# WhatsApp Business Accounts and Numbers > WhatsApp Business Accounts, phone numbers, verification and Business Portfolios - what each level is, which numbers you can connect, and where Avox shows each one for every connection. Source: https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/accounts-and-numbers Every number you connect to Avox sits inside a structure Meta owns: a **phone number**, inside a **WhatsApp Business Account (WABA)**, inside a **Business Portfolio**. This page explains each level, which numbers you can connect, and where to find each one in Avox. ## The three levels | Level | What it is | What lives here | Avox label | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Business Portfolio | Your business on Meta. | WABAs, Pages and ad accounts, the people who manage them, and business verification. | **Business ID** | | WhatsApp Business Account | Your WhatsApp presence. | One or more numbers, their message templates, and the payment method Meta bills. | **WABA ID** | | Phone number | The number customers message. | Its display name, quality rating and messaging limit. | **Phone Number ID** | All three ids are on each connection's page in the **Meta identifiers** card, next to your **Plan**. **Open in Meta** on the same page opens the number in Meta's WhatsApp Manager, where Meta's own settings for it live. > **Tip** > > Copy these ids from the **Meta identifiers** card when you work in Meta's tools or contact > [Support](https://docs.theavoxai.com/support). The Phone Number ID is the quickest way to point at one exact number. ## Connections and numbers In Avox, one connected number is one **connection**. - Each connection has its own name in Avox (the **Connection Name** you set in the wizard, which an Admin can rename later with the pencil next to it). This is only for you and your team - customers see the [display name](https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/display-names). - Each connection has its own [Message forwarding](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections/webhook-override), its own [API keys](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections/api-keys), a **Calling** switch, an **Identity-Key Check** switch and an optional **WhatsApp username** (`wa.me/`). Admins change these, and so can Managers an Admin has given the **Manage connections** or **Manage API keys** permission. See [Connections](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections#who-can-do-what). - How many numbers you can connect depends on your plan - see [Plans](https://docs.theavoxai.com/plans). The limit is one pool across every Switchboard you own, only **Connected** numbers count, and pausing a connection frees its slot. ### Connection statuses | Status | Meaning | | --- | --- | | **Connected** | The number is live. Messages, statuses and calls flow through Avox. | | **Connecting** | Signup finished on Meta's side and Avox is completing setup. This normally takes seconds. | | **Error** | Setup didn't complete, or Meta reported a problem. Connect the number again. | | **Disconnected** | The number is no longer linked. Connect it again with the [setup wizard](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections/setup). | | **Paused** | Paused by an Admin or by Avox support. Paused numbers don't send, and API keys for them return [`connection_paused`](https://docs.theavoxai.com/api/errors#connection_paused). Pausing is an Avox setting - the number stays registered with WhatsApp. | | **Paused - billing issue** | Paused because the Switchboard's subscription was canceled. It resumes by itself once billing is sorted on [Billing](https://docs.theavoxai.com/billing). | See [Connections](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections) for pausing, resuming, renaming and deleting. Deleting a connection is confirmed with a one-time code emailed to the Switchboard's Owner, and the connection is kept for 6 days before it's removed for good. ## The phone number ### Display number and Phone Number ID A number has two identities. The **display phone number** is the real number customers see and message, like `+1 555-000-1111`. The **Phone Number ID** is Meta's long internal id for it. Meta's webhook events and APIs use the Phone Number ID - you'll see it in every event's payload on [Logs](https://docs.theavoxai.com/logs). With the [Avox API](https://docs.theavoxai.com/avox-api) you never need either - your API key already knows its number. ### Which numbers can be connected The first step of the [setup wizard](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections/setup), **Number type**, asks which kind of number you're connecting. It decides which Meta signup path you get. | | Existing number (Coexistence) | New number (Bot only) | | --- | --- | --- | | **The number today** | Already active in the WhatsApp Business app. | Not used in the WhatsApp Business app. | | **After connecting** | Stays in the app and is shared with Avox - your team keeps using the app. | Dedicated to Avox - the Inbox, automations and the API. | | **How Meta checks it's yours** | Through the WhatsApp Business app. | A verification code by SMS or voice call, so it must be able to receive one. | | **Display name** | Comes from your app profile. | You give one during signup, and Meta reviews it. | | **Learn more** | [Coexistence](https://docs.theavoxai.com/coexistence-explained), [Coexistence sync](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections/coexistence) | [Embedded Signup](https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/embedded-signup) | ### Number verification During signup, Meta checks you control the number - through the WhatsApp Business app on the coexistence path, or with a code on the new-number path. A number on the platform is also protected by a six-digit **two-step verification PIN**, which Meta asks for if the number is registered again. See [Meta concepts](https://docs.theavoxai.com/meta-platform). > **Warning** > > Keep the two-step verification PIN somewhere safe, with the people who manage your Meta business. > You'll need it if the number is ever registered again. ### Health of a number [Health](https://docs.theavoxai.com/health) shows, for each connection: - **Heartbeat** - from how recently Meta sent an event for the number: **Operational** within the last 5 minutes, **Degraded** within 30 minutes, **Down** after that. A quiet number can show **Down** simply because nobody has messaged it lately. **Last active** shows the time itself. - **Check health now** - asks Meta directly whether the number can send, with a line each for the **WhatsApp Business Account**, **Phone number**, **Business verification** and **App configuration** when Meta reports on them. **View raw response** shows Meta's answer unchanged. - **Quality history** - quality events and messaging tier changes from Meta. See [Quality and limits](https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/quality-and-limits). ## The WhatsApp Business Account - **Templates belong to the WABA**, so every number in it can use the same approved templates. - **Meta bills the WABA** for the WhatsApp messages it charges for. Each number's **Meta payment status** is on [Billing](https://docs.theavoxai.com/billing#meta-charges-and-payment-problems). See [Pricing](https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp-platform). - **Meta reviews the WABA** against its policies and can restrict it. Account alerts are emailed to the Switchboard's Owner when **WhatsApp account alerts** is on in [Compliance](https://docs.theavoxai.com/compliance). The same setting covers an email to Admins if Meta's access for a number is about to expire. - On the coexistence path, Meta creates a WABA for the number during signup and names it after your WhatsApp Business app profile. ## The Business Portfolio - You pick the portfolio during [Embedded Signup](https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/embedded-signup). Use an existing one when you have it. - **Business verification** is done at this level, in Meta's settings. It's Meta's check that your business is real, and Meta uses it when deciding how far your messaging limits can grow. - The people who can manage your WhatsApp numbers on Meta are managed here too. Your Avox team is managed separately, in your [Switchboard](https://docs.theavoxai.com/switchboard). ## Example: one business, two numbers ``` Business Portfolio: Acme Retail (Business ID 1234567890) └── WhatsApp Business Account: Acme Retail (WABA ID 102290129340398) ├── +1 555-000-1111 "Acme Support" (Phone Number ID 106540352242922) │ Avox connection "Support - US", Existing number (Coexistence) └── +1 555-000-2222 "Acme Orders" (Phone Number ID 107655863001244) Avox connection "Order updates", New number (Bot only), API key for your store ``` Each connection has its own API keys, so your store's server sends order updates only from `+1 555-000-2222`, while the support team keeps chatting from the app on `+1 555-000-1111`. Both numbers share the WABA's approved templates. ## Common questions **Can I connect several numbers from the same WhatsApp Business Account?** Yes. Each number becomes its own connection in Avox, with its own name, API keys and settings, up to the number of connections your [plan](https://docs.theavoxai.com/plans) allows. **Does pausing a connection change anything on Meta's side?** No. Pausing is an Avox setting: Avox stops sending from the number and it stops counting toward your plan, while the number stays registered with WhatsApp. **Where do I find my WABA ID or Phone Number ID?** On the connection's page in Avox, in the **Meta identifiers** card. The Overview page's **Account details** card shows them too. **Is my Avox team the same as the people on my Meta business?** No. Your Avox team is the members of your [Switchboard](https://docs.theavoxai.com/switchboard). The people who can manage your numbers in Meta's tools are managed in your Business Portfolio. ## Related