# Connect WhatsApp > Linking your business number to ONPAD through Meta's Embedded Signup, screen by screen. > Source: https://onpad.in/docs/connect-whatsapp This is the step with real prerequisites. Read [Before you start](https://onpad.in/docs/before-you-start) first — almost every failure here comes from the number not being ready. Connecting goes through **Meta's own Embedded Signup**. ONPAD opens Meta's window; you complete it with your Facebook login. Your credentials go to Meta, never to ONPAD. ## Start Open **Connect WhatsApp** from the dashboard checklist, the banner at the top of the dashboard, or the setup page directly. You will be asked to choose how to connect. The standard option is **Cloud API number** — connect a new number, or move an existing number to the API. Choose it unless you have been told otherwise. > **Use a number that can receive the Meta verification code right now.** You will be asked for a code within a minute or two, and the window times out. ## The three screens Meta's window opens on top of ONPAD. It has three stages. ### 1. Meta login Sign in to Facebook. This is your personal login — your profile is not shown to customers and ONPAD does not see your password. If you are already signed in to Facebook in that browser, this is one click. ### 2. Select business Choose or create: - Your **Meta Business Portfolio** (Business Manager). Create one here if you do not have one. - Your **WhatsApp Business Account (WABA)** — the account that will own the number. Create one if this is your first. - The **phone number** to connect, and the **display name** customers will see. Display names have rules. Meta rejects names that are generic, misleading, or just a category. Use your actual business name. ### 3. Register and connect Meta sends a verification code to the number by SMS or voice call. Enter it. ONPAD then completes Cloud API registration, which includes securely creating a unique **two-step verification PIN** for the number. You do not need to invent or remember this PIN — it is generated and stored encrypted. When the window closes, ONPAD shows a connected card with your verified business name, the number, and the provider. That is the whole connection. ## After connecting Check the dashboard — the WhatsApp banner should be gone and the first checklist step ticked. Two things worth doing now: 1. **Fill in your WhatsApp business profile** in Settings: about, description, address, email, website, category, profile picture. This is what customers see when they open your business on WhatsApp. 2. **Send yourself a test message** before importing your real list. See [Your first message](https://onpad.in/docs/your-first-message). ## If the number shows "Pending" in Meta This happens when Meta accepted the number but Cloud API registration did not finish — usually because the window was closed early or the verification step timed out. On the setup page, open **Number still shows Pending in Meta?** and choose **Register number**. ONPAD creates the two-step verification PIN and completes registration with Meta. If it still does not complete, the number usually needs to be removed from the WABA in Meta Business Manager and connected again. ## Common problems **"This number is already registered on WhatsApp."** The number is still active on WhatsApp Messenger or the WhatsApp Business app. Delete the WhatsApp account on that number from inside the app, wait a few minutes, then try again. Exporting chats first, if you need them — they do not come across. **The verification code never arrives.** Check the number can receive SMS from international senders. Try the voice call option instead. Some business landlines and VoIP numbers block automated SMS but accept the call. **The Meta window closed by itself.** Start again from the beginning. A half-finished signup does not leave anything broken behind, though the number may show Pending — see above. **"Could not reach Meta."** A network problem between the server and Meta. Wait a minute and try again. If it persists, it is on our side, not yours — email [support@onpad.in](mailto:support@onpad.in). **You do not see your business in the list.** You are signed in to Facebook as a person without access to that Business Portfolio. Sign out and sign in as an account that is an admin of it. **The display name was rejected.** Meta requires the name to relate to the business. "Sunrise Store" works; "Best Offers Daily" usually does not. Pick a name matching your registered business and try again. ## What ONPAD stores The access token Meta issues is stored **encrypted**. ONPAD uses it to send and receive on your behalf and nothing else. Your Facebook password is never seen by ONPAD at any point. The WhatsApp Business Account stays in your own Business Manager. If you leave ONPAD, you keep it and the number. ## Next [Your first template](https://onpad.in/docs/your-first-template) — the message Meta has to approve before you can write to anybody first.