Palby AI Agent
Updated 8 min read

WhatsApp Business on a landline: the Call me code, step by step

Your customers already know your office number, so it makes sense to put WhatsApp on it. The WhatsApp Business app accepts a landline number, with one extra step: the code comes by phone call instead of SMS. Here's how to register it, what to do when the call doesn't come, which numbers WhatsApp refuses, and how a team can answer it.

By Leo Tan, founder of Palby AI Agent

Can you use WhatsApp Business with a landline?

Yes. The WhatsApp Business app lets you register a landline number, and it's a sensible choice when the number on your shop sign, website and invoices is a fixed line. Customers who already have that number saved can message you straight away.

WhatsApp's Business registration page says you can register "a mobile phone or a landline (fixed) number that you own", and that you must be able to receive phone calls or SMS on it. The difference from a mobile is small. A landline can't get the SMS, so you tap Call me, WhatsApp rings the line, and an automated voice reads out the code.

It has to be the Business app. WhatsApp's page on registering a number lists landlines among the numbers the regular WhatsApp app won't take, and says "landlines are only supported on the WhatsApp Business app". Still choosing between the free app and the paid Platform? Read what is WhatsApp Business? first.

Before you start

Get these ready first, because registration stalls on them:

  • A smartphone for the account. The landline is the number, but the app runs on a phone. A spare phone that stays in the office works well.
  • Someone next to the landline to answer the call with the code.
  • A number without an extension. WhatsApp's page says "Landline extension numbers can't be used to complete the registration process."
  • A supported number. The same page lists VoIP numbers, toll-free numbers, universal access numbers, numbers that charge callers extra, and "personal numbers" as unsupported. If your office line runs over the internet, check with your phone provider what kind of number it is before you try.
  • Call blocking switched off on the landline for the day. WhatsApp's page says you must have all call-blocking settings, apps and task-killers disabled.
  • A working internet connection on the phone, through mobile data or Wi-Fi.

Register the landline, step by step

The steps come from WhatsApp's help centre. Android and iPhone word a few buttons differently.

  1. Download the WhatsApp Business app on the phone you'll use for the account.
  2. Open it and agree to the terms.
  3. When it asks for your number, choose your country from the list. The country code fills in by itself.
  4. Type the landline number without the 0 in front.
  5. Tap Done. WhatsApp tries to send an SMS, which the landline won't receive.
  6. Wait for the timer. Once it runs out, a Call me option appears. Tap it.
  7. Answer the landline. An automated voice reads out a six-digit code.
  8. Type the code into the app.
  9. Fill in your business profile: name, category, hours, address and website.

The same page carries three warnings. Guess the code and you'll be locked out for a while. Never share the six-digit code with anyone; a caller who says they're from WhatsApp is still anyone. Depending on your carrier, the SMS and the call can cost you.

Then switch on two-step verification. WhatsApp's two-step verification page says you can turn it on or off, change the password, update your email address and review your trusted devices from your account settings. On a shared office number, that password is what stops someone re-registering the number on another phone.

If the code call doesn't come

Most failed landline registrations come down to the line itself. Work through this in order:

  1. Check the number. Country picked from the list, no 0 in front, no extension.
  2. Let the timer run out. WhatsApp's page says the wait before you can retry can take up to 10 minutes, and the Call me option only appears once it's done.
  3. Make sure the call can reach a person. Switch off call blocking, and any divert to voicemail, a mobile or a "press 1" menu, for the few minutes it takes.
  4. Ask for the call again from the same screen, and pick up when it rings.
  5. Still nothing? WhatsApp suggests turning the phone off for 30 seconds, then uninstalling and reinstalling the latest WhatsApp Business.

Don't wait for the code to come another way. WhatsApp's page says it can't send your registration code through other methods, for security reasons, and only sends a landline's code to that landline.

Virtual numbers and VoIP lines

Plenty of businesses now have a "virtual" number from a provider instead of a copper landline, and plenty of providers sell numbers "for WhatsApp". WhatsApp's rule fits in a line. It has to be a number you own that receives calls or SMS, and VoIP numbers can't be registered.

So the question to ask a provider isn't whether their number "works with WhatsApp". Ask what kind of number it is. A number that's VoIP, toll-free or a universal access number falls on WhatsApp's unsupported list, no matter what the advert says. A number that rings a real line or a SIM, that you own and can answer, meets the rule.

NumberOn WhatsApp Business?How the code arrives
Office landline you ownYesA phone call, with Call me
Mobile number you ownYesSMS, or a call if you ask
Landline with an extensionNo, use the main numberNot sent to extensions
VoIP, toll-free or universal access numberNoNot sent

What changes once it's a landline

The app works the same as on a mobile, while the setup around it changes in five ways.

  • The phone becomes the office phone. It holds the account, so it needs to stay charged, on Wi-Fi and somewhere safe. If it's lost, you'll need the landline again to re-register on a new phone.
  • Re-registering needs someone at the desk, because every move to a new phone sends the code by call to the landline.
  • A customer who taps the call button in WhatsApp reaches the app on the office phone, and your desk phone won't ring. Say in your profile whether you take WhatsApp calls.
  • Customers see a fixed number they recognise, which helps them trust a message from it. It also means your personal mobile stays personal.
  • Your old chats don't move. A landline account starts empty, so tell regular customers the number now works on WhatsApp.

A quick way to tell everyone is a click-to-chat link on your website and email signature. The WhatsApp link generator makes one, with a QR code for the counter or your printed quotes.

One number, one app

A number can sit on WhatsApp or on WhatsApp Business, not both. WhatsApp's page on moving between the apps says "You can't use the same phone number with each app simultaneously, but it is possible to move between them." Its registration page adds that if you want both apps, you need a different number for each. With a landline that's simple. The landline goes on Business, and your mobile keeps your personal WhatsApp.

Running it for a team

A landline number is usually a shared number, so more than one person needs to answer it. The Business app lets you link other devices. Its linked devices page says "You can use up to four linked devices and one phone at a time", which means the office phone plus up to four computers or tablets.

That page also lists the catches. Linked devices "will log out if your phone is unused for over 14 days", WhatsApp disconnects a linked device after 30 days of inactivity, and broadcast lists can't be created or viewed on linked devices. So the office phone has to stay in use, and broadcasts go out from the phone itself.

If four isn't enough, Meta Verified raises it. WhatsApp's Business app features page says a Meta Verified business can link "up to 10 devices and agents" to its account.

A few habits keep a shared number tidy:

  • One owner per chat. Agree who takes which kind of message, and use labels so nobody answers the same customer twice.
  • Initials on replies, or a rule on who replies, so customers know who they're talking to.
  • A greeting and an away message, so enquiries out of hours get an answer that says when a person will reply. Answering leads at night covers replying first when nobody's at the desk.
  • A daily check of anything unanswered before everyone goes home.

Past four people, or when you need to see who's waiting and hand chats between people, a shared team inbox helps. ActivityTracker's team inbox links the number as a device, so it uses one of your linked-device slots, and it isn't one of WhatsApp's own apps. WhatsApp's linked devices page warns that "linking your device through unofficial apps or websites may put your account at risk." So ActivityTracker spaces out the messages your number starts on its own, and stops them if WhatsApp warns the number. WhatsApp Business multiple users compares every way a team can share one number, the paid Platform included.

Made-up example: a family-run plumbing supplies shop with a landline on its van, website and invoices.

Monday: the owner registers the landline on a spare phone kept at the counter. The SMS never arrives, so after the timer she taps Call me. The first call goes to the shop's voicemail, so she switches the divert off, asks again, answers the landline and types the code. She sets two-step verification and adds the shop's hours.

Tuesday: she links the counter computer and the office laptop. The link generator gives her a QR code, which goes on the counter and the bottom of every invoice.

Week 1: 18 customers message the landline on WhatsApp, mostly photos of broken parts asking "do you have this?". Two staff answer from the computers. Twice, both reply to the same customer.

Week 2: they agree the counter answers stock questions and the office answers delivery questions, with a label for each, and there are no more duplicate replies. The owner checks the phone each evening for anything unanswered.

Once the office number is on WhatsApp, someone has to answer it. ActivityTracker's team inbox shows every number you use in one place, who's waiting, lets you assign a chat to a teammate and lands every chat on the client's record.

See the WhatsApp team inbox

If a landline isn't right for you

A landline works for most small shops and offices. It's less suited if nobody sits near the landline, if your line is VoIP and WhatsApp won't accept it, or if you need many agents on one number. Then a separate mobile number for the business is simpler, and teams sending at volume look at the WhatsApp Business Platform through a provider.

What to do first

  1. Check your landline has no extension and isn't VoIP, toll-free, a universal access number or a number that charges callers extra.
  2. Set aside a phone for the account and put someone by the landline.
  3. Switch off call blocking and any divert, then register with Call me.
  4. Switch on two-step verification, fill in the profile and set a greeting and away message.
  5. Link the computers your team will answer from, and agree who owns which chats.

Keep reading

Questions people ask

Sources

Put WhatsApp on the number they know.

Then make sure someone answers it.

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