Prepare your phone number before connecting

A WhatsApp chatbot runs on one business phone number, and Meta registers that number on the WhatsApp Business Platform during the connection. Most connection errors come from the number itself: it is still registered in a WhatsApp app, another provider holds it, or it cannot receive the confirmation code.

In this article, we will go through the checks in the order the connection wizard needs them: where the number is now, how to free it or choose the connection type, how to make sure it receives the code, and what to prepare in Meta.

Basics

You can register a phone number in only one WhatsApp product at a time. The wizard treats each of the three products differently:

Meta states the rule directly: you cannot register a number that is already in use with WhatsApp unless you delete its account first. After registration, you can still use the number for calls and SMS but not in the WhatsApp apps.

This gives four starting points, each with its own path in the wizard:

Read more: Create a WhatsApp chatbot, Create a WhatsApp chatbot (Coexistence), and Switch to SendPulse from other WhatsApp providers.

Find out where your number is now

Before you change anything, confirm the state of the number, because the team that uses it and the person who connects the chatbot are often different people.

To check whether the number is registered in WhatsApp, open https://wa.me/11111111111 in a browser and click Start chatting. Replace 11111111111 with your phone number in international format without the plus sign.

If you see the Phone number shared via URL is invalid error, the number is not registered in WhatsApp. Go to Make sure the number can receive the code.

If a chat opens, the number is registered in the consumer WhatsApp app, in the WhatsApp Business app, or on the WhatsApp Business Platform with another provider. If you are not sure which product holds the number, ask its owner or the team that uses it. A number that already sends message templates or works in another chatbot service is registered on the WhatsApp Business Platform.

As a second check, send a message to the number from another phone. If the message gets one check mark for Sent or two for Delivered, the number is still registered in a WhatsApp account.

Free the number or choose the connection type

Follow the section that matches the state of your number and skip the other two.

If the number is in the consumer WhatsApp app

You need to delete the WhatsApp account on the number. Read the whole section before you start, because you cannot undo the deletion.

To keep the chat history, back up the chats and media in the app first. The backup lets you restore them on a phone later. After the deletion, the number has no chat history, and the history does not appear in SendPulse.

To delete the account, open WhatsApp on the phone, go to Settings > Account, tap Delete my account, and follow the steps in the app.

Please note that uninstalling the app does not delete the account. WhatsApp keeps the account and its data until you use Delete my account in the app, and the number stays busy for the wizard.

After the deletion, wait up to three minutes for the number to become available, and repeat the wa.me check from Find out where your number is now. Then continue with Make sure the number can receive the code.

If the number is in the WhatsApp Business app

Meta describes two options: delete the account, as in If the number is in the consumer WhatsApp app, or connect the number through Coexistence and keep the app. Only Coexistence keeps the chat history and lets your team keep working from the phone, so choose it whenever it is available.

To prepare the number for Coexistence:

1. Update the WhatsApp Business app on the phone to version 2.24.17 or later.
2. Make sure the number has been in active use in the app. Meta decides eligibility itself and does not publish the criteria, so it may refuse a new or rarely used number.
3. If the number is connected to another provider through the app, go to Settings > Account > Business Platform in the app, disconnect the number, and wait 15 minutes.

Read more: Create a WhatsApp chatbot (Coexistence).

Please note that if you delete the account and register the number as new instead, you lose the chat history and cannot use the number in the WhatsApp Business app again unless you unregister it from the WhatsApp Business Platform.

If the number is with another provider

You need to migrate a number that another provider has registered on the WhatsApp Business Platform. If you try to register it as a new number, the wizard shows an error. Before you start the migration, make sure that:

• Your Meta Business Portfolio is verified. Migration is not available for a portfolio in trial mode.
• Your current WhatsApp Business account is approved and has a payment method attached.
• The display name of the number is approved, and no display name change request is pending.
• Two-step verification is off on the number.

Two-step verification is a six-digit PIN that Meta requires for every number registered on the WhatsApp Business Platform, so your number most likely has it on. Meta lists turning it off as the first step of a migration. Neither SendPulse nor your current provider can turn it off through the API, so you do it yourself in WhatsApp Manager.

To turn off two-step verification, open WhatsApp Manager, go to Account tools > Phone numbers, select your number, open the Two-step verification tab, and click Turn off two-step verification. Confirm the change by clicking the link in the email from Meta.

Please note that you cannot migrate Meta test numbers with the US country code and the 555 area code or use them outside the WhatsApp Business Platform. Connect a real number instead.

After the migration, Meta copies your approved message templates to your new WhatsApp Business account, and you can use them once the copying finishes. Messaging continues without interruption.

Read more: Switch to SendPulse from other WhatsApp providers.

Make sure the number can receive the code

Meta confirms the number with a one-time code by SMS or a voice call, so the number has to be reachable while you run the wizard. This check applies when you register a new number or migrate one. For Coexistence, you confirm the connection in the WhatsApp Business app instead.

Choose the confirmation method by your number type:

Meta does not recommend shared-cost, personal, or machine-to-machine numbers and does not support pager numbers. Use a different number if you can.

A registration call cannot pass through a voice menu. If the number is behind a voice menu or a corporate PBX, ask your telephony administrator to allow calls from the one or two numbers WhatsApp uses for registration calls and to route them to an employee. If you cannot get these numbers, request them from Meta support.

If the number is banned, you can register it only after you appeal the ban in WhatsApp.

Check the country of the number

Meta has been adding regions to Coexistence since 2025 and does not publish a list of supported countries. If the wizard shows This feature is unavailable for phone numbers from this region, connect the number as a new phone number instead.

Read more: Country restrictions in Meta's documentation.

Prepare your Meta Business Portfolio

The wizard registers the number in a WhatsApp Business account inside your Meta Business Portfolio. If you don't have a portfolio, you create it in the wizard. If you already have one, make sure that:

• You are an admin of the portfolio. Only admins can delete business phone numbers, and you need the role to manage the number later.
• The portfolio contains your company's legal name, phone number, website, and email address.
• The portfolio has not reached its phone number limit. Meta limits a new, unverified portfolio to two registered phone numbers and lifts the limit after business verification.
• The display name you plan to use is related to your company and complies with the WhatsApp Business Policy. If it differs from the legal name, you need a website that confirms the relationship.

We recommend verifying your business in Meta before you connect the number. Verification lifts the trial limits, and migration requires it. Read more: Verify a business in Facebook Business Manager.

Prepare your workplace

Meta's connection wizard opens in a pop-up window and needs the phone and the browser at the same time. Before you start:

• Use a desktop browser and allow pop-ups for SendPulse. Meta supports mobile browsers too, but in our experience the wizard often doesn't finish on them, especially in Safari on iOS.
• Keep the phone with the SIM card or the WhatsApp Business app unlocked, online, and next to you.
• Turn off call and SMS blockers on the phone during the registration.

Final checklist

Before you open the wizard, go through the points in this order:

1. You know where the number is: not registered in WhatsApp, in the consumer WhatsApp app, in the WhatsApp Business app, or with another provider.
2. If the number was in the consumer WhatsApp app, you backed up the chats, deleted the account, waited three minutes, and the wa.me check shows the Phone number shared via URL is invalid error.
3. If the number is in the WhatsApp Business app, you updated the app and chose Coexistence.
4. If the number is with another provider, your portfolio is verified, the WhatsApp Business account and display name are approved, and two-step verification is off.
5. The number receives an international SMS or a voice call, and no voice menu answers the registration call.
6. Your business is not in a country Meta excludes from the WhatsApp Business Platform.
7. You are an admin of a Meta Business Portfolio that contains the company details and has not reached its phone number limit.
8. You are working in a desktop browser with pop-ups allowed, and the phone is next to you.

Once you have gone through all the points, open the wizard and follow the article for your connection type: Create a WhatsApp chatbot (new phone number), Create a WhatsApp chatbot (Coexistence), or Switch to SendPulse from other WhatsApp providers.

Troubleshoot number preparation issues

If the preparation didn't go as expected, one of the following is the likely cause:

If the wizard shows a different error, see Troubleshoot WhatsApp connection errors.

Last Updated: 25.09.2026