Question 1

WhatsApp held this marketing message back because this person has already received several marketing messages recently. Try again later or use a Utility template.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

You or someone else has sent this person several marketing messages in a short time, and WhatsApp limits how many marketing messages one person receives.

This person has been ignoring or not engaging with marketing messages from businesses.

The message uses a Marketing template. Utility templates are not held back in the same way.

What to do

Wait a day or more, then send again. If the message is a service update the person asked for, send it with a Utility template instead. Avoid sending the same person several campaigns in a row.

Question 2

WhatsApp could not deliver this message. The number may not be on WhatsApp, may be on an out-of-date version of the app, may not have accepted WhatsApp's latest terms, or may have blocked your business. Check the number and try again later.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The number is not registered on WhatsApp, or has a typo or a missing country code.

The person is on an old version of WhatsApp, or has not accepted WhatsApp's latest terms.

The person has blocked your business number.

The phone is switched off or has not been online for a long time.

What to do

Check the number is written with its country code, for example 60 for Malaysia. Try again later. If it keeps failing for the same person, remove them from your campaigns.

Question 3

This person last replied more than 24 hours ago, so WhatsApp only allows an approved template message now. Send a template instead.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The person last replied to you more than 24 hours ago, so the free chat window has closed.

The person has never replied, so no chat window was ever opened.

What to do

Send an approved template message instead of free text. Once the person replies, you can chat freely for the next 24 hours.

Question 4

You sent too many messages to this same number too quickly. Wait a little while before sending to them again.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

Several messages were sent to the same number within a few seconds.

An automation, campaign and manual reply may have all targeted this person at once.

What to do

Wait a little while, then send again. Space out messages to the same person, and check that two automations are not both replying.

Question 5

WhatsApp limited your sending because too many recipients flagged or blocked your messages. Review your message content and audience, then try again later.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

Many recipients tapped Report or Block on your recent messages.

Your messages went to people who did not ask for them.

The wording looked like spam.

What to do

Review your message content and audience. Send only to people who opted in, and make it easy to stop. Wait before sending more, and check the quality rating of your number in your WhatsApp Manager.

Question 6

You are sending faster than your WhatsApp number allows. Slow down and try again in a moment.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

A campaign, automation or API request sent messages faster than your number's throughput allows.

Several campaigns ran at the same time.

What to do

Wait a moment and try again. Run big campaigns one at a time, and let the campaign finish before starting another.

Question 7

This person has chosen to stop receiving marketing messages from your business. Send them a Utility message only if they asked for it, or leave them out of marketing campaigns.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The person tapped a button to stop receiving marketing messages from your business.

They replied with a word like STOP.

What to do

Do not send them marketing messages. Leave them out of marketing campaigns. Send them only messages they asked for, such as order updates, using a Utility template.

Question 8

WhatsApp does not support this type of message. Send a text, image, document or template instead.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The message type is not one WhatsApp allows, for example a sticker or file format it does not support.

The message was built with an unsupported content type.

What to do

Send plain text, an image, a document or an approved template instead.

Question 9

WhatsApp could not download the media this person sent. Ask them to send it again.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The file the person sent was too large or in a format WhatsApp could not store.

The file expired before it could be downloaded.

WhatsApp had a temporary problem.

What to do

Ask the person to send the file again. Ask for a smaller file or a common format such as JPG or PDF if it keeps failing.

Question 10

WhatsApp could not upload the media for this message. Check the file type and size, then try again.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The file type is not supported by WhatsApp.

The file is bigger than WhatsApp allows for that type.

The file is damaged or could not be read.

What to do

Check the file type and size. WhatsApp allows images up to 5 MB, videos and audio up to 16 MB, and documents up to 100 MB. Use JPG or PNG for images and MP4 for videos, then try again.

Question 11

The recipient is the same number you are sending from. Send to a different number.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The contact's number is the same as your own WhatsApp number.

A test contact was created with your own number.

What to do

Send to a different number. To test, use another phone.

Question 12

The number of variables in this message does not match the template. Fill in every variable the template expects, no more and no fewer.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The template has variables such as {{1}} and {{2}}, and a different number of values was filled in.

A variable was left empty.

What to do

Fill in every variable the template expects, no more and no fewer. Open the template to count them.

Question 13

This template does not exist in the language requested, or it has not been approved. Check the template name and language, then try again.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The template name has a typo.

The template exists, but not in the language selected.

The template has not been approved by WhatsApp yet, or was rejected or deleted.

What to do

Check the template name and language on the Message Templates page. Use only templates with Approved status. Submit it again if it was rejected.

Question 14

The text after filling in the variables is too long for WhatsApp. Shorten the variable values.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

A variable value is very long, so the finished message is longer than WhatsApp allows.

A long text such as an address was pasted into a variable.

What to do

Shorten the variable values. Keep each one to a short phrase.

Question 15

WhatsApp blocked this template because it breaks their content policy. Edit the template and submit it again.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The template wording breaks WhatsApp's content policy, for example it looks misleading, asks for sensitive data or promotes restricted items.

A filled-in variable pushed the message over the policy.

What to do

Edit the template to follow WhatsApp's commerce and business policies, then submit it for approval again.

Question 16

A template variable has the wrong format, for example text where a number or date is expected. Check each variable value.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

A variable that expects a number, date or link was given plain text.

A variable contains line breaks, tabs or too many spaces in a row, which WhatsApp does not allow.

What to do

Check each variable value. Use one line of plain text, and put numbers and dates in the format the template expects.

Question 17

This template is paused by WhatsApp because of poor quality feedback. Wait for it to be unpaused or use a different template.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

Many people reported or blocked messages sent with this template.

The template content was sent to people who did not want it.

What to do

Wait until WhatsApp unpauses the template, or send a different template. Improve the wording and the audience so it does not get paused again.

Question 18

This template has been disabled by WhatsApp after repeated poor quality. Create a new template.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The template was paused more than once for poor quality and WhatsApp has now switched it off for good.

What to do

Create a new template with better wording. Send it only to people who opted in. Do not reuse the same text.

Question 19

This WhatsApp number is not registered yet. Finish registering it in your WhatsApp account settings.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The number was added but not finished registering with WhatsApp.

The registration or verification step was not completed.

What to do

Open your WhatsApp numbers, finish the registration and verification steps for this number, then try again.

Question 20

WhatsApp had a problem sending this message. Try again in a few minutes.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

WhatsApp had a temporary problem on its side.

The message was not accepted for an unknown reason.

What to do

Try again in a few minutes. If it keeps happening for a long time, contact support.

Question 21

WhatsApp is temporarily unavailable. Try again in a few minutes.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

WhatsApp is having an outage or is overloaded.

What to do

Wait a few minutes and try again. Check Meta's status page if it lasts.

Question 22

Your WhatsApp Business account is locked. Check Meta Business Support to find out why and how to unlock it.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

WhatsApp has locked your Business account after a policy or security concern.

Your business verification is incomplete or was rejected.

What to do

Open Meta Business Support to see the reason and follow the steps to unlock the account. You cannot send until it is unlocked.

Question 23

WhatsApp could not send this because of a payment or billing problem on your account. Check your payment method in Meta Business settings.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The payment method on your Meta account has expired or been declined.

Your account has an unpaid balance or no payment method.

Your credit line has been reached.

What to do

Open Meta Business settings, go to Billing and payments, and add or update a payment method. Pay any outstanding balance, then try again.

Question 24

Your WhatsApp account is temporarily blocked for breaking messaging policies. Check your Meta Business Support inbox for details.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

Your account sent messages that broke WhatsApp's messaging policies.

Many people reported your messages.

What to do

Check your Meta Business Support inbox for the reason and how long the block lasts. Review your policy and audience before sending again.

Question 25

Your WhatsApp connection has expired. Reconnect your WhatsApp account and try again.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

Your Meta connection has expired or was revoked.

The password for the Facebook account used to connect was changed.

You removed SharpTXT's access in Meta.

What to do

Reconnect your WhatsApp account from the WhatsApp Numbers page, then try again.

Question 26

WhatsApp rejected a value in this message. This usually means the phone number or a template variable is invalid. Check both and try again.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

The phone number is in the wrong format or missing its country code.

A template variable or parameter is missing or invalid.

The template or file was not found.

What to do

Check the phone number and each template variable, then try again.

Question 27

Your WhatsApp account hit its rate limit. Wait a while and try again.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

Your WhatsApp account made more requests to Meta than it is allowed in a short period.

What to do

Wait a while and try again. Spread big sends over a longer time.

Question 28

Too many requests were sent to WhatsApp. Wait a few minutes and try again.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

Too many requests were sent from your WhatsApp account in a short time.

Several campaigns, syncs or automations ran at once.

What to do

Wait a few minutes and try again. Avoid running several large jobs at once.

Question 29

WhatsApp rejected the message.

Accepted Answer

What could have caused it

WhatsApp did not give a specific reason.

For other problems, the message shows WhatsApp's own short description instead of one of the messages above. That wording is WhatsApp's, so it can differ.

What to do

Check the phone number and the template, then try again. If it keeps failing, contact support with the contact name, the time you sent it and the message you saw.

Message errors from WhatsApp