Prepare your Meta account
Everything to have ready on Meta's side before you connect WhatsApp to Dapta, so the connection goes through on the first attempt.
WhatsApp belongs to Meta, so connecting a number to Dapta means Meta has to recognise your business first. Almost every failed connection is one of the items on this page being missing — not a problem with Dapta.
Go through the checklist, then come back and connect the line. Set aside about thirty minutes. Business verification, if you have not done it before, can take Meta a few days to review, so start that part early.
The dialog Dapta shows you
Before it opens Meta's window, Dapta asks you to confirm four requirements in a Before connecting to Meta dialog. This is that dialog, and what each line actually means.
Allow pop-ups for this site
Meta's sign-up happens in a pop-up window. If your browser blocks it, the connection stops before it starts and nothing explains why. Allow pop-ups for app.dapta.ai before you tick the box.
Have access to the phone number to receive the verification code
Meta sends a code by SMS or voice call, and you have to type it in during sign-up. Have the phone in your hand, not in a drawer — see the right phone number.
The number must not be registered with another WhatsApp account
A number can only be on one WhatsApp platform at a time. If it is connected elsewhere, the current provider has to release it first. Do not delete a WhatsApp account to free the number — ask support first.
Meta requires a valid website or Instagram Business profile URL
Meta checks that the business is real. Without it — or with a site that does not match your business name — Meta can block the WhatsApp account shortly after creating it. See website or Instagram.
Tick I confirm I've read this and meet all the requirements to connect to Meta, then Connect. If any of the four is not true yet, choose Cancel and fix it first: connecting with one of them missing is the most common way a setup fails halfway through.
The full checklist
2
A business portfolio, with you as admin
Meta Business Suite → Business settings
3
A business website or business Instagram profile
Your own site
4
A phone number that is free to use for this
Your phone
5
The WhatsApp two-step PIN for that number, or two-step turned off
The WhatsApp app on the phone
6
A display name customers will recognise
Decide it before you start
7
Business verification (start it early)
Meta Business Suite → Security Centre
8
A payment method assigned to the WhatsApp account, if the line is direct
Meta Business Suite → Settings → WhatsApp accounts → Payment settings
1. A Meta account that administers your business
Use the Facebook account that already manages your company's pages and ads — not a personal account you made for this. During the connection Dapta opens a Meta window, and Meta will only show you businesses this account can administer.
If the person who owns the business account is not you, either get Full control of the portfolio, or have them sit with you for the ten minutes the connection takes.
2. A business portfolio
A business portfolio (Meta used to call it Business Manager) is the container that holds your pages, ad accounts and WhatsApp account. If your company runs ads, you already have one.
To check or create it, open business.facebook.com and look at Business settings. You need to appear there with Full control. Without that, Meta will not let the connection finish, and the error you get back will not say so clearly.
3. A website or business Instagram profile
Meta asks for a public address that shows the business is real. A website with your company name, what you sell and a way to contact you is enough; a business Instagram profile also works.
Have the URL ready to paste. A site that is offline, still "coming soon" or unrelated to the business name is the most common reason a WhatsApp account is restricted straight after it is created.
4. The right phone number
Pick the number first, because changing it afterwards is much harder than choosing well now.
A number works if:
You can receive an SMS or a phone call on it right now, to read the verification code.
It is a normal mobile or landline number in international format.
It is not already connected to WhatsApp through another platform or provider.
Think twice about:
Your WhatsApp Business number
This is the best case. It can keep working on the phone after it is connected — see Connect your Agent with WhatsApp.
A personal WhatsApp number
Not a good idea. Business messaging on a personal number means losing the personal account and its chat history. Use a different number.
A number already connected elsewhere
It has to be released by the current provider before it can be connected here. Ask support before you touch anything.
A brand-new number
Fine, and often the cleanest option — but nobody has it saved yet, so plan how customers will find it.
Short codes and some virtual numbers
Meta does not accept them. Use a real number.
Keeping the WhatsApp Business app? Turn off Meta Business Agent first.
Meta has its own AI assistant inside WhatsApp Business. If it is switched on for your number, turn it off before you connect the line — Dapta's onboarding requires it, and your Dapta agent becomes the AI that answers on that number. Your team can still reply by hand from the app exactly as before.
Do not delete a WhatsApp account or remove a number from Meta to "clear the way". It is almost never necessary, it destroys the chat history, and it does not make a blocked connection succeed. If a number is rejected, ask Dapta support what the actual reason is first.
5. The two-step verification PIN
If two-step verification is switched on for that number in WhatsApp, registration fails without the six-digit PIN. Either have the PIN to hand, or turn two-step off in the app before you start — in WhatsApp, under Settings → Account → Two-step verification.
Nothing tells you this is the problem at the time. The registration simply does not complete, which is why it is worth checking beforehand.
6. Your display name
The display name is what customers see at the top of the chat. Meta reviews it, and rejects names that do not match the business.
Use your business name, or your business name plus what the line is for:
Acme,Acme Support.Do not use a phone number, an email address, a URL, or a generic word on its own like "Sales" or "Store".
It should match the name on your website and your other Meta assets.
You can ask Meta to change it later, but each change goes back through review, so it is worth getting right the first time.
7. Business verification
Meta verifies that your company is a real registered business. An unverified account can still send messages, but at the lowest limits — and some capabilities stay closed until verification passes.
Start it in Meta Business Suite, under Security Centre. Have ready:
Your legal business name, exactly as it is registered.
The registered address and a phone number.
A document that proves it: certificate of incorporation, a tax document, a business licence or a utility bill in the company's name.
The name on every document has to match the name on the portfolio, character for character. A mismatch is the usual reason verification is rejected, and Meta's review can take several days — so start this before the day you planned to go live.
8. A payment method on the WhatsApp account
This one depends on the route you choose when you connect.
A direct line — the route new lines take. Meta charges you for delivering messages, so the WhatsApp account needs its own payment method. Dapta cannot add this for you: Meta requires the business itself to do it. Without a valid payment method Meta stops delivering service messages, which means your agent cannot reply. The line then shows Payment issue in Meta.
A legacy line — nothing to do. Delivery is already inside your Dapta credits and there is no Meta account to top up.
A card on your Meta account is not enough. If you already pay for ads with a card, that card is not assigned to the WhatsApp account automatically. Add the payment method from the WhatsApp account itself, under Settings → Accounts → WhatsApp accounts → Payment settings.
To check whether you already have one, open that WhatsApp account in Meta Business Suite and look at Payment method on the Summary tab. If it says No payment method found, it still needs one.
Follow the step-by-step guide with screenshots in Add a WhatsApp payment method. It takes about five minutes.
See WhatsApp billing: legacy and direct lines for rates, currencies and what changes on 1 October 2026, and what Dapta adds for the short version.
What usually goes wrong
The Meta window never opens
Pop-ups are blocked for app.dapta.ai. Allow them and try again.
No business appears in the Meta window
The Facebook account you logged in with does not administer the portfolio.
"This number is already registered"
The number is connected to WhatsApp through another platform, and has to be released there first.
Verification code never arrives
Wrong country code, or the number cannot receive SMS. Try the voice-call option.
Registration completes, then stalls
Two-step verification is on and the PIN was not supplied.
Connected, then restricted within days
The display name or the website does not match the business, or the first messages went to people who never asked for them.
The WhatsApp account says No payment method found
The card is on the portfolio or your ad accounts, but not on the WhatsApp account. See Add a WhatsApp payment method.
Messages stop with no error in Dapta
On your own Meta account: the payment method failed, or you hit your messaging limit.
Once all eight items are in place, you are ready.
Connect your Agent with WhatsAppLast updated