Use Your Existing Number for WhatsApp Business API

Which situation are you in?

Option 1: Keep the app and add the API (coexistence)

With coexistence, the same number works in the WhatsApp Business app on your phone and on the API at the same time. Your team can reply from the app as before, while the API handles campaigns, chatbots, a shared inbox and notifications.

What you need

• The WhatsApp Business app, version 2.24.17 or later.
• Your phone with the app nearby during signup, to confirm the connection.
• A Meta business portfolio to connect the number to. Choose it carefully, because it cannot be changed later.

What syncs to the API

• Contacts that have a WhatsApp number.
• Chat history from the last 6 months, if you choose to share it. This must be done within 24 hours of connecting.
• Group chats are not synced.

What changes in the app

• Broadcast lists are turned off; send campaigns from the API instead.
• Disappearing messages, view-once messages and live location are turned off in one-to-one chats.
• Linked devices are unlinked when you connect; you can link them again afterwards, except WhatsApp for Windows and Wear OS, which are not supported.
• Open the app on your main phone regularly. Meta may disconnect the number if the phone stays inactive for about 14 days.

Speed and cost

A number used on both the app and the API has a fixed sending speed of 20 messages per second, which is plenty for most small and mid-sized businesses. Messages you send from the app stay free; messages sent through the API are charged at normal API rates (see pricing).

To stop using the API later, open the app and go to Settings > Account > Business Platform > Disconnect Account. Source: Meta's documentation on onboarding WhatsApp Business app users.

Option 2: Move the number to the API only

If you want the full speed of the API and do not need the app, move the number completely:

1. Export or back up any chats you want to keep. They do not move to the API.
2. In the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app, delete the account for that number (Settings > Account > Delete account). Uninstalling the app is not enough.
3. Register the number on the API through your provider and enter the code sent by SMS or call.
4. Set a six-digit two-step verification PIN and keep it safe.

After this, the number works only through the API and your provider's tools, such as a shared inbox and mobile app, not the WhatsApp Business app.

Option 3: Switch from another API provider

If your number is already on the API with another provider, you do not need to delete anything. The number is migrated to the new provider's WhatsApp account, and Meta says it keeps its:

• Display name
• Quality rating and messaging limit
• Official Business Account status (blue tick)
• Approved templates with high quality

The new provider starts the move. Keep your two-step verification PIN ready, or ask your old provider to turn it off, and expect to receive a verification code on the number. Chat history and your old provider's payment setup do not move. Source: Meta's phone number migration guide.

Coexistence or API only: which should you choose?

Before you start: checklist

• The SIM or line for the number is with you, so you can receive the verification code.
• Important chats are backed up.
• You know which Meta business portfolio the number should belong to.
• If you are moving from another provider, you have the two-step verification PIN or have asked them to turn it off.
• Your display name matches your brand, website and documents.

Next, follow our step-by-step guide on how to get WhatsApp Business API in India, or compare the WhatsApp Business API and the Business app.

Frequently asked questions