Use the WhatsApp Business app and API on one number

What coexistence means

Coexistence lets one WhatsApp number work in two places at once: the WhatsApp Business app on your phone, and the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API) through a provider such as Qubox.

Meta's page Onboard WhatsApp Business app users says a business can connect its existing app account and number. After that, it can send high volumes of messages through the provider, still send one-to-one messages from the app, and WhatsApp keeps the history in sync between the two (checked November 2026). Meta says this feature is sometimes called "Coexistence".

So you can keep the app and add a team inbox, campaigns and automation on top. Everything below comes from that Meta page, checked in November 2026. Meta updates it, so read it again before you connect.

What keeps working

• You keep using the WhatsApp Business app on your phone, on the same number.
• One-to-one chats from the last 6 months and your contacts with a WhatsApp number can be synced to the API side. Messages are mirrored between the app and the API.
• Voice and video calls, catalogue, orders, status, channels, quick replies, labels and your business profile keep working in the app. The API side does not support them.
• Group chats keep working in the app, but they are not synced to the API side.
• Messages you send from the app stay free. Messages sent through the API follow Meta's API pricing.
• Linked devices are unlinked when you connect. You can link supported ones again, except WhatsApp for Windows and WhatsApp for WearOS.

What stops working or changes

• In the app, these are switched off for one-to-one chats: disappearing messages, view-once messages and live location.
• Broadcast lists are switched off. You cannot make new ones, and existing ones become read-only.
• Sending is capped at a fixed 20 messages a second on a number used in both the app and the API.
• The 24-hour window for free-form replies through the API only opens for messages that arrive after you connect. If a customer wrote just before, you can only answer them through the API with a template.
• Contacts and chat history must be synced within 24 hours of connecting. If not, the business has to go through the flow again.
• You need WhatsApp Business app version 2.24.17 or later.

For most small businesses, broadcast lists are the big one. On the API side you send offers as campaigns with approved templates instead, and only to people who said yes.

Is coexistence right for you?

It suits you if:

• your customers already know your number from the app, and you do not want to change it;
• one person still likes to answer from the phone, while others answer from a shared inbox;
• you want templates, campaigns or a chatbot without giving up the app.

Think twice if:

• you rely on broadcast lists, disappearing messages or live location on that number;
• you need to send faster than 20 messages a second.

If you are unsure, you can also connect a new number to the API and keep your app number as it is.

How to connect your app number to Qubox

Qubox uses Meta's own sign-in, called Embedded Signup, to connect numbers. When the number you pick is a WhatsApp Business app number, the coexistence steps are part of that flow.

1. In Qubox, open WhatsApp and start the connection. Meta's sign-in opens.
2. Sign in with Facebook and choose your business and WhatsApp account.
3. Choose to connect the number you use in the WhatsApp Business app, and follow the steps Meta shows, including the steps in the app on your phone.
4. You come back to Qubox. Qubox reads your account, subscribes to its messages and makes a project for it. For an app number it does not register the number again, because the app already uses it. Meta's page says to skip registration for these numbers.
5. Add a payment method to your WhatsApp account in Meta's settings. Qubox reminds you until your first message goes out.

You keep ownership of your WhatsApp account, and Meta bills message charges to it directly.

What changes day to day

Once connected:

• New customer messages show in the Qubox team inbox, where you can assign chats, leave notes and use saved replies.
• The reply box tells you when the 24-hour window is open, and switches to templates when it closes.
• You can send approved templates, run campaigns and switch on a chatbot with open hours and handover to a person.

Sources

• Onboard WhatsApp Business app users, Meta for Developers — coexistence: feature comparison, 20 messages a second, sync, 24-hour window, pricing, linked devices, app version
• Embedded Signup, Meta for Developers — Meta's sign-in flow for connecting numbers
• Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta for Developers — API message pricing

Questions