Connect or buy your WhatsApp line: the 5 ways, step by step

There isn't one single button: how you connect depends on where your number lives today. There are 5 ways. First find your case in the list below, then jump to that section and follow its steps in order — each one tells you exactly what to click and what you'll see.

Which is your case?

• My number already sends through the WhatsApp API, inside my Business Manager (it came from another provider, or you set it up yourself) → Way 1.
• I use this number in the WhatsApp Business app on a phone and want to keep using it there too (coexistence) → Way 2.
• It's a brand-new number that never had WhatsApp → Way 3.
• I don't have a number: I'll buy one in MB Suite and use it on my phone too → Way 4.
• I don't have a number: I'll buy one in MB Suite and use it only from the CRM → Way 5.

Way 1 — My number is already in my Business Manager

For a number that already sends through the WhatsApp API inside one of your Business Manager's accounts.

• Go to Settings > Integrations, find WhatsApp Business and click Connect. A Meta popup opens: sign in with your Facebook account and choose your Business Manager. This connects your Meta account to MB Suite.
• Go to Settings > Data Sources, on the WhatsApp card use Add number, and pick the option "I want to use in MB Suite a number I already have in my Business Manager." Since you already authorized in step 1, it takes you straight to a list of all the numbers in your Business Manager. Tick the ones you want and save.
• Go to CRM > Settings > Acquisition > Phones & WhatsApp and use Add WhatsApp. The number you ticked appears there — add it, and now it's activated as a WhatsApp Cloud API line, ready to send and receive. (Choosing in Data Sources and activating in Phones & WhatsApp are two separate steps for this way.)

Way 2 — My number is in the WhatsApp Business app on a phone (coexistence)

The most common case: you already handle this number in the app and want to keep using it on the phone AND in MB Suite at the same time.

• In Settings > Integrations, connect WhatsApp Business (this step is required to unlock Data Sources, even though you'll use another popup next).
• Go to Settings > Data Sources, on the WhatsApp card use Add number, and pick the option "I use WhatsApp Business on a phone and want to use it in MB Suite too." A Meta popup opens (a different one).
• In that popup, use the number you already have as WhatsApp Business and choose the Business Manager that holds it. Meta asks you to verify it by SMS or call and to enter a PIN — without disconnecting the app on your phone.
• When the popup finishes, the line is created on its own: it shows up in CRM > Settings > Acquisition > Phones & WhatsApp as active, in Coexistence mode. You don't have to add anything. The number also appears in Data Sources with a coexistence badge.

Way 3 — A brand-new number that never had WhatsApp

For a clean number you want to register as WhatsApp for the first time. It ends up dedicated to the API, with no phone app.

• In Settings > Integrations, connect WhatsApp Business (required to unlock Data Sources, same as Way 2).
• Go to Settings > Data Sources, on the WhatsApp card use Add number, and pick "I want to register a new number as WhatsApp in my Business Manager." A Meta popup opens; choose "Create a WhatsApp Business account", enter your number and a display name, and verify it by SMS or call (for landlines, use the call option).
• When the popup finishes, the number is in Data Sources. Go to CRM > Settings > Acquisition > Phones & WhatsApp, use Add WhatsApp, and add it — that's when the number gets registered (with a PIN) and the line is created. Ready to send and receive.

Way 4 — Buy a number in MB Suite and use it on your phone too (coexistence)

You don't have a number and want a new one, but you also want to answer it from a phone. This starts from CRM > Phones, not from Data Sources.

• In CRM > Phones, use Buy number: choose the country, activate it with prepaid balance. It becomes a voice + SMS line.
• Make sure you're a receiver of that phone line: Meta's verification call only rings in the MB Suite dialer of the line's receivers who are on the CRM team. The guide that opens in the next step tells you whether it will ring for you and, if you're not a receiver, lets you add yourself in one click with Add me as a receiver — do it before you ask for the call.
• On that line, open the menu and choose Convert to WhatsApp line (API). In the fork, pick "I want to create a WhatsApp Business account on my phone and also use it in MB Suite." A short coexistence guide opens.
• Follow the guide: install WhatsApp Business on your phone, register the number there (when the app asks you to verify it, choose the call option — Meta calls the line, you answer in the MB Suite dialer and a voice reads you the code, which you type into the app; keep MB Suite open while you verify), and then press Connect with coexistence.
• The Meta popup opens with an extra option, "Connect a WhatsApp Business app" — choose it and connect the number you just set up. When it finishes, the line is created on its own as active / Coexistence, and your voice keeps working (the number still receives calls and SMS through Phones).

Way 5 — Buy a number in MB Suite and use it only from the CRM (dedicated API)

Same start as Way 4 (a number you buy), but you want it dedicated to the CRM — no phone app. It's the default for a new WhatsApp operation line.

• In CRM > Phones, use Buy number and activate it with prepaid balance (voice + SMS line).
• Set yourself as a receiver of that phone line: in the line's menu choose Configure line, add yourself under Who answers and press Save. Meta's verification call only rings for the line's receivers, in the MB Suite dialer — keep MB Suite open while you verify.
• On that line, open the menu and choose Convert to WhatsApp line (API). In the fork, pick "I want to use WhatsApp only in MB Suite" (marked Recommended).
• The Meta popup opens with the number already filled in. Choose your Business Manager and then "Create a WhatsApp Business account". When Meta asks to verify, choose the call option — you answer in the MB Suite dialer and enter the code.
• When it finishes, the line is created on its own in CRM > Settings > Acquisition > Phones & WhatsApp as WhatsApp, dedicated API, active. You don't have to add anything.

How many numbers and Meta businesses fit in a workspace?

Every WhatsApp number belongs to a Meta business (the Business Manager that owns its WhatsApp account), and MB Suite keeps a separate connection for each business. That's why adding a number from another business doesn't disconnect the ones you already have. You see which business each number belongs to under the number in Settings > Data Sources (Meta business: …) and under the line's name in CRM > Settings > Acquisition > Phones & WhatsApp.

• Up to 3 Meta businesses per workspace or Account. It's a fixed limit: once you reach it, you can keep adding numbers from those 3 businesses, but not from a fourth one.
• Up to 20 WhatsApp numbers per workspace or Account, by default. It counts every number in the organization, whether it's only in Data Sources or already works as a line, in any module. If you need more, write to support: the MB Suite team can raise it.
• The workspace and each Account count separately, and reconnecting a number that's already in the organization never counts against these limits.

If a line ever shows No access (for example, because its business lost its connection with MB Suite), an owner or admin reconnects only that number from the line's menu ⋮ with Reconnect this number; your other numbers aren't touched. Step by step in My WhatsApp doesn't send or receive messages.

After it's connected: two optional layers

Once the line exists (in any of the 5 ways), two things are optional and live in their own place:

• Receivers — from the line's menu in CRM > Settings > Acquisition > Phones & WhatsApp, with Edit receivers, choose who gets the alert when a message comes into that line. A brand-new line starts with none (it shows "No receivers" until you set them). In the same panel, Sales reps who work this line decides which sales reps see it in Messages when Sales rep scope is on: Every sales rep works this line, which is how it starts, or Only selected sales reps work this line. It's edited by a Manager or a CRM Admin.
• Lead source — if you want incoming messages to create prospects on their own, create the source in CRM > Settings > Sources with Add source > WhatsApp, picking that line. Without this, the line still works for chatting, but new inquiries don't enter the funnel automatically.

Next step: before writing to someone outside the 24-hour window, get your WhatsApp templates: create, categories, and Meta approval ready.