WhatsApp Cloud Coexistence: history, contacts and echoes

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Conversa Labs

Last updated on Oct 13, 2026

Overview

Coexistence lets a number connected via the WhatsApp Cloud API keep being used also in the official WhatsApp Business app on the phone, at the same time the platform handles conversations. It's the "coexistence" between the app and the API: what happens on one side shows up on the other.

In practice, Coexistence does three things:

Syncs the history of existing conversations from the app into the platform.
Syncs the contacts from the app into the platform.
Reflects echoes — messages an agent sent from the official app also appear in the platform's conversation, keeping a complete, single history.

Activation unlinks companion devices. When you activate coexistence, Meta unlinks every companion device from WhatsApp Business — including a WhatsApp Web inbox that was already paired on that number. So always connect Coexistence first, wait for Meta's synchronization (it can take up to ~24 hours), and only then connect/pair WhatsApp Web. Re-pairing loses nothing: the same inbox is reused — phone number, conversations, contacts and history all stay.

Prerequisites

A WhatsApp Cloud inbox already connected (via Embedded Signup).
The number must be in coexistence mode enabled on Meta for that number.
Coexistence is a WhatsApp Cloud feature — it does not apply to WhatsApp Web (QR).
In some environments, syncing must be enabled by the operator.

Step by step

Connect (or confirm) the WhatsApp Cloud inbox via Embedded Signup.
Make sure the number has coexistence enabled on Meta.
After connecting, the platform starts syncing the history of recent conversations.
The contacts from the official app are imported into the contacts base.
From then on, messages sent from the official app appear automatically in the conversations (echoes), and everything the team sends from the platform also reaches the app.

Settings & options

Inbox photo

The business profile photo fills an empty Cloud inbox avatar after signup, during periodic health checks, or when viewing the profile in Account Health. In a unified hybrid inbox, the visible identity is the Cloud inbox. An existing inbox photo is preserved. Synchronization runs in the background; if Meta provides no image or the download fails, the channel icon remains.

History: the sync brings the recent conversations available in the app; very old messages may not come, depending on what Meta makes available.
Contacts: the import creates/updates contacts from the WhatsApp account's address book. Anyone who hides the phone number behind a username arrives identified by their business-scoped WhatsApp ID (BSUID), in the history and in the address book. The same contact is not duplicated once they start chatting. The username is stored on the contact's WhatsApp profile and never replaces their name. A contact that arrived without a name and was named after the ID shows the profile name as soon as WhatsApp sends it.
Echoes: messages sent from the phone are marked as outgoing in the conversation, preserving the operation's authorship.
Media: synced attachments are also available in the conversation.

Use cases

Keep handling urgent cases from the phone without losing the record in the platform.
Migrate from a 100% official-app operation to the platform without losing the history.
Keep a hybrid team (some in the app, some in the platform) with a unified history.

Tips, limits & best practices

The history sync is one-time (it happens at connection/activation) — new messages arrive in real time after that.
For day-to-day work, prefer handling from the platform to benefit from assignment, automations and reports.
Since history depends on what Meta makes available, treat it as best effort, not a complete backup.
Meta's initial synchronization can take up to ~24 hours; only consider the inbox ready once it is receiving and sending normally.
Open the WhatsApp Business app at least once every ~14 days on the number's phone. Without that, coexistence loses health and may stop syncing.

Troubleshooting

History didn't appear: confirm coexistence is enabled on Meta for the number and wait for the sync to finish.
App messages don't appear (echoes): check that the number is truly in coexistence and the Cloud inbox is connected.
Missing contacts: the import reflects the address book available at sync time; new contacts appear as they message you.
The send failed with "WhatsApp replaced their ID": when a contact changes their phone number or username, Meta replaces their business-scoped WhatsApp ID (BSUID), and the old ID stops receiving messages. The platform links the new ID to the same contact as soon as Meta reports the change. If the new ID already belongs to another contact, or the report has not arrived yet, the platform refuses the send before it goes out, and nothing is sent. Wait for the contact's next message, or merge the duplicate contact, then try again.
The WhatsApp Web inbox went to "logged out" after activating coexistence: this is the expected behavior — activation unlinks every companion device. Generate a new QR on the WhatsApp Web inbox's connection screen and pair again; nothing is lost.
The Cloud inbox disappeared from the pairing list after reconnecting through Meta: fixed. Reconnecting through Embedded Signup now records the same coexistence marker that creation already recorded; it used to be lost on reauthorization and the inbox stopped being offered for pairing. Any inbox in that state repairs itself on its next reconnection — nothing needs to be recreated.
The pairing list does not show the inbox I expected: the list now offers only what pairing will actually accept. A plain Cloud API inbox (hand-pasted token, no WhatsApp Business app on the phone) is not coexistence and therefore does not appear — previously it appeared and the click ended in an unexplained error.
Connection order: connect Coexistence (Cloud) first, wait for Meta synchronization to finish, and only then connect the WhatsApp Web inbox on the same number. If you do it the other way round, the Web inbox shows a notice that the number already has another inbox — it is only a notice, and it disappears once you pair the two.
The Cloud inbox asked to be reconnected and the reason shows in Account Health: Meta reported that it disconnected the number from the API. The possible reasons are: the WhatsApp Business app was not opened on the phone for about 14 days; the API connection had no activity for about 30 days; the number was registered again on another device; the client changed the number; the number was registered on the regular WhatsApp app; or the account was disabled or deleted. Fix the cause on the phone and reconnect the inbox with Embedded Signup. Administrators also receive an email with the reason.
"Meta is reconnecting the API": the number moved to another device or was registered again. While Meta reconnects, which is automatic and usually takes a few minutes, messages are neither sent nor received through the API. Meanwhile, campaigns of the inbox are paused and resume by themselves, sending only to the contacts still waiting; scheduled messages wait; and a hybrid inbox sends through WhatsApp Web. A reply sent through the API meanwhile fails at once with that reason, without reaching WhatsApp; send it again after the reconnection. The same applies to the satisfaction survey, which is marked as failed, to the call permission request and to reactions: the reaction is refused and does not show as sent in the conversation. When Meta finishes, the inbox comes back by itself.
Account Health shows an account restriction: Meta restricted the WhatsApp account, and the event lists each restriction and when it ends. While the business cannot start conversations, campaigns are paused; resume them after the date shown. A policy violation also appears there.
Account Health says Meta sends account or template events to another address: the app's callback URL in the Meta App Dashboard points somewhere else, so account changes and template statuses do not reach the platform. Ask your operations team to point it to the platform's /webhooks/whatsapp address.
The history arrived before the inbox finished connecting: the platform keeps the history, contacts and echoes Meta sends during the connection for up to 24 hours and imports them as soon as the inbox is ready.
After the reconnection, WhatsApp Web stopped: Meta only reconnects the API; WhatsApp Web and the other linked devices do not come back by themselves. On a hybrid inbox, the platform warns you by email and in Account Health: generate a new QR code on the WhatsApp Web inbox and pair it again.