WhatsApp API error codes, in plain words
In short
WhatsApp's error codes fall into four groups. Some mean try again later (130429, 131016, 131000). Some mean the message itself is wrong — the template, its variables or its file (132000, 132001, 132012, 131053). Some are about the person: not on WhatsApp (131026), outside the 24-hour window (131047), opted out of marketing (131050), or withheld by WhatsApp (131049). And some are about your account: no working payment method (131042), a paused or disabled template (132015, 132016), low quality (131048), restriction (368, 131031) or an expired connection (190). Only the first group is fixed by retrying.
Checked
When a WhatsApp message fails, Meta returns a number and a sentence written for developers. The most useful thing to know about each code is not what it means but who has to do something — because retrying a message that can never go is how a broadcast report ends up with the same failure four times.
These are Meta’s codes, current at the date above. Every provider sees the same ones.
Try again later
Nothing is wrong with the message or the person. Something was busy.
130429 — sending too fast for this number. Each number has a speed limit. A good tool slows down and retries on its own; if you see this from your own code, wait and send less often.
4 and 80007 — too many requests. The same idea, for the app or the WhatsApp account rather than the number. Wait, then make fewer calls.
131016 and 133004 — WhatsApp is temporarily unavailable. Check Meta’s status page and retry later.
131000 — something went wrong, unspecified. Retry. If the same message keeps failing, it is a case for Meta’s support.
The message is wrong
Retrying sends the same mistake. Fix the message, then send it again.
132001 — that template does not exist in this language, or is not approved yet. Usually a template sent seconds after it was submitted, or in English when only the Hindi version was approved. Check the name, the language and the status.
132000 — the number of filled-in values does not match the template. The template has three blanks and the message filled two.
132012 — a value is in the wrong format. Often a template with a photo, video or PDF header sent without the file: Meta wants it in every send, not only at approval. Why the file is needed twice.
132005 — the filled-in message is too long. A long name or address pushed it over the limit.
132007 — the content breaks WhatsApp’s policy. Reread it against Meta’s rules; this one is not fixed by small edits. Why templates get rejected.
131053 — WhatsApp could not use the file. If it was a link, it must open without signing in and must still exist; if it was uploaded, check the type and size.
131008 and 131009 — a required part is missing, or a value is not allowed. A developer’s error: the request does not match what the API expects.
131051 — this kind of message is not supported.
It is about the person
Nothing you change will make these go through to this person today.
131026 — this number cannot receive the message. Most often the number is not on WhatsApp at all. It can also be somebody on a very old version of WhatsApp, or who has not accepted its latest terms. Meta does not say which. A number that fails this way on every broadcast is worth removing from the list.
131047 — more than 24 hours since they last wrote to you. Inside the 24-hour window you can type anything; outside it, only an approved template goes. How the window works.
131050 — they have stopped marketing messages from you. WhatsApp lets a person turn off a business’s marketing messages. Do not retry, and treat it as an unsubscribe.
131049 — WhatsApp withheld this marketing message. WhatsApp limits how many marketing messages one person receives, to keep the app worth opening. It is not a mark against you. Waiting at least 24 hours before trying that person again is Meta’s advice; retrying sooner fails the same way.
131056 — too many messages to this one person, too quickly. Wait before messaging them again. Everybody else is unaffected.
131021 — you sent a message to your own number.
It is about your account
These stop more than one message. Somebody with access to the business’s WhatsApp account has to act.
131042 — there is no working payment method. Meta bills you directly for messages, and refused this one because the card on your WhatsApp account is missing, expired or declined. Fix it in WhatsApp Manager, under payment settings. In talkv this pauses the broadcast rather than failing everybody left on the list, and resuming tries again.
132015 — the template is paused for low quality. Too many people blocked or ignored it. The first pause lasts 3 hours, the second 6 hours. How quality is judged.
132016 — the template is disabled. It was paused three times. Write a new one with different words; this one will not come back.
131048 — sending is restricted because of quality. Too many recent messages from this number were blocked or reported. Slow down, and send only to people who asked to hear from you.
368 and 131031 — the account is restricted or disabled for a policy breach. What to do next.
190 — the connection has expired. The access your provider was given has lapsed or been removed. Connect the account again.
131005 — a permission is missing. The same family: the provider is no longer allowed to do this on your account.
133010 and 131045 — the number is not registered to send. The number was never finished being set up, or was taken off the platform.
131037 — the number has no approved display name.
Reading a broadcast report
After a large send, sort the failures by these groups rather than by count. A few hundred 131026s is a list with old numbers in it — remove them. A handful of 131049s is WhatsApp being WhatsApp. One 131042 is the whole broadcast stopping, and the only one that is urgent. talkv’s broadcast report gives Meta’s reason for each failure in words like these, and a button that removes contacts whose numbers are not on WhatsApp.
