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
- 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.
- 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 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.