WhatsApp coexistence: rules and limits
How the same number works in the WhatsApp Business phone app and in XBASE: what syncs, what changes in the app, limits and how to disconnect.
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Coexistence lets you use the same number in the WhatsApp Business phone app and in XBASE at the same time. The number stays on the phone and also starts working through Meta's official API, where the team handles conversations and AI agents reply. You don't need a new SIM card, the number your customers know doesn't change and no conversations are lost.
How it works
- One number, two places. The team replies from the phone (and from the WhatsApp Web linked to it) or from XBASE, whichever is more convenient.
- New conversations in both places. Everything that happens after the connection shows up in Chatcenter: what the customer sends, what the team replies from the phone and what goes out through XBASE. Messages sent from the phone show as sent by "WhatsApp Business (phone)".
- Contacts from the app come into XBASE right after the connection.
Older conversations
Right after the connection, Meta sends the conversations you already had in the app, and they show up in Chatcenter without you having to click anything.
- Conversations from the last 6 months come in, with their original date and time.
- Old photos, audio, videos, documents and stickers show as "[image]", "[audio]", "[video]", "[document]" and "[sticker]". The file stays on the phone; new media arrives normally.
- Groups do not come in.
- The history only comes if you allowed sharing on the phone when scanning the QR code. If permission was denied or the request failed, during the first 24 hours the Import history button (in WhatsApp API → Numbers, Sync with the phone block) asks again.
- The AI agent does not reply to old messages, nothing is charged for the history and importing again does not duplicate messages.
AI agent and team on the same number
When someone on the team replies to a customer from the phone, the conversation gets the "Atendimento Humano" (human support) tag in XBASE. While the tag is there, the AI agent does not reply to that conversation. The pause ends on its own after 1 hour with no team messages from the phone in that conversation: on the customer's next message, the agent replies again. To hand it back sooner, use AI replies at the top of the conversation.
The WhatsApp Business greeting message and away message (which go out automatically, seconds after the customer's message) do not count as a team reply: they show up in the conversation and the agent replies normally. With an AI agent on the number, it is worth turning them off in the app (Business tools) so the customer does not get two welcomes.
Billing
Messages sent from the phone app remain free. Messages sent through XBASE follow Meta's pricing for the official API, like any connected number. To estimate the cost, use the WhatsApp cost calculator.
Who can use it
- The number must be in the WhatsApp Business app, version 2.24.17 or later. Regular (personal) WhatsApp does not work.
- A number that is currently only on the API (without the app) does not become coexistent directly: it has to leave the API, be activated in WhatsApp Business and be connected again. Talk to support.
What changes on the phone
Under Meta's rules, after the connection some app features stop working:
- broadcast lists;
- disappearing messages;
- view-once messages;
- live location;
- WhatsApp for Windows and for watches (WearOS), which are disconnected. WhatsApp Web keeps working.
Limits
- Up to 20 messages per second sent through XBASE on this number. For very large campaigns, it is best to use a number dedicated only to XBASE.
- Groups keep working on the phone, but do not show up in XBASE: Meta does not sync groups.
- Open the app now and then. If WhatsApp Business is not opened on the phone for about 14 days, Meta disconnects the number from XBASE.
How to disconnect and connect again
On the phone: WhatsApp Business → Settings → Account → Business Platform → Disconnect. The number goes back to working only on the phone, and the conversations already in Chatcenter stay there.
Meta takes up to about 40 minutes to notify XBASE; until then, the number still shows as active. After that, in WhatsApp API → Numbers, the card shows "Disconnected by the phone app", with the Reconnect button.
To connect again, follow the connection step-by-step guide. The connection only really comes back when the app scans the QR code.
If the new connection created a new card and the old one stayed as "Disconnected", remove the old one from the list in the card's ⋯ menu → Remove number. On an active number, the same option is called Disconnect and remove number. Conversations and history stay in Chatcenter.