The WhatsApp Trigger is not executing when I send a WhatsApp message

Describe the problem/error/question

What is the error message (if any)?

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Share the output returned by the last node

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Hi @Tanzeela_Tauseef
Have you followed the credential setup like this:

Your workflow is not published, @Tanzeela_Tauseef

Hi @Tanzeela_Tauseef :waving_hand:

first do what kajooleng said, then check the webhook as Anshul mentioned and finally confirm that the WhatsApp number is connected to the correct app and that the WhatsApp Trigger credentials and the n8n public URL are externally accessible.

i am following this video and did the same as in video whole flow is fine but nothing happened same situation.

Hi @Tanzeela_Tauseef

a few more things to check beyond publishing:

  1. In Meta’s App Dashboard → WhatsApp → Configuration, make sure the Callback URL is set to your WhatsApp Trigger’s production URL (not the test URL). You get this by clicking the WhatsApp Trigger node after publishing.

  2. Under Webhook fields, confirm you’re subscribed to “messages”.

  3. Check if your Meta app is still in Development mode. If so, only phone numbers added as testers in the Meta dashboard will work. Messages from other numbers are silently dropped by Meta.

Let us know what happens :crossed_fingers:

check and follow but nothing N8N WhatsApp Trigger not working

thanks everyone for the kind suggestion i have fix the issue I solved my WhatsApp Trigger issue in n8n after realizing the problem was not the credentials. Even though the credentials were showing green, the WhatsApp app was not properly linked with the WhatsApp Business Account and phone number in Meta.

First, I verified the App ID and Secret in Meta Developers and n8n. Then I used Meta Graph API Explorer to check the phone_number_id/subscribed_apps endpoint. The response was empty, which confirmed the app was not connected.

After changing the request method from GET to POST and running it, the app linked successfully. Then the WhatsApp Trigger in n8n started working correctly.

Hi, could you explain in detail how you solved the problem? I’m having a very similar issue. Thanks.

hi After spending a lot of time troubleshooting the WhatsApp Trigger in n8n, I discovered that the issue wasn’t with the credentials or the workflow itself.

Everything looked correct in n8n—the WhatsApp credentials were connected successfully, and the API setup appeared to be fine. However, the trigger still wasn’t receiving any incoming messages.

The root cause was that my Meta App was not actually subscribed to the WhatsApp Business Account (WABA). In Meta’s structure, having a Portfolio, App, and WhatsApp Business Account is not enough. The app must also be explicitly linked to the WhatsApp Business Account.

Here’s how I fixed it:

  1. Opened Meta Graph API Explorer.

  2. Selected the same Meta App being used in n8n.

  3. Ran a GET request on:
    [WABA-ID]/subscribed_apps

  4. The response returned empty data, which confirmed that the app was not subscribed to the WhatsApp Business Account.

  5. Changed the request method from GET to POST.

  6. Ran a POST request on the same endpoint:
    [WABA-ID]/subscribed_apps

  7. Received a success response (“success”: true), confirming that the app was now subscribed.

After creating this subscription, I sent a test WhatsApp message and the n8n WhatsApp Trigger started working immediately.

If your credentials are green but the trigger is not firing, it’s worth checking whether your Meta App is actually subscribed to your WhatsApp Business Account.