Connect WhatsApp
The two ways to connect a WhatsApp, which one suits you, and the step by step for a Direct number.
A WhatsApp is connected from Channels → Connect WhatsApp, and the first thing Trama asks is how it's going to be used. The answer changes everything else, so choose it before touching anything on the phone. Only the Owner and Admins see Channels.
First, choose how it's going to be used
| It stays on the phone (Assisted) | It's handled only from Trama (Direct) | |
|---|---|---|
| For which number | The WhatsApp Business the business or a rep already uses | A new number, or one that isn't on any phone |
| What happens on the phone | It keeps working in the app, with its chats | The number doesn't work in the WhatsApp app |
| Before connecting | The number has to be on the WhatsApp Business app | The number must not be on any WhatsApp app |
| How it's connected | By scanning a QR code from that phone | By verifying the number by SMS or call |
| Who answers | The person, from their app. You can add an agent for new inquiries | The agent, 24 hours a day. Your team replies from Messages, and it's the number that sends campaigns |
The requirement is the opposite in each way. If you're going to connect a Direct number and it's on a phone today, Meta asks you to delete that WhatsApp account: the app stops working with that number and the chats stored on the phone are lost. If it's the WhatsApp you use every day, choose “It stays on the phone” and follow the Assisted number guide. If you don't have a free number, get one with “Buy number”, on the same screen.
There's a third option, “Only receive alerts, without connecting conversations”: it links the phone of someone on the team so they receive their alerts and talk to Tramy. That phone's conversations with customers don't come into Trama.
If connecting the number takes you over the amount your plan includes, Trama shows you how much it adds per month before connecting it.
The rest of this page is the step by step for a Direct number. For Assisted, go to Assisted numbers.
Connecting a Direct number
The process starts in Trama and continues on a Meta page: you'll sign in with Facebook, pick or create your business account, and verify the number by SMS or call.
It takes ten to fifteen minutes. Do it in one sitting: the connection expires if it takes more than an hour.
What to have ready
- A new phone number (recommended) or one that isn't on any WhatsApp app
- A personal Facebook account, only to verify your identity
- The ability to receive an SMS or call on that number right then
- Your business basics: trading name, website or Instagram, and category
You don't need a second permanent phone. The SIM is only used to receive the code; after that the number lives in Meta's cloud and you can take it out.
Step by step
Get the number
A prepaid SIM from any carrier, the cheapest you can find. You only need it to receive a code.
Activate the SIM
Put it in any phone, check it receives SMS, and take it out. It doesn't have to stay in your main phone.
Hit “Connect WhatsApp” in Trama
In Channels. Choose “It's handled only from Trama” and then “Continue in Meta”: the page takes you to the connection, and Meta's window opens there. If your browser blocks it, allow pop-ups on that page and try again.
Sign in with Facebook
With your personal account. It doesn't post anything to your profile: it only confirms your identity and lets you administer the business assets.
Pick or create your business account
This is Meta's Business Portfolio: what groups your page, your Instagram and your WhatsApp under one owner. If you don't have one, Meta walks you through creating it right there. It's free.
It'll ask for business name, website or business profile, country and category.
Create the WhatsApp Business account
Meta asks you to confirm the account's display name. That's the name your customers will see when the agent writes to them.
Use something clear and recognizable — your business name, not an acronym or an internal code.
Enter the number
With the country code in front. Check it carefully before continuing: if that number was already on another WhatsApp Business Platform account, Meta will stop you until it's released.
Request the code
By SMS or by call, whichever is easier. If the SMS is slow, wait before resending: asking repeatedly can lock the attempt.
Enter the code
The six digits Meta sent you. That links the number.
Back to Trama
When Meta finishes, you're back in Channels with the notice “The channel is connected”. The number may show as “Verifying” for a while: it activates on its own when the first message arrives. If it stayed on “Activating”, hit “Continue connection” to pick up where it was cut off.
After connecting
Open the number in Channels and look at the Status column. There Trama shows you what Meta says about that number, live:
- Business verification. Without it, Meta limits how many new people you can message per day. How to do it is in Verify your business on Meta.
- Payments. If the payment method is missing on Meta, or fails, the number can't start conversations.
- Display name. You change it from the number's panel. Meta reviews each change in 1 to 3 business days.
- Business profile. The photo, the description and the contact details are edited from the same panel, without going into Meta.
If something gets stuck
The most common errors and how to get past each are in Connection problems.