Connecting a WhatsApp number

"Pending" means Meta knows your number, but it is not yet registered on the WhatsApp Cloud API. Until it is, it can neither send nor receive messages.

The possible causes, from the most common to the rarest:

1. The number is still used in the WhatsApp app on a phone. Meta does not allow one number on both a phone and the API. See Free a number used in the app.
2. The display name was declined or is still under Meta review. See Display name declined.
3. A two-step verification PIN already protects the number (often set by a previous provider). See Two-step PIN.
4. The Meta Business account is incomplete: business not verified, or no payment method. See The number still will not activate.

Once the cause is fixed, go back to the channel page and click Activate next to the number. If the display name was the problem, the alert updates on its own as soon as Meta makes its decision. The channel page shows you the exact cause as soon as it is known.

Yes, with the WhatsApp Business app: you can keep your number on your phone and connect it to TextDigo at the same time. See Keep your number on the phone.

No, with the regular (personal) WhatsApp app: Meta does not allow using it alongside TextDigo. You then either delete the WhatsApp account of that number (see Free a number used in the app), or use a dedicated number.

If your number is already in the WhatsApp Business app on your phone, you can connect it to TextDigo without removing it from the phone. You keep answering from the app as before, and TextDigo can at the same time send your campaigns, let Melia AI answer and run your flows from that same number.

How to do it

1. Update the WhatsApp Business app on your phone.
2. In TextDigo, connect a WhatsApp channel.
3. In the Meta window, choose to connect your existing WhatsApp Business account, then follow the steps on your phone.

When you connect, your contacts and the chats of the last months are imported into TextDigo. These past chats show as finished conversations: they are not marked unread and do not count against your plan.

When you answer from the phone

Your message also shows in the TextDigo conversation, marked "Sent from the app". Automated replies in that conversation then stop, so your customer never gets two answers.

What changes in the app

• Groups are not imported into TextDigo.
• Disappearing messages and view once messages are turned off.
• You can no longer create broadcast lists: use TextDigo campaigns instead.
• The number sends at most 20 messages per second, so a large campaign goes out a little more slowly.

Keep the app active

Open WhatsApp Business on your phone regularly. If the app stays unused for a long time, Meta may disconnect the number from TextDigo. You are told when it happens, and you just reconnect it from the channel page.

To stop at any time: in the WhatsApp Business app, open Settings, Account, Business Platform, then Disconnect account.

For a number to be activated on TextDigo, the WhatsApp account using it on a phone must be deleted.

Before you start: deleting the account permanently erases the chat history on the phone. To keep it, back it up first (in WhatsApp: Settings, Chats, Chat backup).

1. Open WhatsApp (or WhatsApp Business) on the phone.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Tap Account.
4. Choose Delete my account.
5. Enter the number in international format to confirm.

Then wait at least 3 minutes: that is how long WhatsApp takes to release the number. Go back to the channel page in TextDigo and click Activate next to the number.

If TextDigo says the account was deleted too recently, wait 5 minutes before trying again. Retrying several times in a row makes the block longer, not shorter.

We recommend a number reserved for TextDigo: a new prepaid SIM card, or a virtual number from a local carrier or a provider such as Twilio.

This has three advantages:

• you keep the chat history of your current number;
• automated conversations (Melia AI, flows, campaigns) stay separate from your personal ones;
• activation works the first time, with no WhatsApp account to delete.

One condition: the number must be able to receive an SMS or a voice call during verification. A virtual number that receives neither cannot be verified by Meta.

Meta reviews the name shown on WhatsApp (the "display name") before activating the number. While it is under review, the number waits: there is nothing to do, and TextDigo will let you know once Meta decides.

If it is declined, the number stays blocked. The most common reasons:

• the name matches neither the legal business name nor a known public brand;
• it only contains generic words (for example "Paris Shop");
• it is written in capitals for no reason;
• it differs from the name on the business website.

To fix it, open Meta WhatsApp Manager (from the channel page, "Open in Meta" link), go to phone numbers and submit a new compliant name. A new review then starts.

Two-step verification protects a number with a 6-digit PIN. If the number was used with another provider before, or someone set that PIN in WhatsApp Manager, Meta refuses to activate it with a different PIN.

Two options:

1. You know the PIN: on the channel page, click Activate next to the number and enter that PIN.
2. You do not know it: in Meta WhatsApp Manager, open the number settings, turn off two-step verification, then come back to TextDigo and click Activate to set a new PIN.

Avoid guessing: after several wrong PINs, Meta locks the number for a while.

When you add a number directly from TextDigo, Meta asks you to prove you own it.

1. On the channel page, click Verify next to the number.
2. Choose to receive the code by SMS or by voice call.
3. Enter the 6-digit code you received.

If the SMS does not arrive, try the voice call: some numbers (landlines, virtual numbers) do not receive SMS. Code requests are limited, so wait a few minutes between attempts.

Once the number is verified, click Activate to finish.

If you followed the steps and the number is still pending, check these points in your Meta Business account:

• Payment method. Meta charges template messages (marketing, utility, authentication) per message. Without a valid payment method in the billing settings of the WhatsApp Business account, Meta may block the number activation or template sends. Replies to customers who write to you stay free within 24 hours of their message.
• Business verification. In Meta Business settings, business verification must be complete or in progress. Some operations, such as adding numbers, require it.
• Too many attempts. After several activation attempts close together, Meta temporarily locks the number. Wait a few hours before clicking Activate again: each new attempt during the lock extends it.

Still blocked? Write to us from the chat at the bottom right with the number concerned, and we will find out with you what is blocking it.

What each situation changes for you

• Account disabled: the account's numbers can no longer send messages.
• Disabling scheduled: your messages still go out normally, but Meta will disable the account on the date shown unless you act.
• Account restricted: some actions are unavailable for a given period, for example sending messages you start (templates) or adding numbers. Your replies to customers who write to you usually go out normally.
• Violation reported: nothing is blocked for now, but if violations keep happening, Meta may restrict your account.

The channel page shows you the exact situation and, for a restriction, the date it ends.

How to appeal a decision

1. Open Meta WhatsApp Manager (from the channel page, "Open in Meta" link).
2. Go to Account quality: the reason for the decision is shown there.
3. Click Request review and describe your business in a few sentences.

Meta answers in WhatsApp Manager and by email. As soon as Meta lifts the decision, the channel page updates on its own.

Avoiding another restriction

• Only write to people who agreed to receive your messages.
• Always offer a simple way to stop receiving them.
• Avoid content banned by the WhatsApp commerce policy.
• Keep an eye on your numbers' quality on the channels page: a falling rating often comes before a restriction.