Believe it or not, WhatsApp didn’t support multiple devices until this summer, requiring your phone to be on and connected to the web at all times, even when using the web client to send messages. Although it is no longer necessary, the app is still unable to allow you to send messages from multiple mobile devices. If you’ve felt the limits of “partner” devices over the past few months, there’s finally a sign that true multi-support is coming to WhatsApp.

As WABetaInfo spotted, “multi-device 2.0” is now under development, and although you can’t try it out for yourself, it’s already in the early beta versions. With this upgrade, you will be able to start the client from a second mobile device without any issues. Based on the screenshot below, WhatsApp downloads your messages to a new device using the same start screen shown in both web and desktop apps.

According to this report, you won’t need to keep your primary phone connected to the web – the app downloads everything directly from its server, keeping messages encrypted while it syncs your inbox. Unfortunately, WABetaInfo could not confirm whether it is indeed designed for smartphones or whether the company will limit it to working on tablets. While there is no evidence that WhatsApp will not include phones in this update, it’s entirely possible that the company still wants its users’ cell phone numbers to remain limited.

We’re not sure when this feature will be ready for prime time, but hopefully it won’t be too long before WhatsApp supports all of your devices, no matter how many you have.