Connect your WhatsApp to Meta, step by step
What you'll see on each Meta screen when you connect the WhatsApp Business you already use on your phone, what to tap, and what to do if something fails.
This guide walks you through connecting an Assisted number: the WhatsApp Business the business already uses on its phone, which keeps working in the app after you connect it. Meta calls this coexistence. For a new number that will only live in Trama, there's a different guide: Connect WhatsApp.
Each step says what you see on screen and what to tap, in the order Meta usually shows it. What changes in Trama once the number is connected (who handles it, the agent, Radar) is in Seller WhatsApp (Assisted).
Meta's screens change. The order and the button names vary with Meta's version, your country, the language of your Facebook account and whether you already have a portfolio. If a screen doesn't match this guide, look for the one that asks for the same thing (your number, your portfolio, the code) and keep going: what matters is reaching the end with the number connected.
Before you start
- The number has to be in the WhatsApp Business app, not regular WhatsApp. If it's on regular WhatsApp, see Move the number to WhatsApp Business before you continue.
- WhatsApp Business up to date. Coexistence needs a recent version: update it from the phone's app store before you start.
- The phone with that number in hand, unlocked and online. If it belongs to someone else on the team, have them with you or on a video call.
- A computer. The code is shown on the computer and scanned with the phone: you can't scan it with the same phone that shows it.
- A Facebook account with full control of the business's Meta portfolio. If you don't have it, see Full control of the portfolio.
- The number must not be connected to another platform (another CRM, chatbot or WhatsApp provider). If it is, disconnect it first.
- About 15 minutes, in one sitting. The connection expires after an hour.
Move the number to WhatsApp Business
If the number is on regular WhatsApp, moving it to WhatsApp Business is free and keeps your chats:
- In regular WhatsApp, make a backup: Settings → Chats → Chat backup.
- Install WhatsApp Business from the app store, on the same phone.
- When you open it, the app detects the number you use on WhatsApp and offers to use it. Accept, verify the number with the code you receive, and restore your chats when it offers to.
From then on the number works in WhatsApp Business and stops working in regular WhatsApp. If you moved it very recently and Meta won't accept it for connecting, use it for a few days in WhatsApp Business and try again.
Step by step
In Trama: Connect WhatsApp → «On the phone»
What you see: in Channels, from the computer, the «How will you use this number?» dialog.
What to tap: choose «On the phone» and «Continue». In «Who handles it?» pick the person who uses that phone (or leave it unassigned) and answer the four questions in «Before opening Meta». When none of them blocks you, tap «Open Meta».
Meta's window opens
What you see: a new window. Before Meta you may see an intermediate page with Trama's name, which is the one that opens Meta's window.
What to tap: the button to continue to Meta. If nothing opens, your browser blocked the pop-up: allow it for Trama and tap «Open Meta» again.
Log in with Facebook
What you see: the Facebook login, and then a screen explaining what the connection will access (your WhatsApp Business account and its messages).
What to tap: log in with the Facebook account that has full control of the business's portfolio, and tap «Continue» to accept. It doesn't post anything to your profile.
Choose to connect your WhatsApp Business app
What you see: depending on the version, an option to connect your WhatsApp Business app account, or the phone number field straight away.
What to tap: if Meta lets you choose, pick the option to connect your existing WhatsApp Business app, not the one to create a new account or number. That's the path that keeps the number on the phone.
Enter the number
What you see: a phone number field.
What to tap: type the number with the country code, the same one that's in WhatsApp Business, and continue. When Meta recognizes the number is in the app, it may show that account's details (photo, name, phone, website) so you can confirm it's the right one.
Choose or create the business portfolio
What you see: the list of Meta portfolios (the business account that groups your page, your Instagram and your WhatsApp), or a form to create one. In some versions this screen comes before the number.
What to tap: choose the portfolio of the business that owns that number. If you don't have one, create it there: it asks for the business name, country and website. It's free.
Check the name before you continue: the number ends up in the portfolio you pick here, and moving it to another one means disconnecting it and connecting it again.
Scan the code from WhatsApp Business
What you see: on the computer, a QR code. Meta also sends a message to that WhatsApp with a link to the code.
What to tap: on the phone, open WhatsApp Business and scan the code on the computer. Depending on the app version, the scanner is in the camera icon at the top, or in the menu, under Linked devices or Settings → Account → Business Platform. If Meta's message arrives, open it and follow what it says. Once the scan works, the window on the computer moves on by itself.
Share your chat history
What you see: on the phone, WhatsApp Business asks whether you want to share your chat history and contacts with Trama.
What to tap: accept. Meta shares up to the last six months of conversations. If you decline, the number still connects, but Trama won't bring in the conversations you already had.
Confirm the details and accept the terms
What you see: back on the computer, the WhatsApp account name (it comes from the app and can't be changed here), a time zone selector and Meta's terms.
What to tap: pick your time zone, accept the terms and tap the button to finish («Finish»).
Back to Trama
What you see: Meta's window closes and you're back in Channels, with the notice «The channel is connected».
What to tap: nothing else. If Meta sends you back without connecting, Channels opens «It could not connect» with the reason: tap «Try again», or «Talk to the team» if you don't know why it failed.
After connecting
- History takes a while. The conversations you already had show up on their own in Messages, almost always within the first hour and in some cases up to a day later. No need to reconnect.
- On the phone, these turn off: broadcast lists, disappearing messages and view-once messages, and WhatsApp Web sessions are closed: link them again.
- Open WhatsApp Business on that phone at least every two weeks. If the app goes unused for about 14 days, Meta disconnects the number from Trama and you have to scan the code again.
- The business profile (photo, description, name) is still changed from the WhatsApp Business app on the phone, not from Trama.
- The number starts with no agent. How to choose who replies is in Seller WhatsApp (Assisted).
If something fails
For everything else, while connecting and after, see Connection problems.