Troubleshooting

The WhatsApp QR code won’t connect

Updated

Most of the time the code simply expired before it was scanned: click Generate new and scan it with your phone already open at WhatsApp › Linked devices › Link a device. If the QR code doesn’t show up at all, check that your email is confirmed, that you’re a manager and that your plan still has a free number.

Step by step

  1. Get your phone ready first

    On the phone that has the number, open WhatsApp › Linked devices › Link a device. Only then open the QR code in the dashboard.

  2. Open the instance’s QR code

    In Settings › Channels, click Connect on the instance’s row (or create one with New instance › Create and generate QR).

  3. Scan the code

    Point the camera at the QR code. The code refreshes on its own while the screen waits; if you see “QR code expired”, click Generate new.

  4. Use the pairing code if the camera can’t scan it

    When the screen shows “Or use the pairing code:”, copy the code and use the option to link with a phone number in WhatsApp on your phone.

What each message on the screen means

On the screenWhat happenedWhat to do
“QR code expired” — “The code wasn’t scanned in time. Generate a new one.”The screen waits about 2 minutes for a scan. After that, or if new codes stop coming in, it stops.Click Generate new with your phone already on the scanning screen.
“Reconnecting…”Fetching the code failed because of a network hiccup. The screen retries on its own, waiting a little longer each time.Wait a few seconds. If it doesn’t come back, close it and click Connect again.
“Couldn’t get the QR code” and Try againThe connection service didn’t return the code.Click Try again. If it happens again, wait a few minutes and retry.
“An instance with this name already exists”Instance names are unique across all of TraceClose, not just your account.Use a more specific name, like exampleco-sales-1.
“Plan limit reached”Your plan already has all of its numbers in use.See plan limit reached.
“Confirm your email to connect”Until your email is confirmed, the New instance button is hidden.See confirmation email didn’t arrive.

Instance names accept only lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens, from 3 to 40 characters. Only owners and managers can create, connect and disconnect numbers: for salespeople, Settings › Channels shows “Managers only”.

Problems on the phone’s side

  • The camera won’t focus or the screen is too dim. Turn up your computer’s brightness and move the phone back a bit. The QR code always has a white background, even in dark mode.
  • The phone has no internet. Scanning needs the phone to be online. Test it by opening any chat first.
  • Too many linked devices. WhatsApp limits how many devices can be linked to the same number. Remove an old one under Linked devices and try again.
  • Wrong number. Scan the QR code with the phone for the number you want to handle conversations on. If another number scans it, the instance becomes that other number.

Example

Example Co. created the instance sales-1 and got “An instance with this name already exists”. They changed it to exampleco-sales-1 and clicked Create and generate QR, but took a while to find the phone and saw “QR code expired”. With the phone already on the scanning screen, they clicked Generate new and the screen showed “Connected” within seconds; the Status column changed to Connected and the number showed up in the Number column.

Didn’t work? See…

Frequently asked questions

How long is the QR code valid?

The WhatsApp code changes every few seconds, and the screen fetches the new one on its own. If nothing is scanned in about 2 minutes, it shows “QR code expired” and the Generate new button.

Can I connect without scanning the QR code?

Yes, when the screen shows “Or use the pairing code:”: enter that code in WhatsApp on your phone, using the option to link with a phone number.

See the path from ad to sale in your WhatsApp.

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