Social Messaging | How to connect WhatsApp

Connecting WhatsApp to Sinch Engage is a quick way to start chatting with customers where they’re most active. Once connected, you can manage conversations, send updates, and reply to messages from your Sinch Engage account. This guide details how to connect your WhatsApp account step by step, so you can start messaging in minutes.

Setup requirements

Before connecting WhatsApp, you must have:

• The Social Messaging feature enabled. This feature is available as an add-on to your existing plan. Account administrators can activate this feature via the Social Channels page by clicking Unlock social channels.

  

• A phone number that can receive international SMS/ phone calls and isn't connected to a WhatsApp account.
• Access to a personal Facebook account that has been added to the Meta Business Suite of your brand, with admin rights. If your business doesn't have Meta Business Suite then you can still proceed just using your Facebook account.

For fast and easy onboarding, make sure to:

• Add accurate and relevant details to your WhatsApp Business Profile.
• Use matching information on Sinch Engage and in the Meta embedded signup if you're creating a new Meta Business Account and/or a new WhatsApp Business Account.
• Use information that matches your previously created account on Sinch Engage if you're using an existing Meta Business Account and/or an existing WhatsApp Business Account.

How to connect

1. Navigate to Settings > Social channels > Available channels > Connect

   

2. On the next screen you will be presented with more information about Whatsapp Business messaging. To start the setup flow click Connect.

   

3. At the start of the flow you be prompted to choose between one of your Sinch dedicated numbers or your company number you want to use as your brand identity on WhatsApp.

a) Sinch dedicated number - Select a number already linked to your Message Media account in  the dropdown list or buy your own dedicated number and click Next.

b) Your company number - Enter your company number and click Next. This number must be able to receive international SMS or calls for Meta’s two-factor authentication and shouldn’t be linked to an existing WhatsApp account. To learn more about WhatsApp usage types, see What are the different ways to use WhatsApp? To check if your number is already connected, follow the steps in How do I know if my number is connected to WhatsApp? on Sinch Engage and scan the QR code.

4. Embedded signup - connect your WhatsApp brand details to Meta. Then, click the Continue with Facebook button. 
   
   
   A Meta popup will open. Log in with your Facebook credentials and progress through the setup flow.

   During the "Add your WhatsApp phone number" step within this popup, you will be prompted to select and verify your WhatsApp Business number. Please select this number carefully:

   Your Company Number (Recommended): If you are setting up your profile for customer communication, be sure to select your actual business number. If there is any uncertainty, always default to your company number.

   US Test Number (+1): You will see an option to directly verify a US test number. If you select this, your WhatsApp connection will activate immediately using that test number.
   
   

   Important: If you unintentionally select a US test number instead of your company number, you cannot simply switch to a different number within the same setup flow. To fix this, you must stop further configuration and reach out to support as early as possible to initiate a full connection reset.

Once your phone number is verified, the pop up closes. If every step was successful, you'll be automatically redirected to the WhatsApp page.

Review your connection

Once connected, the WhatsApp page will show details about your business profile and connection. To review this information navigate to Settings > Social Channels > My channels > See details. 

The status shown represents the channel connection state:

• Connected- if the connection was successful.
• Failing - if an error occurred during the connect flow, you can see a description of the error.

Edit your business profile details

• Click Edit business profile and modify the information.
• If you want to first verify that the edited information is correct before submitting for update, click Save draft. When you click Request change, the changes will take 1-3 business days to come into effect. Switch between the current information and the submitted draft using the toggle button on top.

• After saving a draft or requesting a change your number is still connected and you can see the information about your update request in the main page.

  The status in the Business Profile section represents your update status. The available statuses are:

  • Draft: When you saved a draft
  • Accepted: Changes have been accepted and made to your Business Profile
  • Rejected: Your update has been denied by Sinch Message Media