WhatsApp Business Verification Code Not Received? How to Fix It

If your WhatsApp Business verification code hasn’t arrived, wait for the timer to finish, check the number is in full international format with no leading 0, then choose “Call me” to get the code by voice call. Don’t guess codes or keep restarting, because both can lock you out for longer.

This guide covers the two codes people mean: the 6-digit registration code for the WhatsApp Business app, and the code Meta sends when you connect a number to the WhatsApp Business Platform (API). It also explains the email option, what to do on an iPhone, and the codes that are easy to mix up with these.

First, which code are you waiting for?

Several different things get called a “WhatsApp Business verification code”. Find yours first, because the fix is different for each:

The last row isn’t about your phone number at all. Meta business verification confirms that your company is real, and the code there only checks that your business email or phone works. If that’s the one stuck, the fixes below won’t help: go back to Security Centre and choose another way to confirm.

WhatsApp Business app: code not received

These steps come from WhatsApp’s Help Center pages on registering and on registration problems. Work through them in order:

1. Check the number. Pick your country from the list and enter the number without a leading 0 or any exit code. A sample Indian mobile, 098765 43210, is entered as 98765 43210 after +91.
2. Check the SIM. The SIM for that number must be active, in the phone and able to receive SMS and calls. On prepaid, make sure there’s enough balance.
3. Wait for the progress bar to finish. WhatsApp says this can take up to 10 minutes. Requesting again early doesn’t help.
4. Tap “Call me”. When the timer runs out, choose the call option and an automated voice reads the code. In some regions, if voicemail is on, the code is left as a voicemail.
5. Fix the phone. Turn off task killers and SMS blockers, and update WhatsApp Business to the latest version.
6. Try another network. Move somewhere with better coverage, or turn on Wi-Fi Calling in your phone’s settings.
7. Call your mobile operator. They can tell you whether SMS or calls to your number are being blocked or delayed.

If everything above checks out and the code still doesn’t come, waiting and trying again later is the right move.

Getting the code by email

Searching for “WhatsApp Business verification code email”? WhatsApp can send a registration code by email, but only in one situation:

• You’re re-registering an existing account, for example on a new phone, and
• you already added and verified an email address in WhatsApp before.

Then, on the Choose how to verify screen, tap Email, then Continue, and enter the 6-digit code from the email. WhatsApp says email verification isn’t available for a first registration, so a brand new number always needs SMS or a call.

• Use the newest code. If you asked more than once, only the most recent email is valid, and codes expire after a short time.
• Use the same phone. Enter the code on the device where you started.

To be ready next time, add an email now. In WhatsApp on Android, the Help Center’s path is ⋮ › Settings › Account › Email address, and you confirm it with a code.

Code not received on an iPhone

WhatsApp’s Help Center gives the same steps for iPhone and Android: no separate iPhone fix is listed. The points that matter most on an iPhone are the same ones above:

• Wait for the full timer, then use Need help getting a code? and Call me.
• Turn on Wi-Fi Calling in the phone’s settings if mobile coverage is weak where you are.
• Check the SIM for that number is active, in the phone and able to receive texts and calls.
• Update WhatsApp Business from the App Store before trying again.
• Travelling? Turn on roaming (your operator may charge for it), or WhatsApp suggests using a local number that can receive a call or SMS.

If you see “Login or registration temporarily unavailable”, that’s a temporary hold, not a phone problem. WhatsApp says starting a new attempt before the wait ends may begin a new wait instead of shortening it.

Landlines and other numbers on the Business app

The WhatsApp Business app accepts a landline you own, but the code can only come by call: tap Call me, and the call goes to the landline you’re registering. Extension numbers can’t be used. WhatsApp’s Help Center lists VoIP, toll-free, premium-rate and universal access numbers as numbers that can’t be registered in its apps, so no amount of waiting will bring a code to them there.

Those numbers can often work on the API instead. Which number works where, and how to get the call through an office line, is in using a landline or virtual number for WhatsApp Business.

API number: code not received in Meta’s signup window

When you connect a number to a platform such as Automate AI, Meta’s Embedded Signup pop-up asks you to verify it by SMS or voice call. It’s the same SMS or voice choice as Meta’s API. If the code doesn’t come:

1. Pick the right method. Meta rates SMS as not recommended for landlines, toll-free and most number types other than mobile. Choose voice call for those.
2. Allow international calls and SMS. Meta’s advice for mobiles is to enable international reception and keep the phone on the cellular network. For a VoIP number, check the provider supports international calls or SMS for codes.
3. Get past any IVR. Meta says the registration call can’t navigate an IVR menu. Switch it off while you verify, or allow-list the numbers WhatsApp’s call comes from and redirect that call to a person or a mailbox.
4. Check the number isn’t on WhatsApp. Meta won’t register a number that’s in use on WhatsApp or the Business app until it’s deleted there, unless you connect a WhatsApp Business app number with coexistence (Use my app number in Automate AI). A banned number has to be unbanned through an appeal first.
5. Don’t keep requesting. If you see “You have requested your code too many times” or “You’ve tried too many invalid verification codes”, wait for the time shown, then restart the flow and pick your existing account and number.

The full add, verify and register sequence is in phone numbers on the WhatsApp Cloud API, and the window itself is explained in what WhatsApp Embedded Signup is.

Messages Meta shows during API verification

These come from Meta’s list of Embedded Signup errors. The fixes are Meta’s, in plain words:

If the number connects but then shows pending or not registered, see WhatsApp phone number status. If registration asks for a PIN, that’s the two-step verification PIN, which Meta never sends to you.

Connecting with Automate AI

In Automate AI, open Connect WhatsApp from the dashboard or Settings › WhatsApp. There are two cards, and the code works differently for each:

So if you chose the WhatsApp Business App number card and you’re waiting for a text, look in the WhatsApp Business app instead. More on keeping the app with the API in WhatsApp coexistence.

Stuck on the code? Use Get help setting up on the Connect WhatsApp screen and our team will help you connect. Once it’s done, Settings › WhatsApp shows your number, display name, messaging limit and quality rating.