Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter
Have you ever noticed that some Facebook users have multiple accounts?
While some of these duplicate accounts are due to the rampant epidemic of account cloning fraud, many duplicate accounts were actually created by the legitimate account holder because they think they need to open a new account every time they get a new computer, phone or tablet.
But truth be told, getting a new device doesn’t mean you’ll need a new Facebook account because your account isn’t tied to any specific device.
Your account (and all the info contained within it) actually resides on Facebook’s servers, not your device.
As long as you know your Facebook login info you’ll be able to sign into your existing account and use Facebook from any computer via a web browser or any mobile device via either a mobile web browser or the Facebook app.
If you buy a new phone or tablet and you plan to use the Facebook app you might need to install the app from the appropriate app store if it didn’t come pre-installed on the device, but you WILL NOT have to open a new Facebook account.
Now all of the above being said, you will definitely need to know your Facebook username (or email address or mobile phone number) and password to log into Facebook on the new device, so make sure you have those pieces of information handy before you deactivate your old device.
If you allow your browser to store your Facebook password (which is a very bad idea) there’s a good chance you might have forgotten what it is. If you can’t remember your password be sure to reset it (and remember the new one) BEFORE you deactivate your old device.
If you have Two-Factor Authentication enabled on your Facebook account and you receive your login authentication codes via text message, you won’t need to disable Two-Factor Authentication unless you’ll be getting a new phone number along with the new phone.
However, if your new phone will come with a new phone number and you don’t disable Two-Factor Authentication before your old phone is disconnected, Facebook will keep sending your authentication codes to your old phone even after it’s been disconnected.
That means you won’t be able to log in to your Facebook account after you start using the new phone even if you know the username and password!
If you get your login authentication codes from a code generator app on your phone you’ll need to disable Two-Factor Authentication on your Facebook account BEFORE your old phone is deactivated.
Your new phone won’t have the code generator app installed on it and when you install the app on the new phone it won’t be connected to your Facebook account.
That means you won’t be able to retrieve the login authentication codes you’ll need in order to log in to Facebook.
If you’re unsure about anything I just said I strongly recommend that you disable Two-Factor Authentication before you get your new phone and then re-enable it afterwards using the new phone.
Bottom line: Just because you’re going to soon be using a new computer or mobile device that doesn’t mean you’ll need to open a new Facebook account. Simply log into Facebook with the new device using your existing login info.
Bonus tip: If you end up disabling Two-Factor Authentication on your account because you’re going to be getting a new phone number, be sure to re-enable it as soon as you receive your new phone.