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Message Delivery Issues

Common reasons messages fail to deliver and how to troubleshoot.

Template Rejected by Meta​

Problem: Your template was rejected and can't be used for campaigns.

Common reasons:

  • Content violates WhatsApp's commerce or business policies
  • Template contains misleading or deceptive information
  • Variable placeholders are used incorrectly
  • Category mismatch (e.g., marketing content submitted as utility)

Solution:

  1. Review Meta's template guidelines
  2. Edit the template in Templates and fix the issue
  3. Resubmit for approval

Messages Stuck on "Sent" (Not Delivered)​

Problem: Messages show as sent but not delivered to the recipient.

Possible causes:

  • Recipient's phone is offline or turned off
  • Recipient has uninstalled WhatsApp
  • Recipient's phone storage is full
  • Network issues on the recipient's end

Solution:

  • Messages will be delivered when the recipient comes online (within 30 days)
  • If the issue persists across multiple contacts, check your number's quality rating
  • Verify your number isn't flagged in Settings > WhatsApp

High Failure Rate in Campaigns​

Problem: A large percentage of campaign messages failed.

Common causes:

  • Invalid phone numbers in your contact list
  • Contacts have opted out or blocked your number
  • Template was disabled during the campaign
  • Rate limit exceeded

Solution:

  1. Check the campaign report for failure reasons (Campaigns > [Campaign Name] > Report)
  2. Clean your contact list — remove invalid numbers
  3. Respect opt-outs and remove blocked contacts
  4. If rate limited, reduce campaign size or send in batches

Rate Limits​

WhatsApp limits how many messages you can send per day. Limits depend on:

  • Your number's quality rating
  • Whether your business is verified in Meta Business Suite
  • Your messaging tier (increases automatically with good quality)

New numbers typically start at 250 messages/day and can scale to 100,000+/day with verified business status and good quality.

24-Hour Window Expired​

Problem: You can't reply to a customer with a free-form message.

Solution: The 24-hour session window has expired. You'll need to send an approved template message to re-engage the customer. See Message Templates.

Still Stuck?​

Contact us at boldally.com/contact with your workspace name and the affected contact or campaign details.