Messages may fail to send or deliver in CloudTalk’s WhatsApp integration for several reasons. This guide explains the most common causes and how to resolve them.
Symptoms
You may experience one or more of the following issues:
Outbound WhatsApp messages do not send
Inbound WhatsApp messages do not appear in CloudTalk
Templates do not show in the message window
Only templates are available and freeform messaging is blocked
Error 63018 (daily message limit reached)
Media does not display or download
A WhatsApp number appears as inactive or unverified
Templates remain in "pending" status for too long
Root Causes
⚠️ Number activation and prerequisites
WhatsApp number was not activated in the Dashboard
Meta Business Manager ID is missing or incorrect
Number is not part of CloudTalk’s approved WhatsApp inventory
Pre-registration form was not submitted
⚠️ Template issues
No approved template available
Templates were submitted but are still pending
Template rejected by Meta
Template category not allowed for the destination (for example, Marketing templates to US recipients may be blocked by Meta or local carriers)
Authentication templates are not supported in CloudTalk
Template variables contain unsupported content
👉 See: WhatsApp outbound messages
⚠️ 24-hour customer response window
The customer has not replied within the last 24 hours
Agent tries to send freeform text outside the allowed window
⚠️ Daily messaging limits
The business reached the Meta daily outbound cap
Error 63018 appears in CloudTalk
⚠️ Meta Business Verification
Required for outbound messaging
Required for more than two WhatsApp numbers
Verification can take up to 14 business days
If verification is incomplete, templates cannot be approved
⚠️ Media limitations
File exceeds 16MB
Unsupported file type
WhatsApp media permissions not granted
⚠️ Meta-side restrictions
Template is paused due to low rating
Meta blocked the message due to content rules
Template approval delays
CloudTalk does not display Meta-side blocks directly, so some message failures may appear without an error.
Step-by-Step Fixes
1. Confirm that your WhatsApp number is fully activated
Your number must be activated through the Meta popup in the Dashboard before messaging can work.
How to check
Go to Dashboard > Settings > WhatsApp
If your number appears in this list, activation completed successfully.
3. If the number does not appear, the activation was not finished.
How to fix activation issues
If your number does not appear:
Make sure your company submitted the WhatsApp Integration Pre-Registration Form
Click Add new in the WhatsApp section
Complete the Meta popup (log into Meta Business Manager)
Select the correct WhatsApp Business Account. This must be the WhatsApp Business Account created during this setup flow for the CloudTalk integration.
Approve permissions
Confirm the activation flow
If the Meta window did not appear or closed early, restart the process from the beginning.
2. Check approved templates
Outbound messages require approved templates, unless you are in an active 24-hour session.
How to check template availability
Open the Desktop Phone App
Go to Messages
Click the
+, then choose WhatsAppSelect a contact
Look for available templates in the list
If no templates appear:
The customer’s templates might still be pending
Templates may have been rejected
The account may not be verified by Meta
The number may not be activated correctly
How to fix
Confirm that your company submitted the Outbound Template Submission Form
Customers can check template status inside their Meta Business Manager > WhatsApp Manager > Message Templates
If the template status shows Rejected:
Adjust content and resubmit
Make sure your template category is allowed:
Marketing templates to US numbers are blocked by Meta
Authentication templates are not supported by CloudTalk
👉 See full rules in: WhatsApp outbound messages
3. Check the 24-hour session window
Freeform messaging only works if the customer has replied within the last 24 hours.
How to check
Open the conversation in the Desktop Phone
If the "freeform message" field is disabled and only templates are shown, the window has expired
Why this matters
The 24-hour messaging rule is enforced by Meta.
If the customer hasn’t responded in more than 24 hours, the agent must:
Use an approved template to re-open the conversation
Wait for the customer to reply
Once the customer responds, the agent can send freeform messages again
👉 Guide: How to use WhatsApp with CloudTalk
4. Check for daily messaging limits (error 63018)
Meta assigns each WhatsApp Business number a messaging tier, which determines how many conversation starts you can initiate per day. These limits are controlled entirely by Meta and depend on your account’s quality score, recent activity, and customer feedback.
CloudTalk cannot see or change your Meta messaging tier.
How to identify this issue
If your outbound WhatsApp messages suddenly stop sending or fail without a clear reason, your business may have reached the daily messaging limit set by Meta.
Behind the scenes, Meta returns an error such as 63018 (messaging limit reached), but this error is not currently displayed in the CloudTalk app.
5. Confirm Meta Business Verification
Business Verification affects how many WhatsApp numbers you can use and how your templates are approved.
Business Verification is required for:
Using more than two WhatsApp numbers
Scaling outbound messaging
Raising your messaging tier
Ensuring template approvals are not delayed
Not always required:
Small accounts can send outbound messages with up to two numbers even before verification, but with restrictions.
How to check
In your Meta Business Manager:
Ensure your business shows as Verified,
Or check for any pending documents or required steps.
Verification may take up to 14 business days.
6. Validate template variables
If template variables use content that Meta does not allow, templates can be rejected or fail to send.
Allowed content:
Text variables (recommended to keep under 250 characters for reliable delivery)
URLs (up to 2000 characters)
Not supported:
Buttons
Calls to action
Media inside variables
Non-text elements
Very long variable strings that exceed WhatsApp's total message limits
If variable content is invalid, messages may fail silently or templates may be rejected
7. Fix media issues
WhatsApp supports various file types, but CloudTalk currently limits what can be sent vs received.
CloudTalk supports receiving:
Images: JPG, JPEG, PNG
Audio: MP3, OGG, AMR
Video: MP4
Documents: PDF
Contacts: vCard
Up to 16 MB per file
CloudTalk supports sending:
Images only (JPG, JPEG, PNG)
Not supported:
Files larger than 16 MB
Unsupported formats
Videos, audio, documents for outbound sending
Broken URLs or corrupted files
👉 Guide: How to use WhatsApp with CloudTalk
8. Check for Meta blocks
Meta may silently block messages if:
The template rating dropped too low
The template violated content rules
It was a Marketing template sent to a US recipient
The business is temporarily rate-limited
CloudTalk does not show Meta content block errors, so failures may appear with no error.
If this persists, Support can check whether your number or template is restricted.
9. Re-activate the sender ID if needed
If activation was interrupted or did not complete correctly, the number may be in a partial state.
How to fix
Go to Settings > WhatsApp
Start activation again
Complete the full Meta popup flow
Confirm number appears as Active
👉 Activation guide: How to activate a number
When to Contact Support
Contact CloudTalk Support if:
The activation popup fails or never appears
Templates remain pending for more than 72 hours
Messages still do not send after activation
Inbound messages do not appear despite active sender
Media fails to download despite meeting requirements
Outbound messages fail with no visible error
Provide:
Affected WhatsApp number
Business Manager ID
Time and date of failed messages
Screenshot of template approval status
Any error messages shown in CloudTalk