Unable to log in: Breaking change with passkeys?

[Opisek]

Issue

I was forced to reauthenticate today. When trying to link the device, WhatsApp first forced me to install a passkey.

Expected Behavior

Authentication continues as normal

Actual Behavior

When trying to authenticate (both via QR code and phone number), the following is displayed by WhatsApp:

Continue on your other device
Keep app open on both devices. You may need to scan another QR code to use your Passkey.

However, the bridge does not react in any way. Instead, it keeps prompting to scan the QR code or input the code (depending on auth flow) and does not go to any "next step".

This looks like some new change by WhatsApp related to passkeys.

Logs

Bridge version: v26.06+dev.0c7f5233 (Mon, 22 Jun 2026 12:57:24 +0000)
Whatsapp Version:

Logs:

2026-06-30T15:25:58.39+02:00 DBG Starting handling of transaction content=transaction_id=2612488

2026-06-30T15:25:58.39+02:00 DBG Finished dispatching events from transaction transaction_id=2612488

2026-06-30T15:25:58.609+02:00 DBG Got latest WhatsApp web version number hardcoded_version=2.3000.1041871181 latest_version=2.3000.1042386815

2026-06-30T15:25:58.621+02:00 DBG Dialing wss://web.whatsapp.com/ws/chat action=login phone_code=false sublogger=Socket user_mxid=REDACTED

2026-06-30T15:25:58.813+02:00 DBG Frame websocket read pump starting 0x327314e10000 action=login phone_code=false sublogger=Socket user_mxid=REDACTED

2026-06-30T15:25:58.974+02:00 DBG Starting handler queue loop action=login phone_code=false user_mxid=REDACTED

2026-06-30T15:25:59.296+02:00 DBG <iq from="s.whatsapp.net" id="REDACTED" type="set" xmlns="md"><pair-device><ref>REDACTED</ref><ref>REDACTED</ref><ref>REDACTED</ref></pair-device></iq> action=login phone_code=false sublogger=Recv user_mxid=@REDACTED

2026-06-30T15:25:59.296+02:00 DBG <iq id="REDACTED" to="s.whatsapp.net" type="result"/> action=login phone_code=false sublogger=Send user_mxid=@REDACTED

2026-06-30T15:25:59.296+02:00 DBG Received QR codes action=login code_count=6 phone_code=false user_mxid=@REDACTED display_and_wait={"data":"REDACTED","type":"qr"} instructions=Scan the QR code with the WhatsApp mobile app to log in step_id=fi.mau.whatsapp.login.qr type=display_and_wait

2026-06-30T15:25:59.296+02:00 DBG Created login process event_id=REDACTED first_step=session_id=REDACTED display_and_wait={"data":"REDACTED","type":"qr"} instructions=Scan the QR code with the WhatsApp mobile app to log in step_id=fi.mau.whatsapp.login.qr type=display_and_wait

2026-06-30T15:25:59.296+02:00 DBG Got next login step event_id=REDACTED next_step=session_id=REDACTED

2026-06-30T15:25:59.297+02:00 DBG Encrypted event successfully event_id=REDACTED event_type=m.room.message expected_index=78 message_index=78 mx_command=login room_id=REDACTED session_id=REDACTED state_key=null algorithm=m.megolm.v1.aes-sha2 ciphertext=REDACTED device_id=REDACTED sender_key=REDACTED session_id=REDACTED

2026-06-30T15:25:59.432+02:00 DBG Request completed duration=130.686428 event_id=REDACTED method=PUT mx_command=login req_body=req_id=16 response_length=59 response_mime=application/json session_id=REDACTED status_code=200 url=REDACTED pdu=1 unstable_edu=0 unstable_to_device=0

2026-06-30T15:25:59.441+02:00 DBG Starting handling of transaction content=transaction_id=2612489

2026-06-30T15:25:59.441+02:00 DBG Finished dispatching events from transaction transaction_id=2612489

2026-06-30T15:25:59.462+02:00 DBG Request completed duration=13.452671 event_id=REDACTED method=POST mx_command=login req_body="<1702 bytes>" req_id=17 response_length=59 response_mime=application/json session_id=REDACTED status_code=200 url=REDACTED

2026-06-30T15:25:59.463+02:00 DBG Encrypted event successfully event_id=REDACTED event_type=m.room.message expected_index=79 message_index=79 mx_command=login room_id=REDACTED state_key=null algorithm=m.megolm.v1.aes-sha2 ciphertext=REDACTED device_id=REDACTED sender_key=REDACTED

2026-06-30T15:25:59.624+02:00 DBG Request completed duration=156.762725 event_id=REDACTED method=PUT mx_command=login req_body=req_id=18 response_length=59 response_mime=application/json session_id=REDACTED status_code=200 url=REDACTED

2026-06-30T15:25:59.624+02:00 DBG Waiting for next QR action=login current_index=0 next_index=1 phone_code=false prev_index=0 time_until_next=59.671953504s user_mxid=REDACTED pdu=1 unstable_edu=0 unstable_to_device=0

Checklist

• This is an actual bug, not just a setup issue (see the troubleshooting docs or ask in the Matrix room for setup help).
• I am certain that sufficient information is included. Ask in the Matrix room first if not.
• The bug is still present on the main branch. The !wa version command output is: v26.06+dev.0c7f5233

[Elberet]

Same here. The (WhatsApp Web) client is asked to identify itself with a passkey, and pairing devices without a passkey is no longer possible. This is a breaking change that will require modifications to the login flow in mautrix bridge, but I'm not even sure how that would work without direct support from the user's Matrix client app.

[david0723]

Beeper Cloud user here. Since the fix merged (#936), the blocker seems to be the client rollout: Desktop v4.2.957 doesn't contain the WebAuthn login step, so anyone disconnected since ~June 30 still can't pair WhatsApp. Two questions: (1) is the updated bridge already deployed on Beeper Cloud? (2) is there an ETA or a nightly/beta Desktop build with the passkey step? Happy to test. WhatsApp is my main network and it's been a week, so any timeline info would be much appreciated.

[tulir]

Beeper support is only available via the in-app bug report flow