> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.chatsyncs.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Connect WhatsApp Account Manually (Alternative)
> How to connect a WhatsApp number to ChatSyncs using the manual / Alternative path instead of one-click embedded signup — getting the Business Account ID and permanent access token from Meta, wiring the webhook back into the Meta app, and finishing the connection in ChatSyncs. Use when a customer's embedded signup fails or they need full visibility into each credential.
If the one-click [embedded signup](/learn/connect-whatsapp-embedded) 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.
## Where this starts and ends: the Alternative panel
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:
**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**.
## Step 1: Set up the Meta app and get the Business Account ID
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.
Go to `developers.facebook.com` and sign in, or create an account.
Click **My Apps → Create App**, then give it an **App name** and **App contact email**.
On the Use Cases step, select **Connect with customers through WhatsApp**.
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.
Confirm the app details, use case, and business portfolio on the Overview step, then click
**Create app**.
From the app dashboard, open **Customize the Connect with customers through WhatsApp use
case**.
Under **Quickstart**, click **Start using the API** — this opens the API Setup screen.
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.)
This is the same setup process covered in full in
[Meta Developer Account Setup](/meta-api/concepts/meta-developer-account-setup), including the
test number's 5-recipient and 90-day limits.
## 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.)
Go to `business.facebook.com`, open your business portfolio, and click into its
**Settings**.
Go to **Users → System Users**. A new portfolio starts with no system users.
Click **Add**, give it a name, and set its role to **Admin**.
A new system user has no access to anything yet.
Use **Assign assets** to give it **full control** over both the Meta app —
— and the WhatsApp Business Account. Skipping either one causes the token to fail for that
asset later.
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`).
Copy the token and store it securely — Meta only shows it once. This is the token you'll
paste into the ChatSyncs Alternative panel.
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.
This is the same setup process covered in full in
[Access Tokens (Temporary vs Permanent)](/meta-api/concepts/access-tokens), including why a
temporary token isn't safe to use here.
## Step 3: Paste the webhook details back into the Meta app
In the Meta app, go to **WhatsApp → Configuration**.
Paste the **Webhook Callback URL** copied from the ChatSyncs Alternative panel.
Paste the **Verify Token** copied from the same panel.
Click **Verify and save**. This is what lets Meta deliver incoming messages to ChatSyncs.
## Step 4: Add the legal URLs to the Meta app
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.
## 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.
## 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](/meta-api/concepts/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.
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:
**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**.
## Step 1: Set up the Meta app and get the Business Account ID
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.
Use **Assign assets** to give it **full control** over both the Meta app —
— and the WhatsApp Business Account. Skipping either one causes the token to fail for that
asset later.
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.
## 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**.