Add and register your phone number

About 20 minutes, plus Meta’s review of your display name · Last checked 31 October 2026 · Plugin 2.10.0

The number is your store’s identity on WhatsApp. At the end of this guide it shows “Connected” in WhatsApp Manager, it is registered on Meta’s Cloud API, and your WhatsApp account has a payment method.

Choose the right number

• A number you own and will keep. Customers save it, and its quality rating builds up over time.
• It can receive an SMS or a phone call, so Meta can send you a 6-digit code. A landline works with the call option.
• It is not in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app. WAPI Connect Pro runs the number on the Cloud API through your own Meta app, so it has to leave the app. If it is in the app today, save what you need, then delete the account in the app (Settings → Account → Delete account). The chats in the app do not move over. Keeping it in the Business app at the same time (Meta calls it coexistence, offered only through some of Meta’s partners) is not offered by the plugin.

Meta also gives you a test number on the API Setup page. It can only message a few numbers that you add yourself, so use it to try things, not for customers.

Steps

1. Open “Add phone number”

   In your Meta app, open WhatsApp → API Setup and press “Add phone number”. You can also do it in WhatsApp Manager (business.facebook.com/wa/manage/) → “Phone numbers” → “Add phone number”.

2. Fill in your business profile

   Meta asks for the display name that customers see, a category, a short description and your time zone. Use your store’s name as customers know it, the same as on your website and your social pages. Meta reviews the display name.

3. Confirm the number

   Type the number with its country code, choose “Text message” or “Phone call”, and enter the 6-digit code that Meta sends. This proves the number is yours.

4. Register it on the Cloud API with a PIN

   Registering switches the number on for Meta’s Cloud API. If WhatsApp Manager already shows it as “Connected”, skip this step. Otherwise follow register with a PIN below.

5. Add a payment method

   Meta bills your messages to your WhatsApp account. Add a card in WhatsApp Manager under “Payment settings”, or in Meta’s “Billing and payments” (business.facebook.com/billing_hub/).

   Without a working payment method, Meta stops paid messages. Connection Doctor then lists “Payment problem in your Meta account” among the messages that failed in the last 24 hours, with a “Fix in Meta” button that opens Meta’s billing page. WhatsApp calls also need a payment method on the account.

6. Wait for the display name review

   WhatsApp Manager → “Phone numbers” shows the status of your display name next to the number. If Meta rejects it, change it to match your store and send it again. With the phone_number_name_update webhook field on, the result also appears in the plugin’s Account health (see the webhook guide).

7. Note your two IDs

   Back on the API Setup page, choose your own number. You now see its Phone Number ID and your WhatsApp Business Account ID. Both are long numbers, and neither is your phone number. You paste them into the plugin in the access token guide.

Register with a PIN

Confirming the number proves it is yours. Registering it switches it on for the Cloud API and sets a 6-digit PIN for two-step verification. WAPI Connect Pro has no register button (not in version 2.10.0 either), so you do it once in Meta, with one call to Meta’s Graph API.

Do you need it? Register the number when WhatsApp Manager shows its status as “Pending” instead of “Connected”, or when Connection Doctor says “This number is registered on … not on the Cloud API”.

In your browser, with Graph API Explorer

1. Choose a PIN of 6 digits and write it down somewhere safe. If the number already has two-step verification, use that PIN.
2. Open developers.facebook.com/tools/explorer.
3. Under “Meta App”, choose your app. In “Access Token”, paste a token with the WhatsApp permissions: the temporary token from API Setup works, or your permanent token from the next guide.
4. Change the method next to the address field from GET to POST.
5. In the address field, type your Phone Number ID followed by /register?messaging_product=whatsapp&pin=123456, with your own PIN in place of 123456.
6. Press “Submit”. The answer {"success": true} means the number is registered.

Or from a terminal

curl -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/PHONE_NUMBER_ID/register" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"messaging_product": "whatsapp", "pin": "123456"}'

Replace PHONE_NUMBER_ID, ACCESS_TOKEN and 123456 with your own values.

Check that it worked

• WhatsApp Manager → “Phone numbers” shows your number as “Connected”, with your display name.
• After you paste your IDs and token (next guide), Connection Doctor’s “WhatsApp number” card is green and shows your number and the name Meta verified.
• WAPI Connect → Health & tools → Test tools → “Test connection” answers with your number and its quality.

Common problems