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If the one-click embedded signup won’t work for a customer’s account, they can connect manually instead. This path takes more steps but gives full visibility into each credential, because the customer creates their own Meta app and feeds the resulting values into ChatSyncs by hand.

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Where this starts and ends: the Alternative panel

ChatSyncs Connect Account page listing available connections — WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Webchat, Google, Shopify, WooCommerce — with the Connect WhatsApp button highlighted
From Connect Account in the left navigation, click Connect WhatsApp to open the Business Accounts screen, which shows both connection paths side by side — Embedded Onboarding (One Click), the recommended path, and Create Your Own API Connection, the Alternative path covered here:
ChatSyncs Business Accounts screen with Embedded Onboarding (One Click) and Create Your Own API Connection cards side by side, the Alternative card expanded showing Business Account ID, Access Token, Webhook Callback URL, Verify Token, Privacy Policy URL, and Terms of Service URL fields
Connect Account → Connect WhatsApp → Connect WhatsApp Business (Alternative) is both where this starts and where it ends:
  • At the start, copy the Webhook Callback URL, Verify Token, Privacy Policy URL, and Terms of Service URL shown here — they get pasted into the Meta app.
  • At the end, come back to this same panel to paste in the WhatsApp Business Account ID and the Access Token, then click Connect.

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Step 1: Set up the Meta app and get the Business Account ID

Video walkthrough: creating the business portfolio and generating the permanent access token in Meta's current dashboard.

This video walks through the same two things covered in Steps 1 and 2 below — creating the business portfolio and generating the permanent access token — using Meta’s current dashboard, so it’s worth watching alongside the screenshots if anything looks different on your screen. Here you’ll create a Meta developer app and pick the WhatsApp option. Think of the business portfolio as the central hub everything else connects through — your Meta app, your WhatsApp number, and later an Instagram or ad account would all attach to this same portfolio, and without it those pieces can’t talk to each other. By the end of this step, you’ll have the WhatsApp Business Account ID that the Alternative panel is asking for.
1

Sign in to the developer portal

Go to developers.facebook.com and sign in, or create an account.
My Apps screen with Create App button
2

Create an app

Click My Apps → Create App, then give it an App name and App contact email.
Create an app — App name and App contact email fields
3

Select the WhatsApp use case

On the Use Cases step, select Connect with customers through WhatsApp.
Add use cases — Connect with customers through WhatsApp selected
4

Connect a business portfolio

The app must be attached to a business portfolio. If you don’t have one yet, create one on the spot with a portfolio name and your contact info.
Create a business portfolio modal with portfolio name and contact info fields
5

Review and create the app

Confirm the app details, use case, and business portfolio on the Overview step, then click Create app.
Overview step showing app details, use case, business portfolio, and Create app button
6

Customize the WhatsApp use case

From the app dashboard, open Customize the Connect with customers through WhatsApp use case.
App dashboard with Customize the Connect with customers through WhatsApp use case link
7

Start using the API

Under Quickstart, click Start using the API — this opens the API Setup screen.
Quickstart screen with Start using the API button
8

Copy the Business Account ID

Under “Select phone numbers” you’ll see a free test number Meta already provided. On the same screen, copy the WhatsApp Business Account ID (WABA ID) shown next to it — that’s the value the Alternative panel needs. (The Phone Number ID shown here is for direct API calls, not needed for this connection.)
Meta app API Setup screen showing the test number, Phone Number ID, and WhatsApp Business Account ID
This is the same setup process covered in full in Meta Developer Account Setup, including the test number’s 5-recipient and 90-day limits.

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Step 2: Generate the permanent access token

In this step, you’ll create something Meta calls a system user inside Meta Business Manager, give that system user full access to both your app and your WhatsApp Business Account, and then generate a permanent token from it — this is the second value the Alternative panel is asking for. Make sure you use this permanent token, not the temporary token that Meta’s API Setup screen also shows you — that temporary token quietly stops working after about an hour, and your ChatSyncs connection will break without any warning when it does. (See the video above for the same walkthrough in Meta’s current dashboard.)
1

Open Business Settings

Go to business.facebook.com, open your business portfolio, and click into its Settings.
Meta Business Suite — opening a business portfolio's Settings
2

Open System Users

Go to Users → System Users. A new portfolio starts with no system users.
System Users screen with no system users added yet
3

Create a system user

Click Add, give it a name, and set its role to Admin.
Create system user modal with name field and Admin role
4

Assign assets to the system user

A new system user has no access to anything yet.
System user created with no assets assigned
Use Assign assets to give it full control over both the Meta app —
Assign app full control to system user
— and the WhatsApp Business Account. Skipping either one causes the token to fail for that asset later.
Assign WhatsApp Business Account full control to system user
5

Generate the token

Click Generate token on that system user, select the app, and assign the required permissions (whatsapp_business_messaging, whatsapp_business_management, whatsapp_business_manage_events).
Generate token — selecting WhatsApp business permissions
6

Save it immediately

Copy the token and store it securely — Meta only shows it once. This is the token you’ll paste into the ChatSyncs Alternative panel.
Meta Business Manager token created screen with the permanent access token shown once
7

Verify it (optional)

Paste the token into the Meta Access Token Debugger (developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/accesstoken/) to confirm it’s valid — a permanent token shows “Never” as its expiry.
Meta Access Token Debugger showing a token's expiry and permissions
This is the same setup process covered in full in Access Tokens (Temporary vs Permanent), including why a temporary token isn’t safe to use here.

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Step 3: Paste the webhook details back into the Meta app

Meta app Configuration tab with Callback URL and Verify token fields filled in from the ChatSyncs panel
1

Open Configuration

In the Meta app, go to WhatsApp → Configuration.
2

Paste the Webhook Callback URL

Paste the Webhook Callback URL copied from the ChatSyncs Alternative panel.
3

Paste the Verify Token

Paste the Verify Token copied from the same panel.
4

Verify and save

Click Verify and save. This is what lets Meta deliver incoming messages to ChatSyncs.
Meta app Basic Settings with Privacy Policy URL and Terms of Service URL fields
In the Meta app’s App Settings → Basic, paste the Privacy Policy URL and Terms of Service URL copied from the ChatSyncs Alternative panel, then save. Meta won’t let the app go live without both.

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Step 5: Finish the connection in ChatSyncs

Back in the ChatSyncs Alternative panel, paste in the WhatsApp Business Account ID (Step 1) and the Access Token (Step 2), then click Connect.
Once a number is connected to the API, it can no longer be used in the standard WhatsApp app on a phone. Use a dedicated business number.

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Frequently asked

Use Connect WhatsApp Business (Alternative). It takes more steps because the customer creates their own Meta app and system-user token, but it gives full visibility into every credential involved.
The WhatsApp Business Account ID (from API Setup in the Meta app) and a permanent access token (from a system user in Meta Business Manager). Both come from the Meta side before you can click Connect.
Usually the webhook step was skipped or the system user was never assigned full control over the app and the WhatsApp account. Check Access Tokens for the asset-assignment step.
  • Using the temporary token instead of the permanent one — the Alternative panel needs the permanent system-user token. A temporary token expires in ~1 hour and the connection will silently break.
  • Skipping the webhook paste-back — without pasting the Webhook Callback URL and Verify Token into the Meta app’s Configuration tab, ChatSyncs never receives incoming messages even though the account shows as connected.