Connect with Facebook

Connect with Facebook is the recommended way to connect WhatsApp. A Meta window opens inside the app and walks you through everything: your business portfolio, your WhatsApp Business Account and your phone number. When it closes, this platform already has the access it needs. You never generate or paste a token.

If you would rather set everything up yourself in Meta's tools, use the manual path instead. Both end in the same place.

Before you begin

A Facebook account that is, or can become, an admin of your business portfolio. If someone else at your company owns the portfolio, ask them to run this, or to make you an admin first.
A phone number that can receive an SMS or a voice call right now. Meta sends a six-digit code to it during the flow.
A number that is not on the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app. If it is, read Number still on the WhatsApp app first.
A display name ready that follows Meta's display name rules. The same rules apply whichever way you connect.
Pop-ups allowed for this site. The Meta window is a pop-up, and some browsers block it.

Set aside ten minutes

Do it in one sitting. If the Meta window sits open for a long time, the session can expire and you have to start again.

Connect

Open Settings → Connections and click Add connection

The setup wizard opens.

Choose Connect with Facebook (recommended)

On Choose how to connect, pick the Facebook card. A Meta window opens.

Choose or create your business portfolio

Pick your existing business portfolio, or create one. Use your real business name: Meta checks it against your display name later.

Choose or create your WhatsApp Business Account

If you already have one, pick it. Otherwise Meta creates one for you.

Add your phone number and verify it

Enter the number and choose SMS or voice call, then type the six-digit code. If the SMS does not arrive within a couple of minutes, try the voice call.

Set your display name

This is the name customers see at the top of the chat. It goes to Meta for review; see Display name approval.

Review the permissions and finish

Meta shows a summary of what you are granting. Confirm, and the window closes.

Back in the app

Check the number

The number you just added is already selected. If your WhatsApp Business Account has more than one, you can pick another.

Name the connection

Something your team will recognise, like "Sales line".

Choose a six-digit PIN, if asked

A new number has to be registered with WhatsApp before it can send. The wizard asks you to choose a two-step verification PIN to do this. If the number is already registered, you will not be asked.

Create & verify

The wizard connects the number and runs the same checks as every connection. A green result means you are ready to send.

Write the PIN down

The PIN protects your number. We use it once to register the number and do not store it. You will need it if you ever move the number to another provider or re-register it. If it is lost, Meta can make you wait up to seven days before the number can be registered again. Keep it somewhere safe, like your password manager.

What you do not have to do

Connecting with Facebook takes care of the steps on the manual path:

No system-user token to generate, copy or rotate.
No WABA ID or Phone Number ID to look up.
No webhook to set up. Incoming messages start arriving as soon as the connection is created.

You still need these, whichever path you take:

An approved display name.
A payment method in WhatsApp Manager before you send templates outside the 24-hour window.
Business verification if you want higher messaging limits.

Reconnecting

If the connection stops working, for example because someone removed this platform's access in Meta, you will see a banner across the top of the app.

To reconnect, open Settings → Connections → Cloud credentials and click Reconnect with Facebook. Run through the Meta window again, choosing the same business portfolio and WhatsApp Business Account. Your connections, conversations and contacts stay as they are.

Number still on the WhatsApp app

Connecting a number that stays on the WhatsApp Business app at the same time is not supported yet. If Meta offers to connect your existing WhatsApp Business app account, the wizard tells you it can't continue.

For now, move the number fully to the Cloud API: follow Migrating a number already on WhatsApp, then come back and connect with Facebook.

If something goes wrong

Connection troubleshooting covers each message the Facebook path can show you.

Verify and send your first message.