# Connect a WhatsApp number

> Prepare a phone number, connect it through Meta's signup window, and manage its display name, profile, and health.

A sender is a WhatsApp phone number connected to your Nexiom project. You connect it once, through Meta's signup window, in about ten minutes. This page covers the requirements, every step of the window, and what to do after the number is connected.

## Before you start

- **Your role**: you are an owner or admin of the organization.
- **A Facebook account** with admin access to your company's business portfolio, or permission to create one during signup.
- **The right project**: a number stays with the project it is first connected in, and cannot be moved to another project later. Connect production numbers in your production project.
- **Room in your plan**: each plan allows a number of connected WhatsApp numbers across your organization. The dashboard tells you when you reach it.

## Number requirements

| Requirement | Details |
| --- | --- |
| You own the number | Mobile, landline, and toll-free numbers work. Short codes do not. |
| It can receive a code | WhatsApp confirms the number with a code sent by SMS or voice call. Numbers behind a phone menu (IVR) or that only make calls cannot receive it. |
| It is not used by another WhatsApp account | A number used in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app, or with another WhatsApp provider, must be released first. See below. |
| It is not connected to another Nexiom project | A number connected to a project stays with it, even after it is removed there. |

### Use a number that is already on WhatsApp

To check whether a number is already on WhatsApp, open `https://wa.me/<number>` with the number in international format and no `+`, such as `https://wa.me/213555123456`. If a chat opens, the number is in use.

- **In the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app**: back up the chats you want to keep, then delete the account in the app under **Settings → Account → Delete account**. Deleting it erases the app's chat history on that number. It can take a few minutes before the number can be connected.
- **With another WhatsApp provider**: ask the provider to release the number, or turn off two-step verification for it in WhatsApp Manager, then connect it here.

> [!CAUTION]
> Once a number is connected here, it can no longer be used in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app. Use a dedicated number for your business messages.

## Connect the number

### Open the signup window

In the dashboard, open **Messaging → WhatsApp**, go to the **Senders** tab, and select **Add sender**. Meta's signup window opens. Allow pop-ups for the dashboard if your browser blocks it.

### Log in to Facebook

Log in with the Facebook account that manages your business, and confirm that Nexiom may manage your WhatsApp assets.

### Choose your business portfolio

Select your company's business portfolio, or create one with your company's legal name, website, and country. Use the same details as on your official documents: they are checked again if you [verify your business](#verify-your-business).

### Choose or create a WhatsApp Business Account

Create a new WhatsApp Business Account for the number, or choose an existing one that has no number connected to Nexiom yet. Nexiom Connect connects one number per WhatsApp Business Account.

### Create the business profile

Enter the details customers see in WhatsApp:

| Field | Shown to customers | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Display name | Yes | Your business name as customers know it. WhatsApp reviews it. See [Display name](#display-name). |
| Category | Yes | The industry that best describes your business. |
| Description | Yes | Optional. You can edit it later in Nexiom Connect. |
| Website | Yes | Optional. Helps WhatsApp approve your display name. |

### Add and confirm the phone number

Enter the number and choose how to receive the code: **Text message** or **Phone call**. Enter the six-digit code WhatsApp sends.

> [!WARNING]
> Choose your own number. Don't choose an option that creates a display name without a phone number or uses a test number: such numbers cannot be connected.

### Finish

Review the permissions and select **Finish**. The window closes, and Nexiom Connect registers the number with WhatsApp. The number appears in **Senders**, and a confirmation is shown.

The number can send as soon as its status is **Connected**. To send, you still need an [approved template](/docs/whatsapp/templates).

## After connecting

### Add a payment method in WhatsApp Manager

Meta bills its WhatsApp message fees to your WhatsApp Business Account. In [WhatsApp Manager](https://business.facebook.com/wa/manage/home/), open **Payment settings** and add a payment method. Without one, WhatsApp refuses template messages. Your Nexiom plan and wallet cover Nexiom's own charges; see [Costs](/docs/whatsapp/sending#costs).

### Display name

WhatsApp reviews the display name after the number is connected; the sender's page shows the review status. Until your business is verified and the name is approved, chats show your phone number instead of your name. You can send messages in the meantime.

If WhatsApp rejects the name, the sender's page says so. Change it with **Change display name in WhatsApp Manager**; the new name is reviewed again. See [Display name](/docs/whatsapp/key-concepts#display-name) for what customers see at each stage.

### Verify your business

Business verification lets WhatsApp show your display name in chats and raise your messaging limit. In Meta's Business Settings, open **Security Center** and select **Start verification**, then follow Meta's steps with your company's documents. Review can take from a few days to several weeks.

### Edit the business profile

Open the number in **Senders** and select **Edit profile** to change what customers see on your WhatsApp profile: the about text, description, address, email, websites, and industry. Select **Change photo** to upload a profile photo: a square JPEG or PNG of at least 640 × 640 pixels and at most 5 MB.

Changes are sent to WhatsApp right away. Changing the display name is done in WhatsApp Manager.

## Monitor a sender

The sender's page shows what WhatsApp reports about the number:

| Item | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Status | Whether the number can send. Only **Connected** numbers can send. |
| Quality rating | **High**, **Medium**, or **Low**, from recent customer feedback. See [Quality rating](/docs/whatsapp/key-concepts#quality-rating). |
| Messaging limit | How many different customers your business can message in 24 hours, shared by every number of your business portfolio. |
| Throughput | How many messages per second the number can send. |
| Display name review | Whether WhatsApp approved the display name. |
| Last activity | When the number last sent a message. |

When WhatsApp limits or blocks sending for the number, its WhatsApp Business Account, or your business portfolio, the page shows a notice with WhatsApp's error code and a link to the place in Meta where it is fixed. Select **Refresh status** to read the latest state from WhatsApp.

## Remove a sender

Open the number and select **Remove sender**. The number can no longer send from Nexiom Connect, and it disappears from your senders. Its message history stays in your logs, the number keeps working in WhatsApp, and you can connect it again to the same project later.

## Troubleshooting

### The signup window doesn't open or closes immediately

Allow pop-ups for the dashboard and try again. Use one browser for the whole flow, and stay signed in to the dashboard: if your workspace changes while the window is open, the number is not connected and you need to start again.

### I didn't receive the verification code

Check that the number can receive SMS or calls from international senders, then request a new code with the other method. WhatsApp limits how often a code can be requested for one number; if you reach that limit, wait before trying again.

### "This WhatsApp number is already used by another workspace"

The number, or its WhatsApp Business Account, was connected to another Nexiom project before. A number stays with the project it was first connected in. Connect it from that project, or use a different number.

### "This WhatsApp number is already used by another workspace or WhatsApp Business Account"

The phone number is already connected: in another Nexiom project, or in this project through a different WhatsApp Business Account. You send by phone number, so a project can connect each number only once. If it is connected here through another account, remove that sender first, then connect the number again.

### "This WhatsApp Business Account is already connected with another number"

Nexiom Connect connects one number per WhatsApp Business Account. In the signup window, create a new WhatsApp Business Account for this number.

### "Your plan allows N WhatsApp numbers"

Your organization has connected as many numbers as your plan allows. Remove a number you no longer use, or upgrade your plan.

### "WhatsApp could not register this phone number"

The number may still be registered elsewhere, or protected by two-step verification from another provider. Turn off two-step verification for the number in WhatsApp Manager, wait a few minutes, and connect it again.

### The number is connected but cannot send

Open the sender's page and select **Refresh status**. A notice explains what WhatsApp is blocking and where to fix it, for example a missing payment method, a restricted account, or a business portfolio that needs attention.

## Next steps

- [Templates](/docs/whatsapp/templates) Create your first template and get it approved.
- [Send a message](/docs/api/messaging/send) Send a template with the API.
- [Key concepts](/docs/whatsapp/key-concepts) Messaging limits, quality rating, and categories.

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Source: https://connect.nxiom.com/docs/whatsapp/senders