A message didn't get delivered: how to find out why
Every outbound message in AISAR carries a delivery status — from "queued" to "read" or "failed". Here's what each icon means, where to find the exact failure reason, and the causes that come up most often across different channels.
What the status icons mean
| Icon | Status | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Clock | Queued / pending | AISAR accepted the message and it's waiting to be handed to the provider. |
| Single check | Sent | The provider accepted the message — it left AISAR's servers. |
| Double check | Delivered | The message reached the recipient's device. |
| Blue double check | Read | The recipient opened the message. |
| Headphones icon | Played | A voice message was played by the recipient. |
| Red cross | Failed | The message wasn't delivered — click the icon to see why. |
Clicking the status icon opens a popup with the history: the time of each status change, and for a failure, the exact reason text with the provider's code in parentheses. If the message hasn't left your own device yet (a spinning clock right in the chat, not the server-side icon), it shows "Retry" and "Delete" buttons next to it.
Common causes by channel
WhatsApp Business (WABA)
| Reason on the message card | What it means |
|---|---|
| More than 24 hours passed since the customer's last reply | Free-form text only works inside the 24-hour window after the customer wrote in — outside it, an approved template is required. See The WhatsApp Business 24-hour window: how it works and WABA templates: categories, creation, variables. |
| A payment method / spending limit issue | That's a Meta-side bill, not AISAR: check the payment method and spending limit for the WhatsApp Business Account in Meta Business Suite. See How much the WhatsApp Business API costs and its limits. |
| A sending-rate or spam limit was exceeded | This is Meta's own account-level limit, not an AISAR setting — slow down the sending rate, especially for broadcasts to an unfamiliar audience. |
| The number isn't on WhatsApp / hasn't accepted the terms | The recipient doesn't have an active WhatsApp on this number, or the account is on an outdated app version — double-check the recipient's number. |
| The access token expired | The channel needs to be reconnected — see A channel is stuck reconnecting: what to do. |
WhatsApp and Telegram (personal accounts)
| Cause | What to do |
|---|---|
| The channel is "Reconnecting" or "Disconnected" | Messages pile up in the queue until the channel is back to "Connected" — see A channel is stuck reconnecting: what to do. |
| WhatsApp temporarily limits sending to this recipient (reach-out time-lock) | Mass-sending to unfamiliar contacts can trigger this — it's WhatsApp's own anti-spam defense; slow down and target broadcasts more narrowly. See How to avoid a WhatsApp ban. |
| The channel was banned by the provider | No message goes out until the provider lifts the ban on the account — see the banned-channel section in A channel is stuck reconnecting: what to do. |
If the reason isn't clear
If the reason text on the message card doesn't help, contact AISAR support with the channel, the send time, and, if possible, the recipient's number — that's enough to find the message in the logs.
See also
General conversation and message-status handling — in Working in AISAR chat. Broadcasts and rate limits — in Broadcasts: how to prepare and send one without getting banned.