is deactivated or you need to reinstall Rakuten Viber, you will not be able to receive the activation code. This means that you won’t be able to log into your Rakuten Viber account (unless you still have access to your old SIM card and can receive an activation SMS/phone call) and will lose access to your chats.
Change to SIM number: If you update your phone number, your Rakuten Viber account will look the same as it did before. Also, anyone that has your current number saved as a contact will be notified of your new number. Please remember to manually restore Viber Out and sticker purchases.
IMPORTANT
If you are using multiple SIM cards on the same phone DO NOT tap Change to SIM number as this will result in your accounts overriding one another. Please refer to the Merge two Rakuten Viber accounts section for more information.
Change your Rakuten Viber phone number
You will always have the option to change your phone number even if you decide to keep your old phone number when you switch SIM cards.
To change your Rakuten Viber phone number:
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on More
- Tap on Settings
- Tap on Account
- Tap on Change phone number
- Tap on New phone number
- Tap on Continue
- Select your country (to display your country code automatically)
- Enter your phone number without any leading 0s
- Tap Yes to confirm or Edit to change number
You will receive a 6-digit code via SMS (or a phone call) that you will need to enter on the next screen to complete the setup process. If you encounter any issues, please refer to our troubleshooting page.
We recommend that you backup your Rakuten Viber chat history after changing your phone number.
Change your Rakuten Viber phone number and your phone
If you have a new phone number and a new phone, first you will need to back up your chat history on your old phone, then change your phone number, and finally activate Rakuten Viber on your new phone:
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on More
- Tap on Settings
- Tap on Account
- Tap on Change phone number
- Tap on New phone number and new device
- Tap on Continue
- Choose if you want to include photos and videos
- Tap on Back up now (this may take a few minutes)
- Tap Back (Android) or Done (top corner) (iOS)
- Select your country (to display your country code automatically)
- Enter your phone number without any leading 0s
- Tap on Continue
You will receive a 6-digit code via SMS that you will need to enter on the next screen to complete the setup process. If you encounter any issues, please refer to our troubleshooting page.
Once you back up your data and change your phone number on your old phone, download Rakuten Viber on your new phone and restore your data by entering your new number.
For more information on transferring your chat history from one phone to another, please refer to our dedicated article.
IMPORTANT
- As soon as you activate your new phone number and new phone, your Rakuten Viber account on your old phone number and your old phone will be deactivated
- Your chat history is connected to the platform that your phone uses, i.e., Android or iOS. There is no way to transfer the chat history between the two platforms
Merge two Rakuten Viber accounts
It isn’t possible to merge two Rakuten Viber accounts if you have two different phone numbers.
If you try to change your phone number (A) to another number (B) with an existing Rakuten Viber account, phone number B’s account will be overridden. This means that your former account (A) will look the same and have a new phone number, but your other account (B) will be deactivated. Any purchases made using phone number B (such as Viber Out plans) will be lost.
We don’t recommend changing your phone number to a number with an existing Rakuten Viber account unless you don’t mind losing the data.
Why does Rakuten Viber look different after changing my phone number?
Some Rakuten Viber features are only available in certain regions. If your new Rakuten Viber number is registered to a different country, your Rakuten Viber app may look different from how it previously looked.
Restore purchases
Once you’ve activated your new phone number, you will need to restore any purchases that you made in the Sticker Market or on Viber Out:
- Open Rakuten Viber on your phone
- Tap on More
- Tap on Settings
- Tap on Account
- Tap on Purchases
- Tap on Restore (iOS)
- Select Restore subscriptions to sync Viber Out plans and credits (Android only)
- Select Restore sticker packs to sync purchased sticker packs* (Android only)
*Connecting to Wi-Fi is recommended
Change number notification
When you change your number, anyone that has you saved as a contact will be notified of your new phone number with a banner in your existing chat. They will also be given the option to Save the new number (in the notification) to keep their contact list up to date.
IMPORTANT
Contacts that you blocked will not receive a notification about your new phone number.