WhatsApp Setup
At a glance
| Location | Settings → WhatsApp → Health |
| Plan | All plans, including the free tier |
| Related features | 4 |
Connect your WhatsApp number to Spun by scanning a QR code; this is the first step to using the inbox. A new account does not need to install anything first. The connect screen opens with "We'll connect it from:" and a country picked from where you are signing in, with the hint "This should be the country where you normally use WhatsApp." (and "Using a VPN? Pick the country where you normally use WhatsApp."). Press "Continue to QR" to accept it, or "Change" to search for another country. If the country picked under "Change" differs from the country you are signing in from (and you are not on a VPN), Spun asks once before saving it: "Your phone appears to be in [country]", with "Keep [country]" or "Connect from [picked country]". Spun then connects your WhatsApp from that country in one of three ways, and the screens name which one. (1) "A Spun connection in [country]": used when Spun has its own connection in that country. The wait screen says "Your channel is being connected from [country], so WhatsApp sees you where you are." (usually under 5 minutes), and the QR screen shows "Connecting from [country] · Change". (2) "A temporary connection in [country]": used when Spun has no connection of its own in that country yet. The wait screen says the channel "is being routed through a temporary connection in [country]", the QR screen shows "Temporary connection from [country] · Change", and a card under the QR, "Want a connection that never changes?", offers "Use my computer" and says "You can scan now and switch later." In the "Change" country list, countries that get a temporary connection are marked "temporary connection". (3) "Your own computer" (Self Proxy): never the default, and always one tap away. The "· Change" link next to the country lets you fix the country before you scan; after linking, the country is shown for information only ("Country is set when you connect.") and cannot be edited on that screen. Spun never shows a QR over a plain server connection: if neither a Spun connection nor a temporary connection can be set up, you get a clear message instead of a QR. Before a QR is shown, Spun checks that the code really goes through the connection your account should use. If it cannot confirm that, no QR is shown: the screen says "We could not confirm your connection yet" (try again in a few minutes) or "We could not confirm your connection" with a way to contact support. Media (photos, videos, voice notes, documents) is transferred between Spun's WhatsApp gateway and WhatsApp directly: only the WhatsApp session itself travels through the Spun connection, the temporary connection or your computer. If Spun cannot connect from the chosen country yet, the screen says "We can't connect from this country just yet" and "You can still connect using your own computer.", with "Use my computer" (Self Proxy), "Contact us" and "Choose another country". Next to the QR, the screen explains what linking does: "Spun connects as a linked device, just like WhatsApp Web. Your phone stays in control, and you can disconnect this linked device at any time." You can unlink from your phone at any time (WhatsApp → Linked Devices → tap Spun → Log out). Under the QR, a line names what the code connects through, for example "This QR connects through a Spun connection in [country].", followed by "Change to Self Proxy" for anyone who wants to run the connection from their own computer from the start. After the scan, the screen says "Connected. Your WhatsApp is syncing.": new messages, chats and history are there right away, profile photos and contact names load gradually over the next day (see Link Sync), and "Open inbox" works at once; on a temporary connection it adds "You're on a temporary connection. We'll remind you to move it to your computer once your chats have synced." In these answers "the managed connection" means either the Spun connection or the temporary connection. The country you confirm is saved as your connection country, and Spun keeps checking that a temporary connection really leaves from that country; if a check fails, new connections are paused while the team looks into it, so a QR may briefly be unavailable. Self Proxy, which runs the connection from your own Windows or Mac computer on your own internet line, is optional and is the most stable setup: account admins see a "Run your connection from your computer" card on the Health tab ("You're connected through a Spun connection in [country]..." or "You're connected through a temporary connection in [country]. For everyday use, switch to one that runs from your own computer..."), and Settings → WhatsApp shows a "Current connection" card ("Spun connection in [country]" or "Temporary connection in [country]. For everyday use, move it to your computer." with "Set it up"). On a temporary connection, once your first chats have synced, a banner appears once at the top of the inbox: "Your chats are in. Ready to make the connection permanent?" with "Set it up" and "Later" ("Later" hides it for good; the Settings card stays). Moving to your own computer is a one-way, deliberate switch: Spun never moves a line back to the Spun connection or the temporary connection by itself, and never switches between the Spun connection and a temporary connection. Switching briefly pauses the WhatsApp connection and in rare cases WhatsApp asks you to scan the code again. From a temporary connection the switch is available now; from a Spun connection the "Your computer is ready" sheet shows "Switch now" once Spun has switched that step on, and "Coming soon" until then, while the installed computer waits on standby. Organisations already on Self Proxy stay on Self Proxy, and Spun never moves them to the managed connection by itself. If you choose Self Proxy on a phone or tablet, the screen says "This step needs a Windows or Mac computer" and offers "Email me the link" or "Copy link" so you can carry on at the computer. You can also skip WhatsApp for now ("Skip for now") and use meetings and Spun Chat, then connect a number later from Settings. Until a number is linked, the empty inbox keeps the code on screen in a connect card (with the country line, "Change settings" and the WhatsApp steps; on a phone it is the copy-and-share step instead), so closing the connect screen does not lose the code; after five minutes without a scan the code pauses with "Tap to refresh the code", and a tap brings a fresh one. After "Skip for now" the empty inbox shows a one-line "Connect WhatsApp" link instead for the rest of the session. If you are on your phone and have no second screen to scan from, use the "Share to Friend" tab on the reconnect screen: press "Generate Share Link", open the link on another phone, tablet or computer, enter the passcode shown, and scan the QR that appears there. On a phone, the connect screen is "One more step to connect": WhatsApp lives on that phone, so the code must appear on another screen, and the screen offers "Copy link" and "Share..." for a link that stays valid for 15 minutes. The line under the buttons says what is true right now: nothing happens on this phone until the link is open elsewhere; "Link copied" or "Link sent" with what to do next; "The link is open on the other screen. Your code is being prepared" (a first connection can take a minute or two); "Your code is showing on the other screen" with the WhatsApp steps (Settings > Linked devices > Link a device), and the phone buzzes briefly when the code appears; or, if the link was opened on the same phone, a warning that WhatsApp cannot scan a code on its own screen, with the advice to send the link to a friend's phone or open it on a computer. "No computer nearby?" on that screen explains that any phone with a browser works: send the link to a friend or family member on WhatsApp, they open it, and you scan the code on their screen with WhatsApp on your phone (they see no account details). "Still stuck? Contact us" under it opens a support message. The page the link opens shows the QR with the three WhatsApp steps; opened in a phone browser it warns that WhatsApp on that phone cannot scan it, and while the code is still being prepared it says so after 45 seconds and again after 3 minutes instead of a bare spinner. If you switch to another tab or close the connect screen while the code is being prepared, Spun tells you when it is ready: the browser tab title starts with "Code ready", and if the connect screen was closed a message "Your code is ready" appears in the inbox with "Show code", which opens it again. If a scan is refused (your phone links and WhatsApp drops it moments later), the QR screen says so and offers Self Proxy, which is the usual fix. When a connected line stops working, Spun never swaps the channel behind your back: the reconnect screen diagnoses the cause first and shows the matching step, whether your proxy computer is offline (turn it on and WhatsApp resumes by itself), your computer is online but its tunnel is down (restart the Spun Proxy service on it; reloading the channel will not help), WhatsApp is paused because the computer appears outside your protected country (turn off the VPN or proxy on it; there is nothing to scan or replace), the computer's network or internet filter blocks WhatsApp (the screen says so and can offer the Spun connection instead, see Self Proxy), Spun is switching you to another computer (keep the page open), WhatsApp is no longer linked to this device, the connection no longer exists and must be set up again, or the cause is unclear (reload the connection, which keeps your number). The reconnect screen never offers to replace the channel. If none of its steps helps, "Contact support" opens a Human Support ticket and the team takes it from there. Linking again after a disconnection keeps your setup: the screen shows "Your WhatsApp connects from:" with the country from your first connection and "This should be the country your phone is in now. If you moved, change it before you scan." "Continue to QR" links again on the same connection. "Change" opens the country list; after picking the new country the manager types its name and a short reason to confirm, Spun moves the connection to that country, and the QR follows on the same connection. The country can only change while WhatsApp is waiting for a new scan, never while it is connected. Account admins on the managed connection see the current country in the Connection Region section of Settings → WhatsApp → Health: "WhatsApp connects from [country]", a line saying what carries it (the Spun connection, a temporary Spun connection, or your internet provider), "This is the country WhatsApp sees. It should be the country your phone is in." and a "Change country" button. The button opens the reconnect screen only while WhatsApp is waiting for a scan; while WhatsApp is connected it is unavailable and the section says "To change it, disconnect WhatsApp first. You pick the new country when you scan the code again." If your computer is no longer set up to run the connection, the screen says so and offers "Continue to QR" through a Spun connection in the country shown, or "Set up a computer". If your organisation uses Self Proxy and every Self Proxy computer is offline, WhatsApp waits until one comes back; Spun does not switch it to the managed connection by itself. If WhatsApp has banned the number, the screen walks you through WhatsApp's own recovery steps and, once the number is restored, "My number is restored - reconnect" links it again. The connection banner at the top of the inbox says "WhatsApp not connected yet" before your first connection and "WhatsApp disconnected" afterwards, and has a gear icon for connection settings and a "Connect WhatsApp" or "Reconnect WhatsApp" action. When the network of your Self Proxy computer blocks WhatsApp, the banner shows a red "Network blocks WhatsApp, click to change" chip that opens that problem screen. An account created in the iPhone app connects WhatsApp from the web login; the iPhone app itself has no connect screen. Additional WhatsApp numbers can be added as extra lines. The Settings → WhatsApp → Health tab shows connection status and hosts the Self Proxy card, or, for admins on the managed connection, the "Run your connection from your computer" card.
How to use
- Go to Settings → WhatsApp → Health, or follow the connect screen shown on first login.
- Check the country under "We'll connect it from:" (press "Change" if it is not the country where you normally use WhatsApp), then press "Continue to QR". If you prefer to run the connection from your own computer, choose "Change to Self Proxy" under the QR and install Self Proxy.
- Scan the QR code with your phone's WhatsApp app (Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device).
- Wait for the green "Connected" status.
- If the line later stops working, open the reconnect screen, read the diagnosis, and take the step it offers (turn your proxy computer on, restart its proxy service, turn off a VPN, re-scan or reload), or press "Contact support".
- To move later to a connection that runs from your own computer, an admin uses "Set it up" on the "Run your connection from your computer" card in Settings → WhatsApp → Health.
Related features
FAQ
- How do I connect my WhatsApp?
- My QR code is not working
- How to reconnect WhatsApp
- Why does my WhatsApp keep disconnecting?
- How do I scan the QR without a computer?
- Do I need to install anything to connect WhatsApp?
- Why does Spun ask which country I use WhatsApp from?
- What if Spun cannot connect from my country?
- Why is my WhatsApp paused?
- What is a temporary connection?
- What is the difference between a Spun connection and a temporary connection?
- Can I change my connection country after linking?
- Do my photos and videos go through my connection?
- Why is there no button to replace my channel?
- Why is the QR code not shown?
- What does "This QR connects through" mean?
- Why does Spun say my computer is no longer set up to run the connection?
- Why does the banner say my network blocks WhatsApp?
- Where do I see which country my WhatsApp connects from?