Keep the WhatsApp Business app. Add the API to the same number.
Going "on the API" usually means giving up the app your staff already knows. Coexistence removes that trade. Your number is connected through Meta's official Embedded Signup, the WhatsApp Business app on the phone keeps working exactly as before, and your existing contacts and chat history come across so the dashboard is not empty on day one.
- Connected through Meta's Embedded Signup — not an unofficial device link that puts the number at risk
- Official
- Staff carry on answering in the WhatsApp Business app on the phone, unchanged
- Keep the app
- Existing contacts and chat history are pulled in during setup, so nothing starts empty
- Day one
Who it's for
Owner-operators and small teams whose number is the business — the ones who have been told that moving to the API means losing the app, the history, and the way their staff already work.
The worry it answers
"I'll lose my chats, my staff can't use the phone any more, and my number will get banned." None of that happens here: the connection is Meta's own handshake, your history is imported when you connect, and the app keeps running on the handset.
How connecting your number works
Start setup from the dashboard
Meta's Embedded Signup opens in a window. You sign in with the Facebook Business account that owns the number.
Confirm the number
Pick the WhatsApp Business number you already use. Meta runs its own checks and hands the connection back to the dashboard.
Your history arrives
Existing contacts and past conversations are synced in, so the shared inbox opens with real threads in it.
Carry on as before
The app on the phone still works. Anything you automate or send from the dashboard now happens on the same number.
One number, two ways of working
Coexistence is Meta's own arrangement for a number that needs to be in two places at once: in the hands of the person who has always answered it, and available to software. Your team keeps replying from the WhatsApp Business app on the handset. The dashboard sees the same conversations, so a campaign, a chatbot, or a colleague at a desk can pick up a thread the phone started — without anyone logging anyone out.
What you get during setup
Connecting a number is the step most platforms leave you to survive alone. Here it is guided, resumable, and honest about what went wrong.
- Connection through Meta's official Embedded Signup, launched straight from the dashboard
- Existing contacts and chat history imported once the connection completes
- The same setup can be finished from the mobile app instead of a computer
- An interrupted setup can be resumed from an emailed link, without signing in again
- If Meta drops the connection later, a reconnect path is always available — even without an active subscription
- Disconnection reasons in plain language, not a Meta error code to search for
Why the official route matters
Unofficial bulk-sending tools log a number in as a linked device and hope Meta does not notice. That is the mechanism behind most "my WhatsApp number got banned" stories. Coexistence is the opposite: it is Meta's own handshake, run in Meta's own window, against a Facebook Business account you control. Nothing about the connection is a workaround.
| Coexistence here | Unofficial device-link tools | |
|---|---|---|
| How the number connects | Meta's official Embedded Signup | Logged in as a linked device |
| The app on the phone | Keeps working, unchanged | Usually has to be logged out |
| Past conversations | Imported when you connect | Start from nothing |
| If the link drops | Reason shown, guided reconnect | Silent failure |
| Account risk | Within Meta's rules | Against Meta's terms |
Good to know
Where this feature stops, in plain words — so nothing here surprises you after you buy.
- You need a Facebook Business account and a WhatsApp Business number that Meta will accept. The platform connects assets you own; it does not create them for you.
- One connected WhatsApp account per user. This is not a multi-number control panel.
- A coexistence number must never also be registered on the Cloud API. If Meta reports that clash, sends stop and the account is flagged for reconnection rather than retried.
- Meta can end the connection from its side — a number change, a business downgrade, or a device left inactive too long. The platform detects it and shows you the reason, but it cannot prevent it.
- Connecting and reconnecting are deliberately open to everyone. The messaging features that follow are part of a paid plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to stop using the WhatsApp Business app?
No. That is the whole point of coexistence. Your staff keep answering on the phone exactly as they do now, and the API runs alongside on the same number.
Will I lose my existing chats?
No. Your existing contacts and chat history are imported when the connection completes, so the dashboard opens with your real conversations already in it.
Can my number get banned for this?
The connection is made through Meta's own Embedded Signup, against your own Facebook Business account. That is the sanctioned route. The bans people describe online come from unofficial tools that log a number in as a linked device.
What happens if the connection drops?
Meta can end a connection for reasons outside the platform — the number changed, the business was downgraded, or a device sat inactive. When that happens you are shown the reason in plain language and given a reconnect path, which stays available even if your subscription has lapsed.
Can I connect more than one WhatsApp number?
One connected WhatsApp account per user. If you run several numbers, each needs its own account.
Do I need a subscription before I can connect?
No. Connecting a number and repairing a dropped connection are both open without a subscription — you should never be locked out of your own number. The messaging, automation and inbox features are part of a paid plan.
Connect the number you already use
Keep the app, keep the history, and add everything a WhatsApp API gives you on top.
See plansExplore More Features
Discover other tools that make WizMessage the complete WhatsApp platform.
- Shared InboxEvery conversation on the connected number, with an owner, a status, labels and internal notes. A helpdesk, not a chat mirror.
- Bulk MessagesOne composer, every WhatsApp message type, and per-recipient proof of delivery. Not a blast-and-hope tool.
- Mobile AppNot a cut-down viewer. Campaigns, the flow builder, team management and SLA policies are all there, and it works offline.
- AnalyticsDelivery performance, messaging spend by category, and account health — on one screen.
- Wiz CopilotAn in-app assistant that operates the dashboard by conversation — and stops at an approval you can read and edit before anything changes.
- Knowledge BaseYour price list, policy or FAQ becomes the chatbot's source of truth. No prompt engineering, no retraining.