---
title: How my WhatsApp gets connected and the difference between the two ways
updated: 2026-10-10
canonical: https://corekchat.com/ayuda/en/whatsapp-como-funciona
---

## The two ways

Your WhatsApp can be connected in two ways, and both are valid. Which one suits
you depends on how much you sell and how much you care about not depending on a
phone that has to stay on.

## Scanning a code

It works just like WhatsApp Web: you go to your account settings, a code appears
on the screen, you scan it with the phone that has your WhatsApp, and that's it.
You're serving customers within minutes.

It's how almost everyone starts. There's no paperwork, no documents to submit
and it costs nothing beyond the plan.

What you need to know before choosing it: **the phone keeps the session open and
has to stay that way.** If you log out from the phone, if the battery is dead
for a long time or if you change devices, you have to scan the code again. It's
a minute of work, but in the meantime the agent isn't serving anyone.

## The official connection

It's registering your number with WhatsApp as a business number.

What you gain: it doesn't depend on any phone being on. The agent keeps serving
customers even if the phone is off, lost or replaced. It's what operations that
can't afford downtime use.

What it costs: there's a process. WhatsApp asks for documentation about your
business and approval isn't immediate, so it's not something you'll sort out the
same afternoon you decide to use it.

And something we'd rather tell you now than on your first bill: **on this path
WhatsApp charges per conversation, according to its own price list.** That
charge is WhatsApp's, not ours; we don't add anything on top. At low volume you
barely notice it; at high volume it's worth keeping in mind.

There's a variant of this option that lets you keep using WhatsApp from your
phone as always, while the agent serves customers over the official connection.
If that matters to you, say so and we'll look into it.

## Which one suits you

If you're just starting out or want to see how this works, the code. It's done
today and doesn't commit you to anything.

If WhatsApp is the channel where most of your sales come in, and having it stop
answering for a while costs you money, the official connection.

Most people start with the code and move to the official one when the volume
justifies it. That's a perfectly normal path.

## Can I switch later?

Yes, and it's worth knowing how it works before deciding.

The same number can't be on both options at the same time. To move from the
code to the official connection, you have to release the number from one to
register it on the other, and that means closing the WhatsApp account for that
number on the phone. **Your old conversations stay on the phone; they don't
carry over.**

It's not complicated, but it's not just pressing a button either. When the time
comes, we'll walk you through it step by step.

## Can I use the number I already have?

Yes, and that's what we recommend: it's the number your customers already have
saved.

If you'd rather keep automated customer service separate from your personal
line, you can also use a new number. It's a matter of preference and how you
work.

## Can the agent send my menu?

Yes, if you turn it on. By default the agent takes the order by chatting. If you
prefer, it can send the customer a personal link to your menu, with photos, so
they put their order together there; the customer sends it back to the chat and
confirms it there. You choose this per location, and it comes turned off:
nothing changes until you turn it on.

## Will my customers notice?

They write to the same number as always, from their usual WhatsApp. On the other
end, the agent answers instead of a person, and when needed it hands the
conversation to you.

They don't have to install anything or do anything differently.