Connect WhatsApp Business Cloud (Watch Events trigger) in Make so my scenario receives incoming customer messages, then route them to Gemini AI for automated support replies.
What is the problem & what have you tried?
My scenario has a WhatsApp Business Cloud “Watch Events” module with an active webhook. When I click “Run once” and send a WhatsApp message to my business number, nothing arrives — I always get “Exceeded maximum wait time.”
The webhook Queue in Make stays at 0, so it looks like Meta is never delivering events to the webhook. My number is linked via WhatsApp Coexistence (Business App + Cloud API on the same number).
Confirmed the webhook is Active in Make (Webhooks page), Queue = 0
Sent a text message from a different phone to the business number
Tried to reach the Meta App’s WhatsApp > Configuration page to check the Callback URL and subscribe the “messages” field, but I’m blocked on Meta Developer account setup
Number is on Coexistence, so I’m not sure if webhooks need a special “Webhook Override” setup
Error messages or input/output bundles
Scenario execution log (WhatsApp Business Cloud - Watch Events):
14:16 The scenario was successfully loaded.
14:17 Preparing scenario for running.
14:17 Requesting execution.
14:17 The request was accepted. Waiting for data.
14:18 Exceeded maximum wait time.
No input bundle is ever received — the module never fires because no webhook event arrives from Meta. Webhook status: Active. Webhook Queue: 0.
the coexistence setup is almost certainly your problem. when you have the business app and cloud api on the same number, meta’s webhook delivery gets confused unless you explicitly tell it which endpoint to use. the “messages” field subscription is the piece you’re missing, but you’re stuck on the developer account setup.
that meta developer portal block is the real bottleneck here. you need to verify your business manager account and get a permanent access token with the whatsapp business management api scope. without that, the callback url won’t stick and meta won’t route events to make’s webhook.
there’s a workaround but it depends on whether you can get the developer account sorted. the key is setting the webhook override in the meta app configuration to point at your make webhook url directly, bypassing the coexistence confusion. that’s the only way i’ve seen this work reliably when both systems are on the same number.z
that wait time error in make almost always means meta failed the initial webhook verification challenge or you don’t have the messages subscription active in the meta dev dashboard.
also if you’re running coexistence mode on whatsapp, meta often drops events or sends incomplete payloads. check the delivery logs inside your meta app panel under webhooks first to see if meta is actually hitting your make custom webhook URL.
once the webhook receives the payload properly, connecting the json output to gemini via make is pretty quick. let me know what the meta delivery logs show and we can troubleshoot from there.
@Aina_Abdul_Hakeem that wait time error in make almost always means meta failed the initial webhook verification challenge or you don’t have the messages subscription active in the meta dev dashboard.
also if you’re running coexistence mode on whatsapp, meta often drops events or sends incomplete payloads. check the delivery logs inside your meta app panel under webhooks first to see if meta is actually hitting your make custom webhook URL.
once the webhook receives the payload properly, connecting the json output to gemini via make is pretty quick. let me know what the meta delivery logs show and we can troubleshoot from there.
That friction with connection happens to almost everyone trying to scale whatsapp flows.
A few key adjustments that helped my setup:
validate incoming data schemas immediately after your trigger node
Log payload status codes to an audit table to catch silent failures early
Decouple your data transformation from your downstream action loops
In my experience, combining openai or claude for text generation with airtable for client review and n8n for webhook logic gives you a solid setup without heavy dev upkeep.
What tool are you using to trigger the main execution loop right now?
What is your goal?
What is the problem & what have you tried?
Error messages or input/output bundles