Why someone wasn't reached

Every recipient who didn't get a campaign carries a reason. The console shows its label in the Reason column, groups them in Why N people didn't get this, and explains each one when you open the recipient. See Follow a campaign and read its results.

Each reason has a scope, and that decides what to do:

Scope	Meaning	What the console offers
One person	Something about this recipient.	No button. Retrying won't change most of these.
Account (badge Affects every message)	The account, the number or the template is the problem.	No retry button, and the note Retrying will not help until this is fixed.
Temporary	Busy or rate-limited, on our side or the provider's.	Retry these, for admins.

Retry these and Retry N failed do the same thing: they requeue every failed recipient on the campaign, not only the group you pressed it on. People left out by a rule (Not sent) are never retried.

Left out by a rule #

These are the rules working as intended. Amber in the console, shown as Not sent.

Label	Code	What happened	What to do
Opted out	`suppressed`	The person asked to stop receiving messages from you.	Nothing; it stands until they message you again.
No consent on this channel	`channel_consent_missing`	The contact's record says they opted out of this channel.	Nothing, or reach them on a channel they haven't opted out of.
Already messaged today	`daily_contact_cap`	This campaign already reached them today.	Nothing. One message per campaign per day is fixed.
Over the weekly limit	`weekly_contact_cap`	They've had as many campaign messages this week as your workspace allows.	Nothing, or raise Most messages one person gets a week (up to 4) in Sending rules.
Duplicate	`duplicate_recipient`	The same person appeared more than once.	Nothing; they got one message.
Missing a personalised value	`missing_variable`	The message needs a value they don't have, such as an empty name cell.	Fill the value, or map the placeholder to something everyone has.
Unusable phone number	`invalid_destination`	Not a valid, dialable number.	Correct it, with the country code.
Outside the 24-hour window	`session_window_closed`	Free-form text to someone whose 24-hour window has closed.	Send an approved template.
Campaign cancelled	`campaign_cancelled`	The campaign was cancelled before they were reached.	Duplicate the campaign to reach them.

Template problems #

These affect every message, because every recipient gets the same template.

Label	Code	What happened	What to do
Template not found	`template_not_found`, Meta `132001`	The template no longer exists, or not in that language.	Pick another, or recreate it and get it approved.
Template not approved	`template_not_approved`	Meta hasn't approved it.	Wait for the review, or edit and resubmit it.
Template values did not fit	`template_variables`, Meta `132000`, `132012`	The values don't match the template's placeholders.	Check the placeholder mapping against the template.
Template media missing	`template_media_missing`	The template has an image or video header and nothing is attached.	Attach the file to the template; it needs no new review.
Message too long	Meta `132005`	With this person's values filled in, the message is too long.	Shorten the template or the values.
Template rejected on format	Meta `132007`	The formatting breaks Meta's content rules.	Edit and resubmit the template.
Template paused	Meta `132015`	Too many people marked it unwanted, so Meta paused it.	Use another template; the pause lifts as quality recovers.
Template disabled	Meta `132016`	Meta disabled it permanently for poor quality.	Create a new template.
Could not read the media	Meta `131052`	Meta couldn't download the header file.	Re-upload the image or video, then retry.
Could not send the media	Meta `131053`	Meta rejected the file, usually format or size.	Use a JPEG or PNG under 5 MB, or an MP4 under 16 MB, then retry.
Message was incomplete	Meta `131008`	A value the message needed was missing.	Check the placeholder mapping, then retry.

Account and number problems #

These affect every message. Fix them in Meta Business Manager or under Channels, then retry.

Label	Meta code	What happened	What to do
Payment issue on your WhatsApp account	`131042`	The WhatsApp Business Account has no valid payment method.	Fix the payment method in Meta Business Manager, then retry.
WhatsApp account restricted	`131031`	Meta locked or restricted the account, usually for a policy violation.	Request a review in Meta Business Manager.
Temporarily blocked by Meta	`368`	A temporary block for policy violations.	Read Meta's notice; sending resumes when it expires.
Number not registered	`133010`	The number isn't registered for sending.	Finish its registration under Channels, then retry.
Number not set up correctly	`131045`	The number's registration is incomplete.	Re-register it under Channels, then retry.
WhatsApp connection expired	`190`	The connection to the WhatsApp account has expired.	Reconnect the number under Channels, then retry.
Permission denied	`131005`	The account isn't allowed to send this message.	Reconnect the number; contact support if it persists.
Held back for message quality	`131048`	Too many people blocked or reported the number, so Meta limited it.	Send less often, to people who expect you. The limit lifts as quality recovers.
Channel not connected	`channel_not_connected`	The campaign's channel isn't connected.	Connect it under Channels, then use Retry N failed to continue the campaign. See It stopped halfway.

Delivery problems for one person #

Label	Meta code	What happened	What to do
Cannot receive WhatsApp messages	`131026`	Meta couldn't deliver to the number. Usually it isn't on WhatsApp; a blocked business or an old app look the same.	Check the number. A few of these in a large list is normal.
Outside the 24-hour window	`131047`	Free-form text more than 24 hours after their last message.	Send an approved template.
Sent to your own number	`131021`	The recipient is your sending number.	Remove it from the list.
Not delivered — Meta experiment	`130472`	The person is in a Meta test group that limits marketing messages.	Nothing; it doesn't mean the number is wrong.
Held back by Meta	`131049`	Meta limits how many marketing messages one person gets, and held this one back.	Nothing. Fewer, more relevant marketing messages help.

Temporary #

Retry these.

Label	Code	What happened
Sending too fast	Meta `130429`, `80007`	Messages went out faster than Meta allows for the number. Gradual pacing avoids it.
Rate limited	`rate_limited`	Messages went out faster than the provider allows.
Too many messages to this person	Meta `131056`	Too many messages to one person in a short time. Retry later.
WhatsApp is busy	Meta `131016`	Meta's service was briefly unavailable.
WhatsApp had a problem	Meta `131000`	An unspecified error at Meta.
WhatsApp rejected the message	Meta `100`	Meta rejected how the message was built. Contact support if it keeps happening.
The provider rejected it	`provider_error`	The provider refused the message without a reason. Contact support with the campaign name if it keeps happening.
Waiting for a free line	`call_concurrency`	Every call line was busy. Not a failure: the number stays queued and is dialled automatically.

A Meta code that isn't in these tables shows Meta's own title as the label, with the code in the recipient's details.

How a call ended #

For a call batch, How the calls ended and the recipient's details use these labels:

Label	Meaning	What to do
Call completed	The agent finished the conversation.	Nothing.
Call ended	Answered and finished normally.	Nothing.
Answered, then hung up	They picked up and ended the call.	Many of these usually means the opening line isn't landing.
Nobody answered	It rang and nobody picked up.	Turn on Try again if nobody answers for a second try.
Line busy	The number was engaged.	Retry; it usually clears within the hour.
Call declined	They actively declined the call.	Don't call again soon.
Call did not connect	The call couldn't be placed.	Check the number, then retry.

What each call produced, such as Completed or Asked to call back, is on the Outcomes tab; see Call outcomes.