Signal now lets you change your phone number without killing messages, groups
Signal at present lets yous modify your phone number without killing messages, groups
Signal is the best encrypted-messaging app, nigh security and privacy experts say. Just one of its biggest drawbacks has been that Indicate accounts are tied to telephone numbers. As a effect, y'all haven't been able to port an account to a new number, instead having to start over from scratch and losing your bulletin history.
Until now, that is. In a weblog post yesterday (February 7), Signal's Jim O'Leary announced that the visitor would finally permit users move accounts over to new numbers on both iOS and Android.
"We at present provide the ability to alter the phone number on your Bespeak account, while retaining all of your chats, profile information, and groups," O'Leary wrote. "The Alter Number feature will let y'all keep your profile and all of your existing letters and groups on your device, while making you reachable at your new phone number."
You can't e'er change numbers, all the same
There are couple of catches. First of all, the change from an onetime number to a new number has to happen on the same phone. Y'all can't modify numbers and change phones at the same time, and you won't be able to regain an account from a lost or damaged telephone.
Second, the phone has to exist running the latest version of Signal, which on Android is currently five.30.half-dozen and on iOS, v.27.1. Finally, the Signal app has to be able to send and receive letters and can't be malfunctioning for whatsoever reason.
Full instructions for changing the number are found on the "Change Number" support article on the Signal website.
Basically, you tap on your contour icon in the Bespeak app, go into the account settings (Settings > Account on iOS, but only Business relationship on Android) and look for the "Modify Phone Number" option. (This didn't show up on our old OnePlus 5 despite the app existence up-to-date; your mileage may vary.)
From there, you enter the old number and the new number; yous and then tap Continue or Done and confirm that the information is correct. You lot tin edit either number if you made a typo. (Signal is very articulate that Modify Number is a ane-way procedure that cannot be reversed.)
You then select Alter Number and go through the regular registration procedure. Your contacts and message history should be preserved.
Once the alter goes through, O'Leary said, your contacts will get a message notifying them that yous accept inverse their phone number, with an invitation to update your information in their Signal contact lists.
Transferring accounts between phones
Signal already makes information technology possible to transfer accounts between one Android device and another, or one iOS device and another, every bit long as the telephone number doesn't change. Basically, y'all need to install the Signal app on your new telephone or tablet, then go into Business relationship equally above and select Transfer Account.
The big caveat is that you lot can't transfer accounts betwixt an iOS and an Android device in either management. If you're doing that, you have to beginning over from scratch on the new device — even if yous're using the aforementioned number as earlier.
If y'all want to change both your phone and your number, then y'all could in theory practise it in a two-step process as long every bit you're staying all-Android or all-iOS. First, you would modify the number as above. Then one time that is all set upwards, follow the account-transfer process.
We've got lots more nigh setting upward and using the messaging app in our guide on how to use Betoken.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/signal-account-change-number
Posted by: fugatecammiect.blogspot.com
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