These past two days, two different people asked me the same question: if they download and reinstall the Binance app on a new phone, will the original referral commission relationship be gone too? One of them was especially anxious. He said after installing and logging in, it feels like the referral commission isn’t returning anymore.
Let’s state the conclusion up front: the referral commission binding relationship follows the account, not the phone, and not the installation package. If you switch phones ten times, reinstall the app twenty times, and even switch from Android to iPhone—as long as you’re still logging into the same account, you’ll still get every single cent you’re owed.
But indeed, some people replace their phone and the referral commission disappears. The reason isn’t the “reinstall” action itself; it’s in the second and third cases below. I’ll go through these three one by one—check which category you fall into.
Scenario one: after installing, log in directly to your old account—do nothing else. The referral relationship stays the same.
There are only three steps for switching phones the right way.
First step: only get the app package from official channels. For Android, use this direct link: https://download.binance.com/pack/BNApp_F0001674.apk, or go to the “Download” entry at the bottom of the Binance official website page. During installation, the system may block “Unknown sources”—just grant the permission.
Second step: pay attention to what Apple side you used. Your App update/download permissions are locked to the non-Mainland Apple ID you originally used. After switching phones, you must sign into the App Store with the same ID to be able to install/update. Hong Kong/Taiwan-region IDs work too—don’t use the US region ID; if you search with US it will show Binance.US, which is a different platform.
Third step: once installed, log in directly to the account you used before. Your referral commission stays as-is—no need to re-bind and no need to contact anyone.
Scenario two: after you finish installing, you accidentally register again on the new app using a new account
This is the most common way things go wrong, and many people didn’t realize it at the time. Once the new phone is set up, open the app and the first screen is often the registration page. You end up entering your phone number and registering step by step—only to create a brand-new account.
New and old accounts are completely independent accounts; assets aren’t shared, and the referral relationship won’t be inherited either. More troublesome: if you didn’t fill in a referral code during this registration, this new account will permanently have no referral commission status unless you do an additional re-link later.
How to tell whether you did this: log in and check whether your assets are empty and whether you’re required to redo identity verification. If yes, log out and log back in with your old account—your old account has always been fine.
Scenario three: the newly installed package came from a third-party channel, and that field has already been filled in by someone.
Packages obtained from a cloud drive, shared from a group, or taken from a third-party app market: there’s a category that has been repackaged again. When you open the registration page and look at the “Referral code (optional)” field, it’s already prefilled with someone else’s code. If you register a new account on one of these packages, your commission will go to someone else’s pocket for life.
The method is simple: on the newly installed app, go into the registration page. Open that field and take a look—on the official package it’s empty. If there’s a code inside that you don’t recognize, uninstall and download again from scratch.
The biggest pitfall when switching phones isn’t the referral commission—it’s 2FA.
To be honest, the referral relationship basically won’t disappear. What really stops people when switching phones is double verification. Every time someone gets stuck here, so quick reminder:
While you still have the old phone, first migrate your authenticator. Google Authenticator has a “Transfer accounts” feature that can generate a QR code for the new phone to scan. The same applies to Binance’s own authenticator; alternatively, find the backup recovery key that you were given when you first bound it, and then add it again on the new phone.
Until your new phone can log in normally and 2FA can generate codes, don’t rush to wipe the old phone or sell it. This sentence is the key.
If you can’t find the backup key, the only option is to reset double verification: you’ll have to redo identity verification, and after resetting there’s usually a period where you can’t withdraw crypto—follow the page notice for details. So if you can migrate, don’t go with reset.
Another case is switching phones and also changing your phone number. When the old account can still receive SMS, first change the bound phone number in the account to the new one. If you do it in the wrong order, it becomes extremely troublesome.
After installing, how to confirm your referral relationship is still there
In the app, go to 【Invite & Earn Referral】. Scroll to the bottom under 【Invited Users】 to see your invitation relationship; or go 【Referral Rewards】 → 【My Referral Commission】 → 【Cashback for Invitees】 to see your current cashback ratio.
The referral display is normal, which means the relationship is set—use it with confidence. If it shows 0 or you can’t find the inviter at all, then it wasn’t linked.
One common misconception, just to mention: referral commission is returned to your spot/cash (fund) account, not your futures/contract account. Many contract traders keep staring at the balance on the contract page, of course they can’t find it. When the amount is small it may also be fragmented—if you want to check, go to the referral commission records page, where each transaction is listed.
If you check and it’s confirmed not linked, you can still fix it.
The prerequisite is that you’ve never bound someone else’s code. If your registration is less than 30 days old and you haven’t recharged or traded, go directly to the re-bind page and enter WIN98, then submit—no trading-volume requirement. https://www.binance.com/zh-CN/activity/referral/bind-ref
For accounts that have been trading for a while: for the past 90 days, if your trading volume is within USD 5,000 and you’ve completed real-name verification, go through the same page. But after submitting, you must complete USD 150,000 in trading volume within 30 days for it to take final effect. If the old account hasn’t used any Binance products for over 90 days, log in again by following the prompt to bind using the invite link: https://www.binance.com/zh-CN/activity/referral/bind-ref—you don’t need to hit a trading-volume requirement.
If it’s already been bound to someone else’s code, you can’t change it. Don’t trust anyone who says they can help you change it.
Three quick reminders
Only obtain the package from the official direct link or the download entry at the bottom of the website. Don’t install packages shared in groups, no matter who shared them.
Before your new phone’s 2FA is verified, keep the old phone—don’t wipe it.
Anyone who asks you for a verification code, password, recovery seed phrase, or asks you to enable screen sharing “to help you operate”—they are all scammers. The official will not proactively add you as a friend.
If you haven’t registered yet, jot this down: on the registration page, the “Referral code (optional)” field is collapsed. Tap it to fill in WIN98—then the fee will automatically return 20%. In the long run, it’s effectively like getting an 80% discount on trades. This field can only be filled at the time you register; after submitting, you can’t change it.
Where exactly did you get stuck in the phone-switch process? Or if you found out it isn’t linked and you don’t know which scenario you fall under, post in the comments section—I’ll help you check.