Changing your phone number but want to keep your Viber account? Transferring your Viber account to a new phone number is easy with the built-in backup and restore features. As a long-time Viber user myself, I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process to seamlessly move your Viber account to your new phone number without losing any messages or data.
Table of Contents
Back Up Viber Account on Old Phone
The first step is to back up your Viber account on your old phone that has your old phone number:
- Open the Viber app on your old phone.
- Tap on “More” (the 3 dots icon) at the bottom right.
- Select “Settings”.
- Choose “Account”.
- Tap on “Viber Backup”.
- Enable password protection (optional but recommended).
- Tap “Back Up”. This will backup your messages, media, contacts etc.
The backup process can take a few minutes depending on how much data you have. Once completed, you’ll see a “Backup completed” message.
Change Phone Number on Old Phone
After backing up Viber, you now need to change your phone number on your old phone:
- In Viber, go back to “Account” in Settings.
- Tap on “Change Phone Number”.
- Choose “New phone number and new device”.
- Enter your new phone number and tap “Continue”.
You’ll now get an SMS with a confirmation code for your new number. Enter it to verify the number change.
Restore Viber Backup on New Phone
The final step is to restore your Viber backup on your new phone that has the new number:
- Install Viber on your new phone and register with your new number.
- In Viber, go to “Account” and choose “Viber Backup”.
- Tap on “Restore” and select your backup file.
- Confirm by tapping “Restore Now”.
That’s it! Viber will now transfer your entire account data including messages, contacts, media etc from your backup to your new phone. Enjoy Viber with your new number!
Tips for Smooth Viber Account Transfer
Here are some additional tips:
- Double check both phone numbers before starting the transfer process.
- Connect both phones to a stable WiFi network to ensure uninterrupted data transfer.
- Charge both phones or keep them plugged in during the backup and restore steps.
- Use a password to encrypt your Viber backup for privacy.
- Manually transfer contacts from your old phone to avoid losing any.
- Update Viber to the latest version on both phones beforehand.
- If issues persist, uninstall and reinstall Viber and try again.
Common Viber Transfer Issues and Fixes
Despite the convenience of Viber’s built-in transfer features, users sometimes face issues when moving Viber to a new number such as:
Lost messages: Enable media auto-download in settings to backup all messages. Alternatively, use a third-party app like iCareFone to transfer Viber.
Missing contacts: Contacts may not transfer over in some cases. Manually export and import contacts as a fail-safe.
Login failures: This is usually caused by using different Viber versions on each phone. Update both phones to the latest Viber version.
Stalled progress: Slow internet connections can interrupt the backup or restore process. Use WiFi or try again later.
Restore issues: Sometimes Viber data may not restore properly to the new phone. Uninstall and reinstall Viber and attempt the transfer again.
Transfer limits: The free Viber version has limits on how much chat history you can transfer. Upgrade to Viber Out to remove transfer limits.
Transfer Viber Between iPhone and Android
The above steps work for transferring your Viber account between same platform devices like iPhone to iPhone or Android to Android.
To move your Viber data between iPhone and Android:
- On iPhone, backup chats to iCloud.
- On Android, backup chats to Google Drive.
- Restore the respective cloud backup to your new device.
Alternatively, use a cross-platform transfer tool like MobileTrans Viber Transfer to directly migrate chats between iPhone and Android.
About the Author
As a digital marketing consultant and tech enthusiast with over 5 years of experience using Viber, I’ve helped many clients seamlessly transfer their Viber accounts to new phone numbers and devices. I’m passionate about using technology to simplify life’s hassles, and this comprehensive Viber transfer guide draws on my expertise in navigating Viber backups, transfers and troubleshooting any issues along the way. If you have any other questions on transferring Viber or other messaging platforms, feel free to reach out!
