Reference · WhatsApp API error codes
Every WhatsApp API error code, explained
When a WhatsApp message fails, Meta returns an error code. Here are all 65 codes covered by the Lead Pattern Help Center — what each one means, why it happens and how to fix it. Use your browser's find (Ctrl+F) to jump to a code.
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131047 / 470 — 24-hour window closed
The customer hasn't messaged in 24 hours. Send an approved template to restart the chat.
131026 — Message undeliverable
The number may not be on WhatsApp, or the app is outdated or unreachable.
131049 — Meta didn't deliver it
Meta held the message back based on engagement signals. Don't retry immediately.
132001 — Template does not exist
Wrong template name or language, or it isn't approved yet.
Full list
All 65 error codes
| Code | What it means | Why it happens | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 — Authentication error | Unable to authenticate the app user. | The access token is invalid, expired, or revoked. App access has been blocked in settings. | Obtain a new access token and verify the app hasn't been blocked from accessing the account. |
| 1 — API unknown error | An invalid request was made, or there was a potential server-side issue. | Malformed request. Temporary server problem. | Check the WhatsApp Business Platform status page and verify the request matches the endpoint's expected format. |
| 2 — API service error | Temporary issue due to downtime or the service being overloaded. | Platform-wide downtime or high load. | Check the WhatsApp Business Platform status page before retrying the request. |
| 3 — API method error | A capability or permissions issue prevented this call. | The app or user lacks the required permission for this action. | Use the access token debugger to confirm the token has the necessary permissions. |
| 4 — API rate limit reached | The app has hit its API call rate limit. | Too many API calls made in a short window. | Check rate limits in the App Dashboard and reduce call frequency. |
| 10 — Permission denied | Permission has either not been granted or has been revoked. | Missing or revoked permission on the access token. | Confirm the required permission is granted using the access token debugger. |
| 33 — Invalid parameter value | The business phone number referenced no longer exists. | The phone number was deleted from the WhatsApp Business Account. | Verify you're using the correct, currently active business phone number. |
| 100 — Invalid parameter | The request included unsupported or incorrectly spelled parameters. | Typo in a parameter name. Unsupported parameter for this endpoint. Malformed RSA key. | Check the endpoint reference for the correct parameter names and formats. |
| 130 — User's number part of an experiment group | Meta is running an internal experiment that affects delivery for this recipient. | The recipient's number was randomly selected into a Meta delivery experiment. | Retry later, or ask the customer to initiate a WhatsApp conversation directly. |
| 190 — Access token expired | The access token used for this request is no longer valid. | Token expired. Token was revoked. Business public key not allow-listed for the phone number. | Generate a new access token and ensure the business public key is allow-listed for the number. |
| 368 — Temporarily blocked for policy violations | The account has been restricted due to a violation of WhatsApp's platform policies. | Repeated or serious policy violations detected on the account. | Review the Policy Enforcement documentation and address the flagged violation. |
| 408 — Request timeout | The message has been pending for an extended period without confirmation. | Slow or unresponsive delivery pipeline. | Wait about 15 minutes and resend if still unresolved. |
| 470 — Re-engagement message required | The message wasn't sent because the customer hasn't replied within the last 24 hours. | No customer-initiated message in the current 24-hour session window. | Use an approved message template to restart the conversation, or wait for the customer to message first. |
| 471 — Messaging limit reached due to quality/spam issues | The phone number has messaging limits applied because of blocks or spam reports. | Too many recipients blocked or reported the number as spam. | Check the number's quality rating in WhatsApp Manager and improve messaging practices before retrying. |
| 472 — Marketing message experiment impact | WhatsApp is running a delivery experiment that is currently limiting marketing messages to this user. | The recipient is part of a small experiment group affecting marketing message delivery. | Reach the customer through an alternative channel, or encourage them to message you on WhatsApp first. |
| 1000 — Generic server error | The message failed to send because of a server-side problem. | Temporary backend issue on WhatsApp's servers. | Wait about 10 minutes and retry; open a support ticket if the issue persists. |
| 1006 — Resource not found | A referenced file or media item could not be located. | Incorrect or unsupported media format was uploaded. | Confirm the media was uploaded in a supported format before referencing it. |
| 1011 — Service temporarily overloaded | The service is currently experiencing downtime or heavy load. | Temporary platform-wide overload. | Retry the request after about 15 minutes. |
| 1014 — Media upload issue | The media file failed technical or content-integrity checks during upload. | Unsupported file encoding. Corrupted file. Content failed integrity checks. | Convert the file to a supported format (e.g. JPG for images, MP4 for video, PDF for documents) and re-upload. |
| 1023 — Database error | An internal system error occurred while processing the request. | Backend database issue. | Wait about 10 minutes and retry; submit a support ticket if it continues. |
| 1026 — Message delivery failure | The message could not be delivered to the recipient for one of several possible reasons. | Recipient doesn't have WhatsApp. Recipient is using an outdated app version. | Confirm the recipient has WhatsApp installed and is on a current app version. |
| 2027 — No products in catalog | The shared product catalog contains no products. | The linked catalog is empty or not properly connected. | Check the linked catalog in Commerce Manager; submit a support ticket if the issue persists. |
| 2028 — Incomplete e-commerce compliance details (India) | Required e-commerce compliance information is missing for an Indian business account. | Compliance details not filled in for accounts operating in India. | Update the compliance information in WhatsApp Manager. |
| 80007 — WhatsApp Business Account rate limit reached | The WhatsApp Business Account has reached its messaging rate limit. | Sending volume exceeded the account's current rate limit tier. | Consult the rate limits documentation and retry after the limit window resets. |
| 130429 — Cloud API message throughput reached | The Cloud API has reached its message throughput limit for this account. | Sending messages faster than the account's allowed throughput. | Reduce message sending frequency and retry with backoff. |
| 130472 — User's number is part of an experiment | WhatsApp is running a delivery experiment affecting marketing messages to this user (a small percentage of users are enrolled). | The recipient's number was randomly selected into a marketing-message delivery experiment. | Contact the customer through an alternative channel, or ask them to message you on WhatsApp first. |
| 130497 — Country restriction | The account is restricted from messaging users in certain countries. | The recipient's country is excluded under the account's current messaging policy. | Review WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy for country-level restrictions. |
| 131000 — Unknown error | The message failed to send due to an unspecified error. | Transient, unclassified failure. | Wait about 10 minutes and retry; raise a support ticket if it keeps happening. |
| 131005 — Access denied | Permission for this action has either not been granted or has been revoked. | Missing or revoked permission. | Confirm the required permission using the access token debugger. |
| 131008 — Required parameter missing | The request is missing a required parameter. | A mandatory field was omitted from the request payload. | Check the endpoint reference for all required parameters. |
| 131009 — Parameter value not valid | One or more parameter values are invalid for this request. | A parameter was set to an unsupported or malformed value. | Verify the parameter values against the supported options in the endpoint reference. |
| 131016 — Service unavailable | The service is temporarily unavailable. | Platform-wide temporary outage. | Check the WhatsApp Business Platform status page before retrying. |
| 131021 — Recipient and sender numbers match | The sender and recipient phone numbers are the same. | The request attempted to send a message to your own business number. | Use a different recipient phone number. |
| 131026 — Message undeliverable | The message could not be delivered to the recipient. | Recipient doesn't have WhatsApp. Recipient hasn't accepted the latest WhatsApp terms. Recipient is on an outdated app version. Recipient's phone has been off/unreachable for a long period. | Confirm the recipient has an active, up-to-date WhatsApp account; consider an alternative contact channel. |
| 131031 — Account locked | There is a problem with the WhatsApp Business Account that is preventing normal operation. | Account flagged or restricted for a policy issue. | Review the Policy Enforcement documentation for remediation steps. |
| 131037 — Display name not approved | The business phone number doesn't have an approved display name. | Display name was never submitted or was rejected. | Submit or update the display name for the phone number in WhatsApp Manager. |
| 131042 — Payment method issue | There is a problem with the WhatsApp Business Account's payment method. | Outstanding balance. Expired or declined payment method. | Settle any outstanding dues or update the payment method; contact support if the issue persists. |
| 131045 — Phone number registration error | The phone number's certificate is incorrect or missing. | The number was never registered, or registration failed. | Register the phone number before attempting to send messages. |
| 131047 — Re-engagement message required | The message wasn't sent because the customer hasn't replied within the last 24 hours. | No customer-initiated message within the current 24-hour session window. | Use an approved message template to restart the conversation. |
| 131048 — Spam rate limit hit | Message sending is restricted due to previous blocks or spam reports. | Too many recipients blocked or reported the number. | Check the number's quality status in WhatsApp Manager and review quality-based rate limits. |
| 131049 — Message not delivered (Meta decision) | Meta chose not to deliver this message to help maintain a healthy messaging ecosystem. | Delivery throttled based on engagement/quality signals for this recipient pattern. | Avoid immediate retries; space out repeated attempts over increasing intervals. |
| 131051 — Unsupported message type | The message type sent is not supported by the WhatsApp Business API. | An unsupported or deprecated message type was used. | Check the Messages API reference for the current list of supported message types. |
| 131052 — Media download error | The media file could not be downloaded because it exceeds size limits. | File larger than 100MB. | Compress the media file to under the supported size limit before sending. |
| 131053 — Media upload error | The media file exceeds the supported size restriction for its type. | File larger than the allowed size for its media type. | Compress the file (e.g. under 10MB for most media types) and retry. |
| 131056 — Pair rate limit hit | Too many messages were sent to the same recipient in a short period. | Repeated sends to one number in a short time window. | Wait before retrying the same recipient, or space out sends across different numbers. |
| 131057 — Account in maintenance mode | The WhatsApp Business Account is temporarily undergoing maintenance. | Scheduled or triggered maintenance on the account. | The account is temporarily unavailable — check back shortly. |
| 132000 — Template parameter count mismatch | The number of variable parameters sent doesn't match the template's definition. | Template expects a different number of {{variables}} than were supplied in the request. | Ensure every variable placeholder in the approved template has a matching parameter in the request. |
| 132001 — Template does not exist | The referenced template wasn't found in the specified language, or isn't approved. | Wrong template name. Wrong language/locale code. Template not yet approved. | Verify the template's name, language code, and approval status in WhatsApp Manager. |
| 132005 — Template hydrated text too long | The final message text, after inserting variables, exceeds the allowed length. | Long variable values pushed the rendered template over the character limit. | Shorten the variable values or the template body, and verify the rendered text in WhatsApp Manager. |
| 132007 — Template format policy violation | The template violates WhatsApp's content or format policy. | Template content doesn't meet formatting or policy guidelines. | Review the template rejection reasons documentation and adjust the template content. |
| 132012 — Template parameter format mismatch | One or more variable parameters are incorrectly formatted for the template. | A parameter's type or format doesn't match what the template component expects. | Match the parameter format exactly to what's specified in the template definition. |
| 132015 — Template is paused | The template has been paused due to declining quality. | Poor recipient feedback or low-quality signals on the template. | Improve the template content and wait for it to be re-evaluated, or wait for the pause to lift. |
| 132016 — Template is disabled | The template has been permanently disabled after repeated quality issues. | Template was paused multiple times without sufficient improvement. | Create a new template with revised content — disabled templates cannot be reactivated. |
| 132068 — Flow is blocked | The referenced WhatsApp Flow is currently in a blocked state. | The flow was blocked due to a policy or technical issue. | Review and resolve the flagged issues with the flow in WhatsApp Manager. |
| 132069 — Flow is throttled | The referenced WhatsApp Flow has been throttled after high recent volume. | More than the allowed number of flow sends within the last hour. | Reduce flow send volume; throttling clears automatically as volume drops. |
| 133000 — Incomplete deregistration | A previous attempt to deregister this phone number did not complete successfully. | Deregistration process was interrupted or failed. | Deregister the number again fully before attempting to re-register it. |
| 133004 — Server temporarily unavailable | The registration server is temporarily unavailable. | Backend outage during registration. | Check the WhatsApp Business Platform status page and review the response details before retrying. |
| 133005 — Two-step verification PIN mismatch | The two-step verification PIN provided is incorrect. | Wrong PIN entered during registration/verification. | Re-enter the correct two-step verification PIN for the account. |
| 133006 — Phone number requires re-verification | The phone number must be verified again before it can be used. | Verification expired or was reset. | Complete phone number verification before attempting to register again. |
| 133008 — Too many PIN guesses | Too many incorrect two-step verification PIN attempts were made. | Repeated wrong PIN entries triggered a temporary lockout. | Wait for the specified cooldown period before trying the PIN again. |
| 133009 — PIN guessed too fast | The two-step verification PIN was submitted too quickly after a previous attempt. | Retried the PIN before the required wait period elapsed. | Wait for the time specified in the response details before retrying. |
| 133010 — Phone number not registered | The phone number has not been registered on the WhatsApp Business Platform. | Attempting to use a number that hasn't completed registration. | Register the phone number on the platform before sending messages with it. |
| 133015 — Wait before registering | A recently deleted number's deregistration process hasn't finished yet. | Number was deleted very recently and cleanup is still in progress. | Wait about 5 minutes after deletion before attempting to register the number again. |
| 133016 — Registration rate limit reached | Too many register/deregister attempts were made for this number. | Repeated registration cycling in a short period. | Wait until the number is unblocked and review the platform's registration limitations. |
| 135000 — Generic user error | The message failed due to an unknown request parameter error. | Malformed or unexpected request parameter. | Verify the request matches the correct endpoint syntax; contact support if it persists. |
Source: Lead Pattern Help Center troubleshooting articles. Click a code for the full article. Error codes come from Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I see the error code for a failed message?+
In Lead Pattern the failure reason is shown on the message itself, so you can tell a limit or window problem from a content mistake.
What does error 131047 mean?+
The message was not sent because the customer hasn't replied within the last 24 hours. Use an approved message template to restart the conversation.
What does error 131026 mean?+
The message could not be delivered — usually the recipient doesn't have WhatsApp, hasn't accepted the latest terms, is on an outdated app or their phone has been unreachable for a long time.
Should I retry a failed WhatsApp message?+
It depends on the code. Temporary server errors (like 1000, 131000) can be retried after about 10 minutes; for 131049 avoid immediate retries and space attempts out; for window errors send a template instead.
Still stuck?
Lead Pattern customers can raise a support ticket from inside the app, or message our team on WhatsApp. The Help Center has a full article for every error code.
More fix-it guides
WhatsApp message not delivered
Undeliverable messages, Meta delivery decisions, experiments and the 24-hour window.
Read the guide →WhatsApp Business account blocked or limited
Policy blocks, locked accounts, spam limits and a red quality rating.
Read the guide →WhatsApp template errors
Missing templates, variable mismatches, paused and disabled templates.
Read the guide →Number registration errors
PIN problems, re-verification, numbers not registered and display names.
Read the guide →Move a WhatsApp Business App number to the API
What happens to a number already on the app, and the two ways to connect it.
Read the guide →WhatsApp calls not working
Missing call controls, calls that don't ring and call permission.
Read the guide →
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