What it is
The WhatsApp Desktop Sender is a small Windows program you install on one school computer. Once it is linked to your school WhatsApp number, EDUBase notifications go out from that number — so parents see a message from the school they already know, not from an unfamiliar sender.
Getting it
Go to General → EDUBase App Links and use Download under WhatsApp Desktop Sender. That link always gives the current version, so it is worth returning there rather than re-using an old copy someone saved.
Linking your number, once
- Install and open the program on the school computer.
- Enter your institute code — the same one you sign in to EDUBase with.
- A QR code appears. On the phone holding your school WhatsApp number, open WhatsApp and go to Settings → Linked devices → Link a device, then scan it.
That is a one-time step. The link survives restarts, so you do not scan again every morning.
Two things that decide whether messages actually go out
The computer has to be on and the program running. It sends only while it is open — if the machine is shut down at 4pm, anything queued after that waits until it is opened again. A computer that stays on is the usual choice.
The phone has to stay linked. If someone taps Log out under Linked devices on the phone, sending stops until you scan a new QR code. Nothing is lost — the messages simply wait.
Please read this before sending to large lists
This sends through WhatsApp in the ordinary way, exactly as if a person were typing from your phone. WhatsApp therefore treats it like any other number, and it can block a number that suddenly messages a lot of people who have never messaged it first. That is a decision WhatsApp makes, and neither the school nor EDUBase can reverse it.
In practice: build up gradually rather than sending to your whole parent list on day one, and prefer numbers that already have a conversation with the school. If your number does get blocked, tell EDUBase support — we can see the device's recent activity and help you work out what led to it.
Attendance WhatsApp messages expire after 24 hours
Student attendance, QR attendance and employee QR attendance WhatsApp alerts older than 24 hours expire instead of being handed to the sender. The 24-hour clock continues while a school is frozen or its sender is offline. Expired alerts keep their message history; they are not marked delivered, do not use WhatsApp balance, and do not switch to App SMS. The student and employee SMS reports show the expiry reason in the Description column. Other message types keep their existing send-age and history settings.
If your school uses the Windows WhatsApp sender, keep the school computer and WhatsApp linked and running for fresh alerts. An offline or logged-out sender needs a person with the school phone to re-pair it. Before reconnecting, exit the sender and ask support to check its saved local outbox: alerts already fetched onto that computer are outside the server age guard. Reinstalling or unlinking does not clear that outbox. Only confirmed delivery proves that a new alert reached its recipient; a fetched or expired record is not delivery.
Older report rows without a linked message
The expiry reason appears when a report row has its original WhatsApp message correctly linked. Some older employee report rows were saved without that link and can still show Not Set or their original description. That does not prove the WhatsApp queue is pending, sent or delivered. Their existing history is preserved; support must inspect the queue metadata instead of guessing a link or resending. New staff WhatsApp logs now keep the correct message link.