Connect WhatsApp Business

You need access to the Meta business and WhatsApp Business number you want to connect.

For approved marketing broadcasts, see WhatsApp campaigns. Campaigns support both connection options below and require recorded marketing permission and an unsubscribe button. Official API access does not guarantee that WhatsApp will never restrict an account.

Use the same number in Fetchply and the Business app

Choose Use my Business app number when your team already chats from the WhatsApp Business app and wants Fetchply automation on that exact number. You do not need to buy, move, or register a separate number.

Only new activity after the connection appears in Fetchply. Existing Business app contacts and older chat history are not imported.

Meta still performs a required one-time synchronization during setup. Keep the WhatsApp Business app open until setup finishes. Fetchply acknowledges this synchronization but does not add the older contacts or messages to your inbox.

If Meta asks whether to share old chat history, choose Don't share. Your existing chats remain in the WhatsApp Business app and are not copied into Fetchply.

When someone on your team replies from the WhatsApp Business app, that reply appears in the matching Fetchply inbox conversation and pauses AI for that customer. This prevents the assistant from talking over the person using the phone. When the team is finished, release the conversation in the inbox to let AI answer future messages again.

Disconnecting this type of connection stops Fetchply from receiving and sending messages, but the number stays active in the WhatsApp Business app.

Business app changes during setup

• Update the WhatsApp Business app to version 2.24.17 or newer before connecting.
• Meta unlinks companion devices when the number is connected. Re-link supported devices afterwards. WhatsApp for Windows and WearOS are not supported companion clients for same-number mode.
• Group chats are not synchronized with Fetchply.
• Disappearing messages, view-once messages, and live location are disabled for individual chats.
• New broadcast lists cannot be created, and existing broadcast lists become read-only.

Entering identifiers by hand is an advanced fallback, kept under Advanced: enter credentials manually at the bottom of the page. Prefer one of the two options above unless support asks you to use it.

Customer names in the inbox

WhatsApp conversations in the inbox show the customer's WhatsApp profile name automatically, so your team can see who is writing without asking. The name fills the customer's name field only when it is still empty, so a name your team typed by hand is never replaced. WhatsApp does not share profile photos, so these conversations keep the initials avatar.

The 24-hour reply window

When a customer sends a WhatsApp message, you can send normal replies for 24 hours. The inbox header shows whether this free-form reply window is open and how much time remains. After it closes, use an approved template to contact the customer. A new customer message opens a new 24-hour window.

Fetchply blocks a normal inbox reply after the window closes so Meta does not reject it after you press send. Template availability and charges depend on your Meta account, template approval, conversation category, and current Meta pricing.

Payment method for service messages

From October 1, 2026, WhatsApp charges for service messages, which are the replies your business sends to a customer inside the 24-hour reply window. Integrations > WhatsApp shows a reminder about this above the connection panel, with a See pricing details link to WhatsApp's current rates.

Add a valid payment method to the WhatsApp Business account you connected before that date. Add it in WhatsApp Manager, where you manage the account itself, not in Fetchply. From October 1, 2026, messages sent from an account with no payment method on file are not delivered, so your customers stop receiving replies even though the connection still looks healthy here.

You only need to do this once per WhatsApp Business account. If several agents are connected to numbers under the same WhatsApp Business account, one payment method covers all of them.

AI replies

You can turn automated AI replies on or off at any time under Integrations > WhatsApp.

When AI replies is turned on, your trained AI agent answers inbound customer questions automatically using your knowledge sources and store policies.

When AI replies is turned off:

• Inbound messages from customers are still delivered and routed straight to your team in the Inbox, notifying available agents.
• Voice messages are not written out as text, because no automatic reply needs to read them. The recording arrives in the Inbox as “Voice message” for a teammate to play and answer, and nothing is sent to the customer.
• Photos are still attached so your team has the full context.
• No AI replies or typing indicators are sent, and zero AI message credits are consumed.
• Pre-configured Guided Flows, Cash-on-Delivery confirmation buttons, and exact saved Direct Q&A answers continue to work as expected.

Turn AI replies off whenever your team prefers handling customer chats manually in the inbox while keeping WhatsApp connected, or when you only want to use interactive Guided Flows.

Typing indicator

When a customer messages your connected number and your agent is preparing a reply, WhatsApp shows a "typing…" indicator so the customer knows an answer is on the way. Their message is also marked as read at the same time. The indicator disappears as soon as the reply arrives, or automatically after about 25 seconds if the reply takes longer. This happens on its own and needs no setup. If a reply cannot be prepared (for example, the agent is turned off or outside its serving hours), no typing indicator is shown.

Voice messages

When a customer sends a WhatsApp voice message, Fetchply writes out what they said so your agent can answer it like any other message, and attaches the original recording to that message in the inbox so you can play it back. Voice messages work best in English and Urdu. See Inbox and conversations for how they appear and what to do when a recording cannot be understood.

When a recording cannot be made out, what happens next depends on who is answering. While automatic replies are handling the conversation, the customer is asked to send it again or type it. When your team is handling it — AI replies is off, or a teammate has taken over — nothing is sent to the customer and the recording arrives in the Inbox as “Voice message” for a teammate to listen to and answer.

With AI replies turned off, voice messages are not written out at all. Only the recording is saved, so your team listens instead of reading. Turn AI replies on if you want the words written out. Note that a customer cannot answer an open guided flow question with a voice message while AI replies are off; ask them to tap an option or type their answer.

Your team can reply with a voice message too. Select the microphone beside the inbox reply box, speak while the recording bar shows your voice, and Fetchply converts it so it arrives on WhatsApp as a normal voice note, whichever browser you used. The 24-hour reply window still applies, and a very long recording may be refused — record a shorter one and send it again. See Send a voice reply for the full steps.

Typed replies in guided flows

Customers do not have to tap an option exactly. While a WhatsApp guided flow is open, they can type what they mean in their own words. When the meaning is not clear enough, the assistant asks a simple yes-or-no confirmation before continuing.

If a customer asks a separate question, the assistant can answer it and then show the same guided-flow question again. Their place in the flow is not lost. See Typed replies and commands on WhatsApp for the available commands and troubleshooting steps.

What Connection health tells you

Connection health on Integrations > WhatsApp runs on its own each time you open the page, and again whenever you select Check again. As well as your number's status and quality, it now reports what WhatsApp thinks of the account behind it, and separates two things that fail independently:

• Replies — answering a customer who messaged you in the last 24 hours.
• Messages you start — anything sent outside that window, which always uses an approved message. Order confirmations, cash-on-delivery checks, and reminders are all in this group.

An account can reply perfectly while every message it starts is refused, so those are reported separately rather than as one "connected" light. Each problem is shown with how much it costs you: whether messages are being stopped, whether you are only being capped, or whether it is simply worth knowing.

You may also see:

• Finish business verification — until Meta verifies your business, it caps how many new customers you can message each day. Nothing is blocked.
• Your display name is still being reviewed — customers see your number instead of your business name, and your daily limit stays low. No action needed; approval usually lands within a day.
• Your number is limited because of its message quality — too many people blocked or reported your messages. It recovers on its own; send fewer, more expected messages meanwhile.
• A daily limit on new customers, shown alongside your number. This is how many people you can start a conversation with per day, and it rises as your business is verified and your display name approved.

Problems that only affect WhatsApp calling are left out, because Fetchply does not use it and showing them would bury the ones that matter.

You are told without having to check

Fetchply also checks your account's standing in the background, so you do not have to open this page to find out something is wrong. If WhatsApp stops delivering the messages you start, you get a notification in Fetchply — and in Slack too, if you have connected it — pointing you at Connection health.

You are told once when it happens, then at most once a day while it is unresolved. Nothing is sent while your account is healthy, and recovering needs no action from you: the notice simply stops.

Automatic bot-loop protection

Fetchply does not answer a message when the sender number belongs to another WhatsApp agent currently connected to Fetchply. The ignored message is not added as a visitor conversation. This prevents two Fetchply agents from continuously replying to each other while leaving normal customer messages unchanged.

An older or manually connected number may be recognized after its first new incoming message. If two such numbers contact each other immediately after an update, one initial reply may be delivered before Fetchply recognizes both numbers and stops the exchange.

WhatsApp does not always identify bots operated by other services. If a third-party automation keeps messaging your number, pause that automation or block the number in WhatsApp Manager.

Troubleshooting

• Connection health cannot be loaded: Check your internet connection, then select Check again. Fetchply does not disconnect the account when a health check fails.
• Customers reply fine, but nothing you send first arrives: Open Connection health. If it says a payment method is needed, that is the cause — WhatsApp accepts messages your business starts and then never delivers them without one. Add it in Meta Business Settings under Billing and payments, set it as the default card, then select Check again.
• Connection health shows a problem you have already fixed: The check reads WhatsApp's live answer each time, but Meta can take a few minutes to catch up. Select Check again shortly.
• Connection health mentions something not listed here: WhatsApp occasionally reports a problem Fetchply has no plain-language explanation for yet, so its own wording is shown instead. Open WhatsApp Manager, where the same problem is described alongside what to do about it.
• Connection health says your account can send, but a specific customer never gets messages: That is about the recipient, not your account. Confirm the number includes its country code and is an active WhatsApp account, and check the customer has not blocked your business.
• The selected phone is not available to this connection: Reconnect with the Meta account that owns that WhatsApp Business number, and make sure you select the intended business and WhatsApp account.
• WhatsApp Manager says Pending or Register your phone number for a dedicated API number: Open Integrations > WhatsApp and let Connection health finish. Fetchply registers the number for you and shows the PIN it created. Select Check again afterwards to confirm the number is ready. Same-number Business app connections are never registered again by Fetchply.
• Fetchply says the number already has its own PIN: Enter that existing six-digit two-step verification PIN under Connection health and select Finish registration. If you do not know it, change or reset it in WhatsApp Manager first. Do not repeatedly guess the PIN, because WhatsApp blocks further attempts for a while.
• You lost the PIN Fetchply created: Change the PIN for the number in WhatsApp Manager and set one you choose. Everyday messaging keeps working; the PIN is only needed for registration, provider moves, and deleting the number.
• WhatsApp says there have been too many registration attempts: WhatsApp allows only a limited number of registration attempts per number in a 72-hour period. Wait until that period passes before trying again. Fetchply attempts registration once on its own so this limit is not used up.
• WhatsApp says ownership of the number is not verified: Complete phone verification for the number in WhatsApp Manager, then select Try registering again.
• Registration could not be completed: The panel shows the reason WhatsApp gave. Fix that item, then select Try registering again. Connecting still succeeded, so nothing needs to be redone from the start.
• The panel says WhatsApp is limiting the number: The number is registered, but its status is not connected because of quality or policy limits. Open WhatsApp Manager to see the restriction. Registering again does not change this.
• Meta says the signup session expired: Start the same connection option again and complete Meta setup in one session.
• Meta says the business or partner must be verified: Check the business verification and WhatsApp account review status in Meta Business Manager. Complete any requested review, then retry registration. Fetchply keeps the setup unsuccessful when Meta rejects this step, so the real Meta message remains visible instead of showing a false connection.
• The number is already active in your WhatsApp Business app: Use Use my Business app number. Do not remove it from the app or choose the dedicated API-number option.
• Same-number setup says synchronization is incomplete: In the WhatsApp Business app, open Settings > Account > Business Platform and disconnect the account. Then reconnect it from Integrations > WhatsApp, keep the Business app open, and finish within 24 hours. Do not repeatedly retry the incomplete connection because Meta permits each one-time synchronization request only once.
• A linked device disappeared after same-number setup: Meta unlinks companion devices during onboarding. Open Linked devices in the WhatsApp Business app and reconnect supported devices. WhatsApp for Windows and WearOS cannot be used as companion clients for this mode.
• The number is already used by another API provider: Move or remove that provider connection first, then repeat setup. Same-number mode works with the WhatsApp Business app, not with two separate API providers at once.
• The test says Meta accepted the message but it did not arrive: Confirm the recipient includes the country code, is a real WhatsApp account, and can receive messages. Check the connected number's quality and restrictions in WhatsApp Manager, wait briefly, then retry once.
• The test reports that registration or verification is incomplete: Follow the action shown under Connection health. Ownership verification must be completed in WhatsApp Manager before registration can succeed.
• The test says no approved template can be used: Approve at least one template that has no fill-in values (like Meta's standard "hello_world" greeting) in WhatsApp Manager, then send the test again. Templates that expect names, codes, images, or offer details cannot be used for a test.
• The test says the recipient is not on the allowed list: Your WhatsApp setup is still limited to test recipients. Add the recipient number to the allowed recipients in Meta, or complete the steps Meta requires to message any customer, then retry.
• The test says the 24-hour reply window is closed: The recipient has not messaged your business number recently, so only an approved template can reach them. Approve a template in WhatsApp Manager, or test with a number that just messaged you.
• The test says billing or a payment method is missing: Add a valid payment method to the WhatsApp business account in WhatsApp Manager, then retry.
• Replies stop being delivered from October 1, 2026: The connected WhatsApp Business account has no valid payment method on file, so WhatsApp refuses the messages. Add one in WhatsApp Manager, then send a test from Connection health. Nothing needs to be reconnected in Fetchply.
• The payment reminder is still showing after you added a payment method: That reminder is an announcement for everyone, not a check on your account. Once your payment method is confirmed in WhatsApp Manager, you can ignore it.
• You cannot add a payment method in WhatsApp Manager: Only someone with billing or admin access to the Meta business can add one. Ask the person who owns that business to add it, or to give you that access, then try again.
• The test says the account is restricted or blocked: Meta has limited this business account. Open WhatsApp Manager to see the restriction and resolve it there before testing again.
• The test says the connection is no longer authorized: Disconnect, choose the same connection option again, then run Check again and retry the test.
• The test says WhatsApp is busy or unavailable: This is temporary on Meta's side. Wait a few minutes and send the test again. Sending repeated tests during a rate limit makes the wait longer.
• The test result mentions a WhatsApp error code: The code comes straight from WhatsApp and is useful if you contact Meta support. Follow the action in the first line of the message first; it addresses the same problem in plain language.
• The inbox says the reply window is closed: Send an approved template from Integrations > WhatsApp, or wait for the customer to send a new message. Normal text replies cannot be sent until the window opens again.

Confirming cash-on-delivery orders

If your agent is connected to a Shopify store that sells cash on delivery, WhatsApp can also carry the order confirmation: each new COD order gets one message asking the shopper to confirm, change, or cancel, and their answer is labelled on the Shopify order. See Cash on delivery confirmation.