You cannot use the phone number dedicated to WhatsApp Business API (and therefore to WAX) on a standard WhatsApp account installed on your phone.
💡 Important:
WhatsApp Business API has no mobile interface.
If you add your WhatsApp Business API number to a standard or Business WhatsApp account, this will interrupt WAX's functionality.
The three types of WhatsApp accounts:
WhatsApp Personal: used to communicate with friends and family.
WhatsApp Business: designed for small merchants with simple use cases.
WhatsApp Business API: built to automate processes via WhatsApp, used in professional solutions like WAX.
A phone number can only be linked to one WhatsApp entity at a time. To ensure WAX works properly, make sure your number stays exclusively linked to WhatsApp Business API.
🔍 How to check if your number is already in use on WhatsApp
Before connecting a number to WhatsApp Business API, you can check in a few seconds whether it's already linked to a WhatsApp account.
Step 1: Add the number to your contacts
Save the number you want to use for WhatsApp Business API in your phone's contact list, just like any other contact.
Step 2: Open WhatsApp and search for this contact
Two scenarios are possible:
✅ Case 1: you see "Invite to WhatsApp"
This means the number is not linked to any WhatsApp account. You can safely use it for your WhatsApp Business API account.
⚠️ Case 2: you can send a message directly to the contact
This means the number is already linked to an active WhatsApp account (Personal or Business).
In this case:
First check internally whether someone on your team is already using this number on WhatsApp. If so, coordinate with them before taking any action.
If the existing account is no longer needed or must be freed up, you can force the number to disconnect by following these steps:
Install the WhatsApp Business app on a phone.
Create a WhatsApp Business account using this number.
Once the account is created, delete it in the settings. This deletion forces the number to disconnect from any existing WhatsApp account and makes it available again.
⚠️ Warning: deleting a WhatsApp account is permanent and results in the loss of conversations and data associated with that account. Make sure you've properly checked internal use of the number before proceeding.
🔗 Don't have an available number yet?
If you don't have an active number that isn't already linked to a WhatsApp account, check out the article Having a phone number that is not linked to a WhatsApp account and is active which covers solutions for quickly obtaining a dedicated number (a number provided by WAX or an eSIM).