WhatsApp API error codes: a cheat-sheet of causes and fixes (131047, 131049, 131026 and more)

When a WhatsApp message fails, the Cloud API returns a numeric code and a short title, either straight away in the API response or later in the status webhook with status: failed. This cheat-sheet groups the WhatsApp API error codes businesses meet most often, with what each one means, the usual cause in practice and what to do. Meanings follow Meta's Cloud API error codes page, checked on 12 Oct 2026. Meta rewords titles from time to time, so treat the code number, not the text, as the reliable key, and check Meta's page when something does not match.

How to read a failed message

A failed status webhook looks like this. The values are illustrative:

{
  "statuses": [
    {
      "id": "wamid.HBgMOTE5ODc2NTQzMjEw...",
      "status": "failed",
      "timestamp": "1760247000",
      "recipient_id": "919876543210",
      "errors": [
        {
          "code": 131049,
          "title": "This message was not delivered to maintain healthy ecosystem engagement.",
          "error_data": { "details": "..." }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Read three things: the code, the recipient and the template or message you sent. One failure to one customer is normal. The same code across hundreds of recipients in one campaign points at your template, your account or a limit.

Customer service window and recipient errors

The 24-hour rule causes more failures than anything else. Our explainer on the 24-hour customer service window covers when it opens and how Click-to-WhatsApp ads change it.

Limits and throttling

131049 is the code Indian marketers ask about most. We explain it in detail in per-user marketing limits and error 131049. For the separate daily cap on how many unique customers your portfolio can reach, see messaging limit tiers.

Detailed fixes for the other codes Indian businesses hit most: 131047, outside the 24-hour window, 131026, message undeliverable, 131056, pair rate limit, 131064, template classification violations and 130472, message not sent as part of an experiment. More single-code guides: 131000, 131042, 131051, 132001, 133010, 368.

Template errors

If templates are being rejected at review rather than failing at send time, read why WhatsApp templates get rejected.

Account, payment and policy errors

Registration and phone number errors

Media, request and server errors

A simple retry policy

1. Retry automatically, with back-off: 130429, 131056, 80007, 131016, 131057, 131000.
2. Retry only after a fix: 131047 (switch to a template), 132000, 132001, 132012 (fix the template call), 131042 (fix payment), 190 (new token).
3. Retry after 24 hours at the earliest: 131049.
4. Never retry: 131050, 131026 (until the customer messages you), 132016, 368.

Finding error codes in Broadchat

Broadchat records Meta's status webhooks for every message. In the Inbox, open a failed message's info to see when it failed and Meta's error code and reason. Campaign reports show sent, delivered, read, replied and failed per recipient, and you can export them as CSV or retarget a group, for example the failed recipients after a 131049 wait. Incoming messages that WhatsApp cannot show through the API appear with a clear notice instead of an empty bubble. Campaign sending is paced to your number's messaging limit and throughput and retries pair-rate-limit errors, which avoids most 130429 and 131056 failures. To start sending, see how to send a campaign, and for the bigger picture the plain-English guide to the WhatsApp Business API.

All single-code guides

Step-by-step fixes for each code: 4, 368, 80007, 130429, 130472, 131000, 131008, 131009, 131016, 131021, 131026, 131031, 131042, 131047, 131048, 131049, 131051, 131052, 131053, 131056, 131057, 131060, 131063, 131064, 131065, 132000, 132001, 132005, 132007, 132012, 132015, 132016, 132068, 133010, 135000.