What is error code 491 on Whatsapp?

Quick Answer

Error code 491 on WhatsApp indicates that your phone number registration has expired and you need to re-verify your number with WhatsApp. This typically happens when you don’t use WhatsApp for an extended period. To fix it, open WhatsApp and tap on “Verify” when prompted. WhatsApp will send a 6-digit verification code via SMS or automated call to re-verify your phone number.

What causes the error code 491 on Whatsapp?

There are a few potential causes for the error code 491 on WhatsApp:

You haven’t used WhatsApp in over 120 days – WhatsApp automatically expires unused accounts after 120 days of inactivity as a security measure.

You switched cell phone numbers – If you got a new phone number, your old WhatsApp account will become invalid.
Incorrect phone number registered – Sometimes an incorrect or outdated phone number gets associated with your WhatsApp account.
Sim card change – Changing your SIM card can cause WhatsApp to think your number changed.

Account ban – Very rarely, an account ban can also trigger the 491 error code.

The most common reasons are not using WhatsApp for an extended period or changing your phone number. WhatsApp regularly re-verifies accounts to ensure security and prevent abuse.

How to fix WhatsApp error code 491

Fixing the 491 error code is straightforward, you just need to re-verify your phone number with WhatsApp:

Open WhatsApp and tap on “Verify” when prompted about the expiration.
WhatsApp will automatically send a 6-digit verification code via SMS or automated call.
Enter the 6-digit code when prompted to re-verify your phone number.

You should then regain access to your WhatsApp account.

This process will re-register your account and phone number with WhatsApp servers, resolving the 491 issue.

Make sure your phone has cellular reception or wifi connection to receive the verification code. If you don’t get the code within 15 minutes, tap on “Didn’t receive code” and request a new one.

What to do if you switched phone numbers

If you got a new phone number, your old WhatsApp account will stop working and show the 491 error code. Here’s what to do:

Install WhatsApp on your new phone if you haven’t already.
When prompted, enter your new phone number to send a verification code.

Once verified, you can access WhatsApp with your new number.
You can transfer your chat history by emailing a chat export from your old number to your new number.

Unfortunately, you cannot directly transfer your account from an old number to a new number within WhatsApp itself. But you can preserve your chat history by exporting it before you lose access to your old number and then email the chat history file to your new number.

Why does WhatsApp expire inactive accounts?

WhatsApp automatically expires accounts that haven’t been used for 120 days as a security measure. Here are some reasons why:

Prevent account abuse – Expiring inactive accounts helps prevent abuse from accounts that are no longer in use.
Free up resources – It allows WhatsApp to free up resources from maintaining unused accounts.

Enforce recent numbers – Forcing re-registration ensures accounts have current, valid numbers.
Maintain security – Periodic re-verification helps maintain overall security.

By regularly re-verifying numbers, WhatsApp ensures each account is tied to a real, current phone number for better security and prevents abuse of inactive accounts.

How long until an inactive WhatsApp account expires?

WhatsApp will expire an inactive account after 120 days (4 months) of no usage. This includes not opening the app, sending or receiving messages, etc.

Some key points about WhatsApp’s inactive account expiration policy:

The 120 day timer resets if you use WhatsApp at any point.

Even a single app open or sent message will reset the timer back to 120 days.
Accounts get a re-verification prompt after about 2 months of inactivity.
You’ll get banned after about 4 months (120 days) of no usage.

The account itself and data is not actually deleted, just blocked until re-verified.

So as long as you open WhatsApp or send a message every 120 days, your account will remain active indefinitely. Sporadic usage resets the inactivity timer each time.

Can you recover an expired WhatsApp account?

Yes, you can recover an expired WhatsApp account by re-verifying your phone number:

Install the latest WhatsApp version on your phone.
Open WhatsApp and tap “Verify” when prompted.
Enter the 6-digit verification code sent via SMS or call.

This will re-verify your phone number and restore access to your account.

However, after about 1 year of inactivity, WhatsApp permanently deletes account data like messages. But your account itself can still be recovered with re-verification unless you get banned for Terms of Service violations.

So make sure to occasionally use WhatsApp if you want to avoid losing your account – a yearly login should be enough in most cases.

What happens when your WhatsApp account expires?

Here’s what happens when your WhatsApp account expires after 120+ days of inactivity:

You’ll get logged out of WhatsApp on your phone.
When opening WhatsApp, you’ll get a “Your phone number is banned” message.

You won’t be able to access your chats or account information.
Your profile photo, about info etc gets removed.
You’ll have to re-verify your number to use WhatsApp again.

Importantly, your account data like messages are not actually deleted after 120 days. They remain recoverable if you re-verify in time.

Full data deletion only happens after about 1 year of inactivity. Until then, you can recover your messages, groups, settings etc. by re-registering your number.

Does WhatsApp notify you before banning your account?

Yes, WhatsApp will send you notifications as your account gets close to expiration after 120 days of inactivity:

At 2 months inactive: Account expiration warning on launch.
At 3 months inactive: Request to re-verify via notifications.
At 4 months inactive: Final notice to verify before ban.

At 120 days inactive: Account gets banned until re-verified.

So WhatsApp gives you plenty of warning before your account ultimately gets banned. As long as you re-verify after getting these warnings, your account will remain active.

It’s a good idea to login every few months if you don’t use WhatsApp regularly. This resets the inactivity timer and prevents your account from expiring.

What happens if you ignore the WhatsApp expiration warnings?

If you ignore the account expiration warnings from WhatsApp after extended inactivity:

After 120+ days inactive, your account will be banned.
You’ll have to re-verify via SMS code to use WhatsApp again.

Account data like chats remain recoverable with re-verification.
After 1 year inactive, your account data may be deleted permanently.

So while your account itself can always be recovered with re-verification, your messages and chat history could get permanently deleted after about 1 year of no usage.

The key is to periodically use WhatsApp or re-verify when warned around 120 days. This prevents permanent data loss.

How to prevent WhatsApp account expiration

You can prevent your WhatsApp account from expiring due to inactivity in a few ways:

Open WhatsApp occasionally – This resets the 120 day expiration timer.

Reply to messages – Any usage like chatting keeps your account active.
Change profile info – Updating your profile pic or about info counts.
Verify when warned – Re-verify your number when prompted at 120 days.

Link accounts – Linking WhatsApp to Facebook may help.

Just a single open or sent message every 120 days is enough to keep your account active indefinitely. Set calendar reminders if you don’t use WhatsApp regularly.

Is the WhatsApp account expiration policy new?

No, WhatsApp has had an inactive account expiration policy for many years:

Policy was implemented in early 2012, over 10 years ago.
Initially inactive period was 30 days, later increased to 120 days.
Notifications and warnings added before account expiry.

Enforces phone number validity and security.

The overall policy of expiring inactive accounts after a period has remained consistent. WhatsApp has simply adjusted the exact inactive duration over time – it increased from just 30 days to 120 days currently.

Regular re-verification of numbers is key to WhatsApp’s security model and preventing account abuse. The expiration policy forces this by design.

Can businesses and companies get banned by WhatsApp expiration?

Yes, the WhatsApp account expiration policy applies equally to businesses and companies. For example:

Business accounts will get banned after 120 days inactive.
Notifications will warn when account is going to expire.

To prevent ban, marketing messages must be sent regularly.
Or business accounts can be re-verified when inactive.

While this policy is mainly aimed at individual consumer accounts, businesses also need to send occasional messages or re-verify numbers to keep WhatsApp business accounts active.

For marketing purposes, businesses should already be messaging subscribers regularly. This has the side effect of preventing WhatsApp account expiration as well.

Can you tell if someone’s WhatsApp account is inactive or expired?

There are a few signs that can indicate if someone’s WhatsApp account is inactive or expired:

Profile photo and “About” status are removed

Frequently offline or shows “Last seen long ago”
Your messages never show “delivered” or “seen”
They haven’t posted any WhatsApp status updates recently

Sending messages fails or get bounced back

If you see a combination of these signs, especially removal of profile info and inability to successfully message them, their account likely expired due to inactivity. They would need to re-verify to use WhatsApp again.

Should businesses worry about the WhatsApp account expiration policy?

Businesses should be aware of WhatsApp’s account expiration policy but not necessarily worried:

The 120 day inactivity threshold is quite long for most businesses.
Regularly messaging customers inherently prevents expiration.
Account info and data remains recoverable with re-verification.

Policy helps ensure better security and validity.

As long as a business sends any messages at least every 4 months, their account stays active. And re-verifying is easy if a business does go inactive for some reason. Overall the policy is beneficial for security.

For mission critical accounts, setting calendar reminders to periodically send a message or re-verify every 100 days eliminates any expiration risk. But for most businesses this may not be necessary if they message customers regularly already.

Can you bypass or hack the WhatsApp expiration timer?

There are no official methods to bypass or stop the WhatsApp inactive account expiration:

Modifying app or phone settings does NOT stop the timer.
Hacking or modifying network requests does NOT work.

WhatsApp servers control the expiration, not your phone.
There are NO third-party tools that can prevent expiry.

The 120 day timer and expiration is enforced on WhatsApp’s servers remotely. There are no ways to hack, bypass or stop the timer built into the apps or network protocols.

The only solution is using WhatsApp normally within 120 days or re-verifying when prompted. Hacking or bypassing account expiration violates WhatsApp’s Terms of Service.

What are the risks of using modified WhatsApp clients?

Using unofficial or modified WhatsApp apps (e.g. WhatsApp Plus) carries risks:

Such clients cannot prevent the 120 day expiration.

You may get banned for violating WhatsApp’s Terms.
Account access and messages could be compromised.
Some features may not work properly.

Security and encryption may be weaker.

Since the expiration happens on WhatsApp’s servers, unofficial apps have no way to bypass it. And they are often insecure or could get your account banned.

It’s better to use the official WhatsApp app and send occasional messages to prevent expiration normally. Avoid unofficial modified apps that violate WhatsApp’s policies.

WhatsApp Account Expiry Summary
Expiry threshold	120 days inactive
Warnings sent	At 60, 90, 110 days inactive
Re-verification needed	Yes, via 6-digit SMS/call code
Data deletion	After 1 year inactive
Reversible?	Yes, by re-verifying number

Conclusion

The WhatsApp error code 491 indicates your account registration has expired after inactivity. You’ll need to re-verify your phone number via a 6-digit code to use WhatsApp again.

This policy helps ensure security and prevent abuse of inactive accounts. Make sure to use WhatsApp periodically or when warned at 120 days inactive to avoid losing access or data. Re-verifying your number easily gets your account working again if it does expire. Avoid unofficial modified apps that claim to bypass expiration, as these can compromise your account.