- What This Feature Does
- Which Kind of Number Should I Connect?
- Prerequisites
- Connect Your Current Number
- Status Dots on the Phone Numbers Page
- What Peikly Copies From Your App
- Add Your WhatsApp Contacts to Peikly Contacts
- What Changes in Your WhatsApp Business App
- How It Works Day to Day
- If the Number Gets Disconnected
- Common Questions
- Errors, Messages, and Common Fixes
- Best Practices
What This Feature Does #
Lets you connect the same number you already use in the WhatsApp Business app to Peikly, instead of getting a new number. You keep your number, your chats and your app, and you keep chatting from your phone exactly as today. Peikly adds campaigns, a shared team inbox, forms and automation on top. Messages sent from either side show up in both.
This is sometimes called coexistence: the app and Peikly share one number.
Which Kind of Number Should I Connect? #
| My current WhatsApp Business number | A new number | |
|---|---|---|
| Best when | You already run your business on the WhatsApp Business app and want to keep your number and chats | You want a separate number just for Peikly, or the number is not on WhatsApp yet |
| Your phone app | Keeps working. Chat from the app or from Peikly | Not used for this number |
| Chats and contacts | Can be copied into Peikly once (see below) | Start empty |
| What you need | Your phone with the WhatsApp Business app (updated), to scan a code | The ability to receive an SMS or a call on the number |
| Where to choose it | The first card | The second card |
If you use the regular WhatsApp app (green icon, not WhatsApp Business) the number cannot be kept in the app and connected to Peikly. Either move to the WhatsApp Business app first, or use a new number.
Prerequisites #
- You are the company owner, or a CompanyAdmin the owner has allowed to connect platforms (6.7, 8.1).
- Your phone is with you, with the WhatsApp Business app installed and up to date.
- The number’s country is one WhatsApp supports for this feature.
- Your plan allows another WhatsApp number (see Phone Numbers → plan notice). A number beyond your plan’s allowance is connected but switched off automatically.
- You do not need to connect Meta first. Meta’s window connects your Meta account and your number together.
Connect Your Current Number #
- Open the choice. Use whichever applies to you:
- Meta is not connected yet (the WhatsApp menu is missing): click the plug icon in the top bar → Meta Platform setup. Under Just need WhatsApp? you will see the two cards. The Get Started wizard offers the same cards in its WhatsApp step.
- You already have a number: click WhatsApp → Phone Numbers → Add Phone Number, then choose the kind of number. Do not use the "new number" form for a number that is in your WhatsApp Business app, and never delete your WhatsApp account to release it.
- No numbers yet: the two cards appear on WhatsApp → Phone Numbers.
- Click Use my current WhatsApp Business number. (Which one is right for me? explains the difference.)
- Tick the three reminders, then click Open the Meta window:
- the app is up to date and your phone is with you;
- you can scan a code with your phone;
- you know WhatsApp on your computer or web will be signed out.
- Finish the steps in Meta’s window and keep your phone nearby. Open What will I see in the Meta window? under the reminders for the list. In short: sign in with Facebook, pick your business, choose to connect your existing WhatsApp Business app account, scan the QR code (WhatsApp Business → Settings → Linked devices), and say whether to share your contacts and chat history with Peikly. Say yes to both if you want them in Peikly. This choice is offered only once.
- Watch the progress card. It shows Connected → Importing contacts → Importing chats → Ready. Your number already works while it fills in. You can leave the page, and the import finishes in the background.
- Read "What changes in your WhatsApp Business app" (shown on the card and kept in the number’s Details). Re-link WhatsApp on your computer if you use it.
Status Dots on the Phone Numbers Page #
Every number row shows how it is connected (WhatsApp Business app + Peikly or Peikly only) and a status dot. Hover the dot for the explanation.
| Dot | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Green Connected | Working in Peikly and in your app | Nothing |
| Blue Importing | Your contacts and chats are still being copied | Nothing; the number already works |
| Red Disconnected | The number was cut off from Peikly. The row shows the reason and date. Nothing is deleted | Click Reconnect |
| Yellow Needs attention | The number works, but something did not finish (for example the one-time copy was missed). The row explains what | Read the message; Reconnect if it offers it |
Click the Details button (information icon) on a row for the connection, when it was connected, how many contacts and chats were copied, the last event, and the changes reminder.
What Peikly Copies From Your App #
Right after connecting, WhatsApp offers to share your contacts and your recent chats (up to about six months). This can only happen once, within the first 24 hours.
| What | What you see in Peikly |
|---|---|
| Chats | Appear in WhatsApp → Chat, above a divider labelled Before connecting to Peikly. They do not create notifications or unread badges, do not start automations, are not counted in your statistics, and do not open the 24-hour window. Chats with people who are already your Contacts open on that contact; others appear as new conversations named after your phone book |
| Photos, videos, voice notes, files | Shown as a placeholder: Media exists on WhatsApp app. They are not downloaded, so they do not use your storage and the import stays fast. Open them in your phone app |
| Contacts | Kept as a list in the number’s Details. They are not added to your Contacts until you choose to (see below) |
| Group chats | Not copied. They stay in the app only |
Files and messages that arrive after you connect are saved in Peikly as usual and stay in your app.
If you decline to share your history in Meta’s window, that is fine: you will see No problem: new chats will appear from now on.
Add Your WhatsApp Contacts to Peikly Contacts #
Your phone’s contacts are held as a separate list so nothing lands in your Contacts without your say-so.
- On WhatsApp → Phone Numbers, click the Details button on the number.
- Under Your WhatsApp contacts, check the count, then click Add my N WhatsApp contacts to Peikly Contacts.
- Read the reminder and confirm. These people saved your number, but sending them promotional messages still needs their consent (UAE PDPL).
What happens:
- Contacts are tagged
whatsapp-appso you can find, filter or message them as a group. - Anyone whose number is already in your Contacts is left as it is.
- If adding everyone would pass your plan’s contact limit, Peikly adds as many as fit and tells you how many were left out.
- Later changes in your app update only the contacts that came from this step. A contact you removed in the app only loses the tag. Nothing is ever deleted.
What Changes in Your WhatsApp Business App #
- Broadcast lists move to Peikly campaigns. The lists in your app become read-only.
- Disappearing messages, view-once messages and live location are turned off.
- Group chats stay in the app only.
- Link your WhatsApp on computer or web again; it was signed out.
- Open the app at least once every 2 weeks to stay connected.
- Messages you send from the app are still free.
How It Works Day to Day #
- Messages you send from the app appear in Peikly’s chat with a small Sent from WhatsApp app label.
- Messages sent from Peikly (chat, campaigns, automations) also appear on your phone.
- The 24-hour window opens only when a customer writes to you after you connected. Until then the chat shows Write a template. The customer hasn’t messaged since you connected. and only templates can be sent. Messages you sent from the app, and chats from before you connected, never open it.
- Speed: WhatsApp limits these numbers to 20 messages per second. Peikly keeps campaigns under that automatically, so large campaigns take a little longer.
- Business Profile and catalogs are managed in the app for these numbers. Their buttons in Peikly are switched off with an explanation.
- Statistics (the chart button on the row) count only what happens after you connected. The Number Health Timeline on that page records when the number was connected, disconnected or reconnected.
If the Number Gets Disconnected #
This happens if you disconnect Peikly in the app (Settings → Account → Business Platform), or WhatsApp disconnects the number (for example after a new phone, or about two weeks without opening the app).
- The row turns Disconnected and shows the reason and date.
- Campaigns running on that number pause; they show Paused: number disconnected. Sending and chat replies from the number are blocked, with a clear message.
- Your admins get a notification.
- Click Reconnect on the row (or in Details) and repeat the connection steps. Paused campaigns continue, and nothing was deleted.
To stop using the number in Peikly on purpose, click Stop using in Peikly on its row. Your WhatsApp Business app is not affected. If you also want to cut the link on the app side, open Settings → Account → Business Platform and disconnect Peikly.
Common Questions #
Will my customers notice anything? No. They keep chatting with the same number.
What does it cost? Messages you send from the app stay free. Messages sent from Peikly follow WhatsApp’s normal pricing, billed by Meta to your own payment method (9.6).
Can I do the copy of chats and contacts later? No. WhatsApp offers it once, in the first 24 hours after connecting. To get a second chance, disconnect the number in the app and connect it to Peikly again.
Why do I see a chat with no name? Chats from people who are not in your phone book show their number.
Can my team use it? Yes. Your team replies from Peikly’s Chat and you reply from the app; both sides see everything.
Which one counts as my plan’s number? A connected app number counts toward your plan’s WhatsApp number allowance like any other.
Errors, Messages, and Common Fixes #
| Message | Why It Happens | How to Fix |
|---|---|---|
| This number’s country isn’t supported yet | WhatsApp does not allow this feature for the number’s country | Use A new number instead |
| Update your WhatsApp Business app first | The app is too old | Update it from the App Store or Google Play, then try again |
| This number is already connected to another provider | Another WhatsApp provider still holds the number | Disconnect it there first, or use a different number |
| We couldn’t finish connecting | Meta’s window was closed or returned an error | Click the button in the message to try again. Nothing was changed on your phone |
| The 24 hours … have passed (contacts and chats were not copied) | The one-time copy was not requested in time, or WhatsApp refused it | Your number still works. To copy again, disconnect it in the app and connect it to Peikly again |
| Disconnected with a Reconnect button | The number was disconnected in the app or by WhatsApp | Click Reconnect and repeat the steps above |
This phone number still holds a WhatsApp account on Add Phone Number | You used the new number form for a number that is in use | If it is in your WhatsApp Business app, go back and choose Use my current WhatsApp Business number. Do not delete the account |
| This message type can’t be shown here. Check it in your WhatsApp Business app. | A message type that Peikly cannot display | Open the message in your app |
| Business Profile is greyed out | The profile of these numbers is edited in the app | Use Settings → Business tools in the app |
| Only some of my contacts were added | Duplicates were skipped, or your plan’s contact limit was reached | See the message shown after adding; upgrade your plan to add the rest |
| The number was added but is switched off | Your plan’s WhatsApp number allowance is full | Disable or remove another number, or upgrade your plan (9.1) |
| Chat history is missing | You declined to share it, or the first 24 hours passed | See the question above about doing the copy later |
Best Practices #
- Do the connection when you have a few quiet minutes and your phone in hand; the copy of contacts and chats can only happen once.
- Say yes to sharing contacts and chat history in Meta’s window if you want them in Peikly. You cannot be asked again.
- Open your WhatsApp Business app at least every two weeks.
- Ask contacts for consent before sending promotions, even to people already in your phone book.
- Use templates for the first message to anyone who has not written since you connected.
