# WhatsApp Embedded Signup now asks for your number first > Meta moved Embedded Signup to the Phone Number First flow on 3 September 2026. A business enters and verifies its number before it selects any business asset. 5 min read Updated 10 Sep 2026 Meta changed the screen order in Embedded Signup, the flow that connects a business phone number to the WhatsApp Business Platform. A business now enters and verifies its phone number first, before it creates or selects any business asset. Meta published the change on 3 September 2026 and states that the rollout is in progress, so some business customers still see the previous screen order. The change reaches anyone connecting a number to the WhatsApp Business Platform, whether they run Embedded Signup themselves or onboard through a provider. Pricing, messaging limits, template rules and the assets the flow creates are untouched. ## The new screen order Meta's Embedded Signup default flow document lists eight screens for v4: - Authentication. The business signs in with its Facebook or Meta Business Suite credentials. - Authorization. The screen describes the data the business permits the provider's app to access. - Phone number addition. The business enters a new business phone number, or selects an existing one from a dropdown. Meta states this is the first piece of information Embedded Signup collects. - Phone number verification. The business chooses whether the code arrives by text message or by phone call, then submits it. - Business asset selection. The business picks an existing Meta business portfolio and WhatsApp Business account for the verified number. - Business asset creation. Meta shows this screen when no suitable asset exists, or the business chooses to create one. - Permissions review. A summary of the permissions the business grants to the provider's app. - Success. Meta confirms it created the business portfolio, the WhatsApp Business account, the phone number display profile and the business phone number. Meta gives one reason on that document: collecting the number first "surfaces phone number eligibility and verification issues earlier". A number another platform still holds now fails at the front of the flow. Treat those eight as a maximum. A provider that injects pre-filled data can pre-fill some screens and bypass many of them. ## Coexistence now starts on its own Coexistence lets a business keep the WhatsApp Business app on its phone while the same number runs on the Cloud API. A business used to reach it by picking the WhatsApp Business app option. Meta's changelog entry of 3 September 2026 states what replaced that: > Because the phone number is collected first, Embedded Signup now enters the Coexistence flow automatically when Coexistence is enabled and the number is already in use with the WhatsApp Business app, instead of the business customer selecting the WhatsApp Business app option. Both conditions have to hold. The provider has to have enabled Coexistence, and the number typed in has to be in use with the WhatsApp Business app. Authentication, authorization and phone number addition are the same as the default flow. Meta then presents seven more: - Business profile. The picture, name, phone number, category and website set in the WhatsApp Business app, for the business to confirm. - Business portfolio selection. An existing Meta business portfolio, or a new one. - Business creation. A new portfolio takes a name, an email address, a country and a website. - QR code verification. The business scans a code from inside the WhatsApp Business app. Meta sends a WhatsApp message with a link to the same code. The flow advances once the code is scanned. - Business information confirmation. The account name is read-only, and a time zone is required. - Terms and conditions review. - Coexistence success. ## What does not change Pricing does not change. The changelog entry carries no rate, no new charge and no billing field. The service message charge and the in-window utility charge that start on 1 October 2026 are a separate change, published separately. The entry moves screens and nothing else. It touches no messaging limit, no quality rating and no template rule, and it leaves the limits that come with Coexistence where they were, including the rule that disconnects linked devices when the primary phone does not open WhatsApp for approximately 14 days. What the flow produces is unchanged. On the last screen Embedded Signup still fires a message event carrying the WhatsApp Business account ID and the business phone number ID. ## What to do - Have the business phone number to hand before you open the flow. It has to receive a text message or a phone call. - Release the number from its old platform first. A held number now fails at the front, before any asset screen. - Decide on Coexistence before you type a number that is live on the WhatsApp Business app. That number now takes the Coexistence path with no prompt. - Keep the phone running the WhatsApp Business app beside you for a Coexistence setup. The QR code is scanned from inside that app. - Ask your provider which version of Embedded Signup it runs. Meta deprecates v2 on 8 October 2026 and tells integrations to move to v4 before then. - Expect either screen order while the rollout runs. A guide showing asset selection first is not wrong on that ground alone. ## Questions readers ask ### Why does Embedded Signup ask for my business phone number before anything else? Meta moved the v4 Cloud API flow to the Phone Number First flow, published on 3 September 2026. Business customers enter and verify their business phone number at the start of the flow, before they create or select business assets. Meta's reason is stated on the flow document: collecting the number first surfaces phone number eligibility and verification issues earlier. Meta verifies the number on the next screen, by a code sent as a text message or read out on a phone call. ### Why does my screen order differ from the setup guide I am following? Meta states that the rollout is in progress, so some business customers still see the previous screen order, where asset selection comes before phone number entry. Both orders are the same flow and end at the same place. Screens also differ by provider: a provider running Embedded Signup can pre-fill some screens with data it already holds, and can bypass many of them, so two businesses onboarding through two providers do not meet the same number of screens. ### Do I still select the WhatsApp Business app option to set up Coexistence? No. Meta's changelog entry of 3 September 2026 states that Embedded Signup now enters the Coexistence flow automatically when Coexistence is enabled and the number is already in use with the WhatsApp Business app, instead of the business customer selecting the WhatsApp Business app option. Because the phone number is collected first, Meta detects the number and routes the flow. Coexistence still has to be enabled by the provider for that to happen. ## Where Voltade fits Voltade connects a WhatsApp number through Meta's own Embedded Signup, so a business onboarding with Volty meets Meta's screens in whatever order Meta serves that day. Where the number is already live on the WhatsApp Business app, the connection runs through Coexistence. If the business agrees to share its messaging history, that import covers up to 6 months of one-to-one chats. Group chat imports are not included. The screens, the rollout and the verification code belong to Meta, and no provider changes them. WhatsApp Coexistence limitations sets out what Coexistence cannot do, and WhatsApp automation covers what runs on the number afterwards. ## Sources Three documents from Meta's developer documentation: - WhatsApp changelog. The quoted passage is the whole of its 3 September 2026 Embedded Signup entry. Its 8 September 2026 entry carries the v2 deprecation date. - Embedded Signup default flow. The screen lists and the stated reason. - Onboard WhatsApp Business app users. The chat history and device inactivity figures. WhatsApp · Meta · Onboarding · Coexistence ## Related Meet the AI agent that pays for its own WhatsApp replies · From 1 October, Meta will charge for WhatsApp Business Platform replies beyond the monthly free allowance. In your first year, Voltade deducts Meta's charges for replies sent by Volty AI from your monthly Volty bill. · WhatsApp pricing in Singapore from 1 October 2026 · From 1 October 2026 Meta charges Singapore businesses for two kinds of WhatsApp message that are free today: replies sent past 1,000 a month on each phone number, and utility templates sent inside a customer's 24 hour window. Both cost S$0.0205. Singapore's marketing, utility and authentication rates do not move. · WhatsApp pricing from 1 October 2026, by market · From 1 October 2026 Meta charges for WhatsApp replies past 1,000 a month per number and for in-window utility templates. What each market pays. ## Links - [WhatsApp Coexistence limitations](https://voltade.com/sg/learn/whatsapp/whatsapp-coexistence-limitations) - [WhatsApp automation](https://voltade.com/sg/whatsapp-automation) - [Meet the AI agent that pays for its own WhatsApp repliesFrom 1 October, Meta will charge for WhatsApp Business Platform replies beyond the monthly free allowance. In your first year, Voltade deducts Meta's charges for replies sent by Volty AI from your monthly Volty bill.](https://voltade.com/sg/blog/volty-replies-net-cost-zero-1-october-2026) - [WhatsApp pricing in Singapore from 1 October 2026From 1 October 2026 Meta charges Singapore businesses for two kinds of WhatsApp message that are free today: replies sent past 1,000 a month on each phone number, and utility templates sent inside a customer's 24 hour window. Both cost S$0.0205. Singapore's marketing, utility and authentication rates do not move.](https://voltade.com/sg/blog/whatsapp-pricing-singapore-october-2026) - [WhatsApp pricing from 1 October 2026, by marketFrom 1 October 2026 Meta charges for WhatsApp replies past 1,000 a month per number and for in-window utility templates. What each market pays.](https://voltade.com/sg/blog/whatsapp-replies-stop-being-free-1-october-2026)