General FAQs: Unable to Send Messages

Question: Why did my broadcast fail due to variables?

Answer: This usually happens when required variable values (like customer name or order ID) are missing. Make sure all necessary variables are added to your contacts' attributes before sending the broadcast. You can check this under the contact details.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail due to credits?

Answer: Broadcasts require a minimum credit balance of $10 to work. If you're sending to a large audience, you may need to add more credits based on the rate card to ensure successful delivery.

Question: How can I resend a broadcast to failed contacts?

Answer: After your 14-day waiting period (for new users), you can use the Re-try option to automatically resend the broadcast to contacts who didn’t receive it initially. This feature ensures you don’t have to manually reselect failed contacts.

Question: How do I check why my broadcast failed?

Answer: Go to Broadcast > View Insights > Delivery Stats to view detailed reasons for any broadcast failures. This section helps you identify issues like insufficient credits, missing variables, or account restrictions.

Question: How do I select all Wati contacts for a broadcast?

Answer: Click the checkbox at the top of your contacts list to select all contacts at once. This makes it easier to send broadcasts to a large group in one go.

Question: Why is my broadcast failing due to a banned account?

Answer: If your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) is banned, you won't be able to send broadcasts. Please contact Meta to resolve the issue before trying again.

Question: Why is my broadcast failing due to no WABA access?

Answer: Your broadcast won’t work if Wati loses access to your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA). Please make sure Wati has the required permissions. You’ll need to restore access before broadcasts can be sent.

Question: Why isn't my broadcast working when my number is flagged?

Answer: If your number is flagged for spam, it’s best to wait 4–7 days for the flagged status to be lifted automatically. Review recent broadcast campaigns and ensure your opt-in process follows WhatsApp’s guidelines to avoid future issues.

Question: Why isn't my broadcast working when the limit is exceeded?

Answer: You’ve likely reached your daily messaging limit. You can check your current limit in the Broadcast tab. Once the limit resets, you’ll be able to send messages again.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail with "Something went wrong"?

Answer: This error may occur if your broadcast template hasn’t fully synced with Meta’s servers. If it's a newly created template, wait a while and try again. If the issue continues, try creating a new template to resolve it.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail with "File bytes is null"?

Answer: This can happen if you've exceeded your broadcast tier limit, or if the file added to your template is corrupt or wasn’t uploaded properly. Try re-uploading the file or using a different one, and ensure you’re within your messaging tier limit.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail with "Message Undeliverable"?

Answer: This usually means the recipient's phone number is not active on WhatsApp. You can double-check the number or refer to our help article for more details on undeliverable messages.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail due to marketing message limits?

Answer: WhatsApp allows a maximum of two marketing messages per recipient in a 24-hour period. While Meta has recently relaxed this limit under the new message-based pricing model, actual delivery still depends on Meta’s review and approval.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail due to an unapproved display name?

Answer: If your display name hasn’t been approved by Meta, your broadcasts may fail. You’ll need to get the display name approved or switch to a different registered phone number with an approved name.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail with "Spam Rate Limit Hit"?

Answer: This means your phone number has hit a temporary messaging restriction, usually because too many past messages were blocked or marked as spam by recipients. Wait at least 24 hours before trying again, and review your messaging practices to reduce the risk of being flagged.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail with "An Invalid Request URL provided"?

Answer: This error usually occurs when the button URL in your template is not correctly formatted. Double-check that the link starts with https:// and doesn't include any extra characters or spaces.

Question: Why is the broadcast menu unavailable due to user access?

Answer: To access the broadcast menu, your user role must be either Broadcast Manager or Admin. If you’re unable to see the menu, please ask your account owner to adjust your role.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail with "Invalid parameters” error?

Answer: This typically happens when parameter values are missing or incorrectly formatted. Make sure all parameters (like file type or variable inputs) are valid. You can also try compressing or converting the file to a supported format.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail due to business eligibility payment issues?

Answer: Your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) may not have a valid payment method. If the account was set up by a previous WhatsApp Business Service Provider, the billing may update automatically on the 1st of the following month. Otherwise, please check your billing section in Meta Business Manager.

Question: Why isn't my broadcast working due to contact import file issues?

Answer: This usually means there’s a formatting issue in your CSV file. Please ensure your file follows the correct structure — include only valid phone numbers, with country codes, and no special characters or blank rows.

Question: How can I check reasons for failed messages?

Answer: Go to View Insights > Delivery Stats under the Broadcast tab. This will show a breakdown of failures such as invalid numbers, insufficient credits, or template issues.

Question: How can I stop message retries?

Answer: If you'd like to disable automatic retries for a specific broadcast, please contact our support team and request to turn off the retry option.

Question: Why aren't all my broadcasts showing in the list?

Answer: Try increasing the "rows per page" setting at the bottom of the broadcast list. This will help you view more broadcasts at once if you’ve sent several over time.

Question: What does "Consecutive days of messaging" refer to?

Answer: This indicates whether you’ve met your daily messaging limit. An orange circle with a tick (✓) means you’ve reached the limit for the day. A blank circle means you haven’t yet.

Question: Why do I have so many failed contacts in the overview section?

Answer: This count shows how many contacts didn’t receive your broadcast messages within the selected date range. You can check the details in the Delivery Stats for more insights.

Question: What does "OAuthException! (#132001) Template name does not exist in the translation" mean?

Answer: This means Meta couldn't find your template under the specified name. If it’s a newly created template, please wait a few hours for it to sync with Meta’s servers. Templates must be created and submitted from your Wati account to work properly. Alternatively, you can try resubmitting your template with a different name.

Question: What does "OAuthException! (#132005) Translated text too long" mean?

Answer: This happens when the total text in your template becomes too long after variable values are inserted. Try shortening the variable values or reducing the overall template content to stay within Meta’s character limit.

Question: Why is my message undeliverable due to Meta restrictions?

Answer: Meta may temporarily restrict your number from sending marketing templates, usually due to exceeding quality or delivery limits. Wait a few days and try again later.

Question: What does "User's number is part of an experiment" mean?

Answer: Around 1% of WhatsApp users are part of Meta experiments that block marketing messages. To reach these users, try using other channels or ask them to message you first to initiate the conversation.

Question: What does "The request was canceled due to the configured Http Client.Timeout of 100 seconds elapsing" mean?

Answer: This error indicates a timeout from the server hosting your image or media assets. Please check your server’s stability and response time.

Question: What does "132012 Template Parameter Format Mismatch" mean?

Answer: This means the variable values you added don’t match the expected format in the template. Meta doesn’t support new line characters like \n or tab characters like \t inside variables—please remove them and try again.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail due to insufficient credits?

Answer: Your account doesn’t have enough credits to send the broadcast. Please top up your credits and try again.

Question: What does "Invalid phone number" mean?

Answer: This means the phone number might be missing the country code, incorrectly formatted, or not active on WhatsApp. Double-check the number format and confirm it’s a valid WhatsApp number.

Question: What should I do if my WABA is banned?

Answer: Go to WhatsApp Manager in your Meta Business Account to check the reason for the ban and follow the recommended steps to resolve it.

Question: What does "Invalid variable" mean?

Answer: This error means that one or more variable values are missing or not formatted correctly. Check that you're filling in all required variables with valid values before sending the broadcast.

Question: Why can I only send 2 broadcasts to contacts in 24 hours?

Answer: Meta currently limits marketing broadcasts to 2 per contact within a 24-hour period. While this restriction is being gradually relaxed under the new pricing model, delivery still depends on Meta's systems.

Question: Why was my number flagged?

Answer: Your number may have been flagged for sending low-quality or spam-like messages. To avoid this, review your messaging content and ensure that all recipients have opted in.

Question: What does "Something went wrong" error mean?

Answer: This is a temporary error on Meta’s side that usually resolves on its own. If the issue persists, you can raise a Direct Support (DS) request through Meta for assistance.

Question: Why am I getting "Invalid contact" errors?

Answer: This usually happens when your contact list isn’t formatted correctly. Make sure your CSV file includes valid phone numbers with the correct country code and no extra characters or blank spaces.

Question: Why did Meta fail my message due to quality?

Answer: Meta may restrict message delivery if it detects that you're sending a large number of messages in a short period, especially if they receive negative feedback. To avoid this, send high-quality, relevant messages and follow best practices for customer engagement.

Question: Why did my Utility template change to Marketing?

Answer: Meta automatically reclassifies Utility templates as Marketing if they don’t meet the requirements for Utility messages. This often happens when the template includes promotional content or lacks a clear transactional purpose.

Question: Why did my broadcast fail?

Answer: To understand why your broadcast failed, go to View Insights > Delivery Stats. This section shows specific error messages for failed contacts, helping you identify and fix the issue.

Question: Why are my abandoned cart messages failing?

Answer: Abandoned cart messages use Marketing templates, which are subject to Meta’s marketing message limits. If you’re seeing errors like:

“Message undeliverable as Meta has restricted it for higher quality messaging – retry again in a few days.”

“Meta restricts sending more than two marketing messages within 24 hours – retry again tomorrow.”

…it means your messages failed due to Meta’s restrictions on marketing message volume and quality.

To retry sending to failed contacts:

Note: For automated broadcasts, retries must be enabled manually for each failed contact in Broadcast Analytics.

Question: What does the error "Missing customer attributes – check contact information" mean?

Answer: This error appears when your template includes variables like {{name}}, {{email}}, etc., but those values are missing in the contact's information.

To fix it: Make sure all required variable values are filled in your contact list before sending the broadcast.

Question: What does the error "Template status is paused or disabled, can't be sent." mean?

Answer: This can happen for two reasons:

A newly approved template hasn’t yet synced with Meta.

Meta has paused the template due to high spam or block rates from recipients.

To fix it:

Question: What does the “#131053 - Media upload error" mean?

Answer: This means the media file in your template is not in a supported format or size.

To fix it:

Question: Why is the end user not receiving messages, even though they can message the business?

Answer: If a message shows a single tick (sent but not delivered), it could be due to:

Note: Meta does not disclose the exact reason due to privacy policies.

Question: What does the error "WhatsApp provided number needs display name approval before message can be sent" mean?

Answer: If you're using a free number provided by Meta (like numbers starting with 555), you must get display name approval before you can send messages.

To get approval: Your business must be verified in Meta Business Manager.

Question: What does the error "GraphMethodException! Unsupported post request..." mean, especially for marketing templates?

Answer: This error usually means MMAPI Lite is enabled on your account, but template syncing hasn't completed.

To resolve it:

For more details, refer to Meta’s Graph API documentation.

Question: The message quality has improved to high and credits are available, but I still can't send broadcasts. Why?

Answer: Even with high message quality and enough credits, broadcasts won't work if your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) is disabled by Meta. If your account is disabled, you won’t be able to send or receive any messages until it’s reactivated.

Question: What does the error "Unable to deliver the message. This recipient has chosen to stop receiving marketing messages on WhatsApp from your business" mean?

Answer: This means the customer has opted out of receiving marketing messages from your business. Retrying will not work—delivery will continue to fail unless the customer chooses to opt back in.

Question: What does the "Generic user error" mean?

Answer: This is a temporary issue on Meta’s side that often resolves automatically.

If it doesn’t go away within an hour:

Question: What does the "Re-engagement message" error mean?

Answer: This error usually means the 24-hour conversation window had already closed when you tried to send the message.

If the window was open: Contact Wati support—we can escalate the issue to Meta by creating a support ticket.

Question: What does the "Required parameter is missing" error mean?

Answer: This happens when your template includes variables (like {{name}} or {{order_id}}), but the values for those fields weren’t included during sending.

To fix it: Double-check that all required parameters are filled in correctly before sending the broadcast.

Question: What does "Tier limit reached" mean?

Answer: This means you’ve hit your 24-hour messaging limit for template messages. For example, if your limit is 1,000 messages and you’ve sent all 1,000, you’ll need to wait until the limit resets before sending more messages.

Question: Why am I having issues with my contact file?

Answer: This usually means the contacts in your file are not formatted correctly. Make sure phone numbers include the correct country code, have no special characters or spaces, and follow WhatsApp’s formatting requirements.

Question: What does the "Account has been locked" error mean?

Answer: This usually means your WhatsApp Business Account has been restricted or disabled by Meta, or your payment method has been removed.

To check your account status:

Question: Why am I seeing the error “Your business has exceeded its broadcasting limits this month”?

Answer: