WhatsApp API: Rejected Message Errors – Help Guide
WhatsApp may reject message delivery for many reasons. Common causes include:
- Invalid phone numbers
- Unapproved or mismatched message templates
- Policy violations (e.g., too many marketing messages)
- Recipient issues (phone offline, old app version, privacy policy not accepted)
- Technical errors (wrong API parameters, authentication failures)
Below is a list of the most common “Rejected by WhatsApp” error codes, exact reasons, and actionable fixes.
| Error Code | Reason | Suggested Approach/ Solution |
|---|---|---|
| 131026 | Message Undeliverable | The recipient has to accept WhatsApp T&Cs for service, register a WhatsApp account, or update the app version. |
| 131042 | Business Eligibility Payment Issue | Verify billing details and payment method in WhatsApp Manager to ensure the billing is set up properly. |
| 131049 | Meta did not deliver the message | This may be due to the per-user marketing message limit (read more details here). Retry after a certain time period. |
| 131056 | Pair rate limit hit | Wait and retry sending messages to the same recipient’s phone number. Sending messages to other phone numbers is not restricted. |
| 131048 | Spam rate limit hit | Check the quality status in WhatsApp Manager and reduce message frequency. |
| 131051 | Unsupported message type | Check supported message types in WhatsApp documentation. |
| 131052 | Media download error | It is suggested that the user is requested to send the media file on a channel other than WhatsApp. |
Useful Links
- Other Error Code Exahustive List: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/cloud-api/support/error-codes