WhatsApp number troubleshooting

Start on Numbers. The number's status and its error point to the section that applies. Check connection status explains each status.

Meta's signup window shows most setup errors. The sections quote Meta's messages and the code after #, so match the one Meta shows you.

For a number you also use in the WhatsApp Business app, see WhatsApp coexistence troubleshooting.

The verification code never arrives

A number allocated to your workspace shows Failed with verification_code_not_received.

Bird requests and receives Meta's verification code for you, so you don't need a code of your own. This failure means the code did not reach the number during the attempt.

1. Open the number and select Try again when it becomes available. You don't need to disconnect the number first. Why pre-verification fails explains when the button appears.
2. If the next attempt also fails, keep the number in your workspace and contact support with the number and the attempt times. For some numbers, support can ask Meta to change how it delivers the code.

Avoid disconnecting the number and adding it again to get a fresh code. Repeated code requests can lead Meta to stop sending codes to the number for a while, which shows as verification_rate_limited.

Meta's signup finishes but the number is missing from Bird

You see one of these:

• Meta's window stays on "Linking phone number with Bird B.V." or asks you to contact Bird B.V. to resolve the phone number connection issue.
• Bird shows "We couldn't complete signup. Try again in a desktop browser." or "That flow did not add a number. Start it again."
• WhatsApp Manager lists the number, but Numbers in Bird does not.

Meta completes its part of the signup on its own side. Bird adds the number when Meta's window returns the result to the Bird page that opened it. A phone or in-app browser, a blocked pop-up, a refreshed Bird page, or a window closed before Meta's last button can stop that result from reaching Bird.

1. Use a computer with Chrome or Safari, and allow pop-ups for bird.com.
2. On Numbers, choose New number and start the same setup again.
3. In Meta's window, choose your existing business portfolio, WhatsApp Business Account, and number. Don't create new ones. For a number bought from Bird, choose the entry marked Verified.
4. Keep the Bird page open, and don't refresh it while Meta's window is open.
5. On Meta's last screen, select Continue to feature setup. Closing the window instead can leave Bird without the result.

The number then appears as Pending and changes to Connected when Meta finishes registering it.

Meta says the number belongs to another business

Meta's window shows "This phone number belongs to another business. Enter a different phone number." (#2655035).

1. If you or an AI agent ran bird whatsapp numbers precheck on this number before connecting it as your own, contact support before you try again. That check is for numbers you plan to buy from Bird, and it can make Meta report your own number as belonging to another business.
2. Otherwise, a WhatsApp Business Account in another business portfolio can still hold the number. An admin of that portfolio opens the number in WhatsApp Manager under Phone numbers, selects Turn off two-step verification on its Two-step verification tab so the number can register again without its PIN, and then deletes it. If another provider set it up, ask them to remove it. Deleting the number stops all messaging from that account.

Bird can't see or release a number held in a business portfolio that Bird is not connected to.

Meta says the number is already registered to a WhatsApp account

As soon as you type the number, Meta shows "This phone number is already registered to a WhatsApp account. To use this number, disconnect it from the existing account." (#2494064).

The number is registered in WhatsApp, the WhatsApp Business app, or another WhatsApp Business Account.

• If the number runs in the WhatsApp Business app and you want to keep using the app, connect it with coexistence: in the New number dialog, choose Keep using the Business app.
• If the number runs in WhatsApp, the personal app, coexistence doesn't accept it. Move it to the WhatsApp Business app first to keep using an app, as WhatsApp coexistence troubleshooting describes.
• To connect the number without an app, delete its account in the app first. Deleting a WhatsApp account erases its chat history in the app.
• If another WhatsApp Business Account holds the number, an admin of that portfolio opens it in WhatsApp Manager under Phone numbers, selects Turn off two-step verification on its Two-step verification tab, and then deletes it.

Meta notes that the number can take up to three minutes to become available again.

Meta asks you to confirm it's you

Meta shows "To keep your account safe, confirm that it's you first." or says you are accessing the business from a new device or location. On the business asset step, Meta can also list restrictions on the selected business portfolio and keep Next disabled.

These are Meta's security checks on your Facebook account or business portfolio. Bird does not set or see them.

1. In the same browser, open Meta Business Suite and complete any verification Meta asks for.
2. Sign in with a Facebook account that has full control of the business portfolio, on a device you have used with that account before.
3. Start the setup again from Bird.

If Meta shows no prompt and the check stays in place, ask another admin with full control of the portfolio to run the setup, or contact Meta's Business Help Center.

The number needs verifying again

The number shows Failed with number_verification_required, or Meta reports error 133006: the phone number needs to be verified before registering. Meta connected the number without confirming it with a verification code.

1. Disconnect the number in Bird.
2. In WhatsApp Manager, open the number under Phone numbers and verify it if Meta offers that. For a landline, choose a phone call. If Meta does not offer verification, an admin of the portfolio selects Turn off two-step verification on the number's Two-step verification tab, and then deletes the number there.
3. Wait a few minutes, then connect the number again: choose New number, then Set up a number and I have my own number.

Sends fail with 131031 because the business account is locked

Messages fail with Meta error 131031 "Business account has been locked", and WhatsApp Manager can show a banner such as "Bird B.V. needs to verify your business before you can start sending messages." Incoming messages keep arriving.

A newly connected WhatsApp Business Account often gets this restriction while Meta reviews the account. Meta also uses 131031 for an account restricted or disabled for a policy violation. The banner names Bird, but Bird does not verify businesses for Meta and cannot lift the restriction.

1. Open Business Support Home, select the business portfolio, and open the WhatsApp account's issue.
2. If a review is already requested, wait for Meta's decision. Sending resumes after Meta approves the account.
3. If no review is requested, select Request review.
4. If the issue asks for business verification, complete business verification for the portfolio that owns the account.

Keep Bird connected as a partner on the account while you wait, so Bird can keep reading the account's state. Account restrictions and appeals covers the review process.

On a coexistence number, messages you send from the WhatsApp Business app still work while messages sent through Bird fail with 131031.

Messages to some countries fail with 130497

Messages fail with Meta error 130497: the WhatsApp Business Account is restricted from messaging users in certain countries.

Meta's error reference points to the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy for this restriction, and Bird cannot lift it. Open Business Support Home to read the restriction and request a review if Meta offers one.

An approved display name hasn't changed

Meta emailed that your new display name is approved, but recipients and WhatsApp Manager still show the old name. Bird can also show that WhatsApp is reviewing the name.

Meta applies an approved name after the number is registered again, which Bird does when Meta reports the approval. If the old name stays in place after Meta's approval email, contact support with the number. Support can register it again to apply the name.

The Name you enter when you add a number is a label inside Bird. It is separate from the display name recipients see, which you change under Business profile.

Incoming messages don't appear in Conversations

A connected number receives messages, but they don't show in Conversations.

Open the number's Settings and turn on Enable conversations. Conversations shows messages that arrive after you turn it on. Enable conversations covers the setting.

Moving a number to another provider

You want to use the number with another provider, or Meta says you can't add a payment method because you're using a shared credit line. The WhatsApp Business Account lists a credit line from Bird B.V.

Bird shares a credit line with your WhatsApp Business Account to pay Meta for messages sent through Bird. The credit line stays on the account after you stop using Bird.

1. Disconnect the number from Bird:
   • For a number connected with standard setup, disconnect it in Bird. Bird also deregisters it with WhatsApp.
   • For a coexistence number, disconnect Bird B.V. in the WhatsApp Business app under Settings > Account > Business Platform.
2. Contact support with your WhatsApp Business Account ID and ask for Bird's credit line to be removed.
3. Connect the number with your new provider.

Meta can block removing Bird as a partner while the account has an outstanding balance.

Next steps

• WhatsApp numbers: statuses, number details, and the business account.
• Connect your WhatsApp number: each screen of Meta's signup.
• WhatsApp coexistence troubleshooting: problems specific to WhatsApp Business app numbers.
• Account restrictions and appeals: Meta's review process.