WhatsApp Message Failed: "Not on WhatsApp" Number Error Explained
When a scheduled message fails with "not on WhatsApp", WhatsApp did not recognise the number. Check the country code first, then fix the contact and resend.
Maya Cohen4 min read
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If a scheduled message failed with "this number is not on WhatsApp", WhatsApp did not recognise that number as a WhatsApp account. Check that the number includes its country code, fix the contact, then send again.
What does "not on WhatsApp" mean?
Blueticks sends from your own WhatsApp account, so the recipient has to be a number WhatsApp knows. If WhatsApp says the number is not registered, the message is not sent.
The card on the failed message says: "Failed — not on WhatsApp". The detail reads: "This number isn't registered on WhatsApp. Check that it includes the country code." In reports the reason reads: "Not sent — this number is not on WhatsApp."
Your connection is not the problem. Other messages to valid numbers still go out.
How do I fix it?
- Open the contact and check the number. It needs the country code, for example 972 for Israel or 1 for the US.
- Remove extra characters and check for a typo or a missing digit.
- Check with the person that they use WhatsApp on that exact number.
- Fix the contact, then schedule the message again.
Will retrying work without changing anything?
No. Blueticks treats this as a permanent failure and does not retry it on its own. Sending again to the same number gets the same answer until the number or the person's WhatsApp registration changes.
What happens in a campaign?
The other contacts in the campaign are not affected. Only the numbers WhatsApp rejected fail.
When several numbers fail this way, the campaign shows a hint: "numbers aren't on WhatsApp. Check that they include the country code (for example 972 or 1)", with a View these numbers button. It appears when at least three numbers failed for this reason and they make up at least 20% of the failures, or when every failure is this reason.
Several failures at once usually point at the contact list, not at WhatsApp. A common cause is a spreadsheet where the country code is missing from the phone column. See how to bulk schedule WhatsApp messages from a spreadsheet.
How is this different from other failures?
"Not on WhatsApp" is about the recipient's number. It is not a connection error and not a group error. For the full list of failure reasons, see why scheduled WhatsApp messages don't send. If the failure names a group, see can't send a WhatsApp message to a group.
FAQ
Does this mean the person blocked me?
Not from this error. It says the number is not registered on WhatsApp. It does not tell you anything about blocks.
Does the number need a plus sign?
The card asks for the country code. Blueticks reads the digits of the number, so enter the full number with its country code, as in the examples above.
Could WhatsApp be wrong?
Blueticks relies on WhatsApp's answer. If you are sure the person uses WhatsApp, confirm the exact number with them, correct the contact, and resend.
Want scheduled messages with a clear failure reason when something goes wrong? Start free with Blueticks.
