WhatsApp Coexistence connects your WhatsApp Business App to respond.io via the WhatsApp API using the same phone number. Continue using the WhatsApp Business App while accessing automation, CRM syncing, reporting, and other respond.io features. This setup suits teams that want to adopt API-based workflows gradually without giving up the app they already use.
Before you begin
WhatsApp Coexistence is available only to businesses actively using the WhatsApp Business App, based on Meta's review of account age and messaging quality.
WhatsApp Business App version 2.24.17 or later. How to update WhatsApp.
Phone number added to your Meta Business Manager. How to add a phone number to Meta Business Manager.
Important: Open the WhatsApp Business App at least once every 14 days to keep your Channel connection active. If the app is not opened within that window, the connection may be removed and affect message deliverability.
Coexistence capabilities
Connect your WhatsApp Business App number to respond.io without giving up the app
Send and receive messages from both platforms
View messages sent from the app on respond.io as echo messages
Access respond.io features like automation, CRM integration, team visibility, and more
Note: Contact and message history syncing is currently not supported. Want this feature? Upvote to show your interest.
Setting up WhatsApp Coexistence
Add phone number to your Meta Business Manager
Go to Meta Business Suite > Settings.
Select WhatsApp Accounts from the side menu.
Click Add > Link a WhatsApp Business account.
Enter your phone number.
Connect Channel
Go to Settings > Channels > Add Channel on respond.io, then select WhatsApp.
Click the link to connect a WhatsApp Business App.
Click Connect With Facebook, log in with your Facebook account, and complete the embedded sign-up flow.
Complete the setup. Your WhatsApp Business App will remain usable, and the respond.io Channel will be active.
After setup:
Continue using your WhatsApp Business App
Send and receive messages on respond.io using the same number
View messages sent from the app as echo messages
Understanding echo messages
Messages sent from the WhatsApp Business App appear on respond.io as echo messages. These provide visibility into team conversations and allow contact data syncing or automation follow-up.
Behavior of echo messages:
Will not open a service window
Will not trigger automation
Will not start a new conversation
Will create a Contact if one doesn't exist
Echo messages that create a new Contact — or are sent to an existing Contact — count toward your Monthly Active Contacts (MAC) usage on respond.io.
Edited messages
When a Contact edits a message previously sent on WhatsApp, the updated message appears in respond.io with an “Edited” label. This lets your team see that the Contact modified their original message while maintaining full conversation visibility.
Behavior of edited messages:
Will not open a service window
Will not trigger automation
Will not start a new conversation
Will create a Contact if one doesn't exist
Feature changes after connecting
Once the WhatsApp Business App is connected to respond.io via WhatsApp Coexistence, some native WhatsApp Business App features will no longer be available. These changes are enforced by WhatsApp and apply to all integrations with third-party platforms.
Feature | Change |
|---|---|
Broadcast Lists | No longer available for creating or sending from the WhatsApp Business App. Existing lists become read-only. Use the Broadcast module on respond.io instead. Note: Broadcasts sent via the WhatsApp Coexistence Channel are subject to a rate limit of 20 messages per second, as enforced by Meta. Exceeding this rate may cause delivery errors such as “rate limit hit.” |
Message Edit/Revoke | No longer supported in individual (1:1) chats. |
Disappearing Messages | Automatically turned off for all individual (1:1) chats. |
View Once Messages | Disabled for all individual (1:1) chats. |
Live Location Sharing | Disabled for all individual (1:1) chats. |
For more information, refer to Meta's official documentation.
Known limitations
Feature | Supported |
|---|---|
Message and contact history import | No |
Group chats, calls, and status updates | No |
View past chats on WhatsApp Business App | Yes |
CRM and automation on respond.io | Yes |
Companion devices | Must be reconnected after setup |
Message rate limit (Coexistence) | Capped at 20 messages per second (per Meta's policy) |
FAQ and troubleshooting
Can I keep using the WhatsApp Business App?
Yes. Continue using the app while gaining access to API-based tools on respond.io.
Will I be charged if I send messages via my WhatsApp Business App after connecting to respond.io?
Sending messages from the WhatsApp Business App does not incur any WhatsApp fees — those messages remain free. However, echo messages that create a new Contact or are sent to an existing Contact count toward your Monthly Active Contacts (MAC) usage on respond.io, which may affect your plan billing.
Will my team lose access to chat history?
No. Chat history remains available in the WhatsApp Business App. Respond.io will not display past conversations during Phase 1.
What happens when someone sends a message from the Business App?
Respond.io will display it as an echo message. It won't open a service window or trigger automation.
Do messages from the Business App count toward messaging limits?
No. Messages sent from the WhatsApp Business App do not count toward WhatsApp API messaging limits, and there are no WhatsApp fees for those messages. Note that echo messages may still count toward your respond.io Monthly Active Contacts (MAC) usage — see the question above.
Do I need to keep the WhatsApp Business App active?
Yes. You must open the WhatsApp Business App at least once every 14 days to keep your connection active. If you don't, the Channel connection may be removed, which can disrupt your message deliverability on respond.io. If the connection is lost, you will need to re-connect your phone number as a new WhatsApp Coexistence Channel.
Will I lose my Meta Verified (Blue Tick) badge when onboarding to WhatsApp Coexistence?
No. You will not lose your Meta Verified badge when onboarding your WhatsApp Business App to the WhatsApp Business API through WhatsApp Coexistence. Meta now supports transferring your Meta Verified subscription when you connect your number via WhatsApp Coexistence.
Why do I see the error “The WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) you’re trying to connect already has an existing payment method” when setting up WhatsApp Coexistence?
This is a limitation set by Meta. Credit lines for WhatsApp Coexistence accounts cannot be removed or migrated to another provider. Due to this limitation, the Coexistence credit line cannot be migrated or reassigned to a different BSP under the same WABA ID — a new WABA ID is required.
If you previously had a Coexistence setup with a different BSP and want to switch to respond.io, follow these steps:
Back up your business customers' messages.
Disconnect the business account from the WhatsApp Business App.
Reconnect the business account in the WhatsApp Business App.
Start the Coexistence onboarding flow on respond.io.
For more information, refer to Meta's documentation on switching partners and credit lines.
Why are messages sent from WhatsApp for Windows not appearing in respond.io when using a coexistence number?
This can happen due to WhatsApp Coexistence limitations or connection issues.
Messages sent from unsupported companion devices, such as WhatsApp for Windows or WhatsApp for WearOS, do not trigger WhatsApp webhooks. As a result, these messages may appear in the WhatsApp Business App but will not show in respond.io.
In addition, messages may stop appearing if:
The WhatsApp Business App is not opened on the primary phone for more than 14 days, causing linked devices to be logged out, or
The respond.io partner connection to your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) has been removed or disrupted
What you can do
Confirm that the message is visible on the primary WhatsApp Business App device, but not appearing in respond.io.
Go to WhatsApp Business Manager and check that respond.io is listed as an active connected partner for your WhatsApp Business Account.
If respond.io is not listed, delete the existing WhatsApp Coexistence Channel in respond.io and reconnect it using the Embedded Signup (ES) flow.
WhatsApp Coexistence and linked device behavior are enforced by WhatsApp (Meta). Refer to Meta documentation for more details.
How many devices can I link to my WhatsApp Coexistence account, and are all devices supported?
Businesses can link up to four WhatsApp companion clients (“linked devices”) to their WhatsApp Business App account. Most companion clients are supported for Coexistence, except for WhatsApp for Windows and WhatsApp for WearOS, which are not compatible.
Why am I seeing multiple unsupported messages and the error, “Message received during sync and not available on respond.io. View in WhatsApp Business App.”?
This can happen due to Meta limitations, such as:
Unsupported companion device
According to the Meta doc, if your Contact uses an unsupported WhatsApp companion device (such as certain linked or secondary devices), messages sent from that device may not trigger webhook notifications.
Since no webhook event is sent to respond.io, the message cannot be mirrored on the platform and will appear as an unsupported message.
Message sync after inactivity
If a Contact messages your Coexistence number after a long period of inactivity, it may require time to refresh.
During this refresh period, some webhook events may appear as unsupported messages.
Unsupported message type
The Contact sends a message type that is not supported by the Cloud API. These messages cannot be relayed through the webhook and appear as unsupported.
First-time message via a Click-to-WhatsApp ad
When a Contact messages a Coexistence business number for the first time — especially after tapping a Click-to-WhatsApp ad — the initial message may not be delivered through the webhook and will appear as unsupported.
Edited messages from Contacts
When a Contact edits a previously sent message, the edited version may also appear as an unsupported message on respond.io.
What you can do
For unsupported companion device: View the full message directly in your primary WhatsApp Business App device.
For message sync after inactivity: Wait for the Coexistence number to refresh. Once sync is complete, subsequent messages should arrive as expected.
For unsupported message type, first-time ad messages, and edited messages: View the original message directly in the WhatsApp Business App. These are Meta-enforced limitations with no workaround on respond.io.
Why was my companion device unlinked?
This can happen because all companion devices will be automatically unlinked when onboarding to or offboarding from the WhatsApp Coex Channel.
What you can do
After onboarding or offboarding WhatsApp Coexistence, wait up to 24 hours for WhatsApp to sync your data and message history.
Re-link your companion device.
Note: Re-linking your companion device may not be possible until the sync has finished.
Why can't I use my phone number for WhatsApp Coexistence onboarding?
This happens when your phone number is currently not eligible for WhatsApp Coexistence.
What you can do
Continue using your phone number in WhatsApp and maintain good quality messages until your phone number becomes eligible.
If you need to use WhatsApp Coexistence now, try onboarding with a different phone number.
Alternatively, use your phone number to connect WhatsApp Business Platform (API) to respond.io instead.
How do I offboard WhatsApp Coexistence from respond.io?
Here's how to offboard WhatsApp Coexistence from respond.io:
Option 1: From WhatsApp Business App
Go to Account Settings.
Select Business Platform.
Remove or disconnect respond.io as a partner.
Option 2: From Meta Business Manager
Go to Meta Business Settings.
Select WhatsApp Accounts.
Open WhatsApp Manager.
Click Manage.
Remove respond.io as partner.
What happens after I offboard WhatsApp Coexistence?
Important: Offboarding removes the partner connection. It does not delete your WhatsApp Business account or phone number.
