# Meta Embedded Signup, Explained

> What Meta's Embedded Signup window does when you connect a WhatsApp number to Avox, screen by screen, and how to fix it when it doesn't finish.

Source: https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/embedded-signup

**Embedded Signup** is Meta's own sign-up window. It opens from Avox, runs on Meta's site, and
connects your WhatsApp number to Avox in one sitting. You sign in with your Facebook account,
choose the business and the number, and approve what Avox can do. Avox never sees your Facebook
password.

You reach it from the fourth and last step of the connection wizard, **Connect with Meta** (the
card is titled **Review & connect with Meta**), by clicking **Continue to Meta Embedded Signup**.
The three steps before it - **Number type**, **Webhook setup** and **Test endpoint** - are covered
on [Setup](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections/setup) and [Getting started](https://docs.theavoxai.com/getting-started).

## Before you start

- **An active plan with a free number slot.** See [Plans](https://docs.theavoxai.com/plans). When every slot your plan
  allows is in use, [Connections](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections) says so with
  [AVX-3009](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3009), and **Connect another number** waits until a slot is free.
  Pausing a connection frees its slot. Avox checks the plan again before the new connection is
  saved.
- **Admin access on Meta.** You need to be an admin of the Business Portfolio and the WhatsApp
  Business Account you're connecting.
- **Pop-ups allowed** for the Avox dashboard in your browser.
- **The dashboard open at its normal `https://` address.** Meta only opens its window on a secure
  page.
- **For coexistence:** the phone with your WhatsApp Business app nearby, signed in.
- **For a new number:** a number that can receive Meta's verification code by SMS or voice call.

Any member of the Switchboard, Admin or Manager, can run the wizard. Changing a connection
afterwards (renaming it, message forwarding, API keys, calling, pausing or deleting it) is for
Admins - see [Members and roles](https://docs.theavoxai.com/switchboard/members).

> **Tip**
>
> Your details from **Webhook setup** are saved as you go. If you leave before Meta's window
> finishes, Connections shows a **Setup in progress** card - click **Resume setup** to pick up at
> **Test endpoint** with nothing to retype.

## What happens, step by step

The wizard's **What to expect during setup** panel shows each of these screens with a picture, on
two tabs - **Desktop** for the popup and **Mobile** for the phone - and a status chip (**Waiting**,
**Connecting**, **Error**, **Connected**) that follows the real popup.

### On your computer

**1. Start the Meta onboarding**

Meta shows an overview of what connecting to Avox enables. Click **Continue**.

**2. Pick your number, or enter it as a new number**

Open the dropdown. If your WhatsApp Business app number is listed with a "Registered" badge, select it. Otherwise choose "Enter a new phone number" and type it - "new" is Meta's wording and means new to the platform, not to you. For an app number, Meta detects it and switches to the coexistence path itself.

**3. Confirm your WhatsApp Business app profile**

Seeing your app's business profile means you're on the coexistence path. If Meta asks for an SMS or voice code instead, stop and go back - that path moves the number away from the app.

**4. Select the business portfolio**

Choose the portfolio that should own the WhatsApp Business Account. Use an existing one when you can - Meta often restricts brand-new portfolios created inside the popup.

**5. Scan the import QR code**

Open WhatsApp Business on your phone and scan the code. Meta also sends the same link to the number as a WhatsApp message. Leave the popup open - **Next** unlocks once you finish on your phone.

**6. Confirm your WhatsApp Business account**

Meta creates a WhatsApp Business Account for the number. Its name comes from your app profile. Pick your time zone and click **Next**.

**7. Review what you share with Avox**

Check the business portfolio and WhatsApp Business Account listed are the right ones, then click **Confirm**. These permissions let Avox register the connection and receive your number's messages.

**8. Wait while Meta connects the account**

Keep the popup open. Only click **Retry** if Meta shows an error.

**9. Click Finish**

Meta confirms the account is connected to Avox. A Meta payment method isn't needed to finish - add one later in WhatsApp Manager.

On the **New number (Bot only)** path, Meta verifies the number by code instead of showing an app
profile, and there's no QR or phone step.

### On your phone (coexistence only)

**1. Meta sends a WhatsApp prompt**

A verified message from Facebook Business shows a "Connect to the Business Platform" card. Tap **Connect**.

**2. Review the coexistence explanation**

Meta explains how the app keeps working alongside the platform, how chat history sharing works, and how your one-to-one chats are handled.

**3. Choose chat history sharing**

Share all chats, or start new threads with current customers. This is a one-time choice, so pick the one you want to keep.

**4. Confirm connection success**

Avox shows as the connected Business Platform. You can manage this later in the app's settings.

Then go back to the popup on your computer - **Next** unlocks there on its own.

## What Avox does when you click Finish

**1. Confirms the account**

Avox checks with Meta that the number really belongs to the WhatsApp Business Account you just approved, and which Business Portfolio owns that account.

**2. Checks your plan again**

Avox makes sure a number slot is still free on your plan.

**3. Saves the connection**

The number is saved with the **Connection Name**, **Webhook URL** and **Verify Token** you entered in **Webhook setup**, and shows as **Connecting**. Meta's access for the number is stored encrypted and never shown.

**4. Subscribes to the account's events**

Avox asks Meta to send this account's webhook events. When that succeeds, the connection becomes **Connected**.

**5. Tells your team**

The Switchboard's Admins get a "number connected" email.

You're taken back to **Connections**, and the connection's page shows its **Meta identifiers** -
**WABA ID**, **Phone Number ID** and **Business ID**. See
[Accounts and numbers](https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/accounts-and-numbers).

Once the number is connected, you can set a `wa.me/<username>` link for it, turn on
[Message forwarding](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections/webhook-override), create [API keys](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections/api-keys) and
switch on [Calling](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections/calling), all from the connection's page.

> **Note**
>
> Continuing to Meta Embedded Signup confirms you're authorised to connect this WhatsApp Business
> Account and that you agree to Avox's Terms of Service and acknowledge the Privacy Policy, as the
> wizard says next to the button.

## If it doesn't finish

When the popup doesn't complete, the wizard shows **The connection didn't go through** with the
reason, the Avox code [AVX-3002](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3002), and - when Meta reported one - "Meta
error" with Meta's own number. A **Try this** list made for that reason follows, then **Retry
connection** and **View troubleshooting docs**.

| What the wizard says | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| "You closed the Meta signup window before the connection finished." | Click **Retry connection** and keep the popup open until it closes on its own. On coexistence, make sure you tapped **Connect** on your phone too. |
| Meta's own message, word for word (an error inside the popup) | Read it carefully. If it mentions a phone number or a code, that number couldn't be verified - try again with a real, reachable number. Look up the "Meta error" number in Meta's WhatsApp Embedded Signup error reference. |
| "Meta's popup never responded - most likely it hit an error of its own and didn't hand back control." | Look for a leftover popup or tab from the attempt, close it, and retry. |
| "Meta blocks its signup popup from opening on a plain http:// page." | Open the dashboard at its normal `https://` address and retry. |
| "Meta confirmed the signup, but Avox couldn't finish setting up the connection on our end." | Check a number slot is free on your plan (see [AVX-3009](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3009)), that you picked a number inside the WhatsApp Business Account you approved, then retry. If it repeats, contact [Support](https://docs.theavoxai.com/support) with the error code shown. |

The general **Try this** tips:

- Don't close the Meta popup until it redirects you back on its own.
- Make sure pop-ups aren't blocked for this site in your browser.
- Confirm you're an admin on the WhatsApp Business Account you're connecting.
- If your phone showed a coexistence prompt, make sure you tapped **Connect** there too.

A popup that doesn't finish doesn't create a connection, so it's safe to close it and retry. If a
connection shows **Error**, setup didn't finish on Meta's side - connect the number again. A
connection that stays in **Connecting** for a day triggers a reminder email when **Setup
reminders** is on in [Compliance](https://docs.theavoxai.com/compliance).

## Related

- [Meta concepts](https://docs.theavoxai.com/meta-platform) - the terms the popup uses.
- [Coexistence](https://docs.theavoxai.com/coexistence-explained) - the app-plus-platform path in detail.
- [Connect WhatsApp walkthrough](https://docs.theavoxai.com/walkthrough/connect-whatsapp) - a click-through version of the
  wizard.
- [Meta error codes](https://docs.theavoxai.com/meta-error-codes)