When the WhatsApp Business API stops working, it almost always comes down to one of five things: messages not delivering, business verification stalled, templates rejected, account restricted, or webhooks not responding. Each issue has a specific cause and a specific fix. The businesses that resolve these quickly are the ones who know where to look first: and have a support team they can call when they need to escalate.
Here is how to diagnose and resolve each one.
Messages Not Delivering
Check your number formatting first. WhatsApp requires full international format with no spaces, brackets, or hyphens. A single formatting error prevents delivery. Correct formats:
Ghana: +233201234567
Nigeria: +2348012345678
Kenya: +254712345678
South Africa: +27821234567
UK: +447700900123
Check your quality rating. Go to WhatsApp Manager and select your phone number. Your quality rating is displayed as High (green), Medium (yellow), or Low (red) and reflects approximately the last seven days of recipient behaviour: block rates, report rates, and engagement patterns. A Low rating can result in sending restrictions. If your number rating looks fine but specific templates are still not sending, check the template-level quality rating too: individual templates carry their own ratings and can be paused independently of the number.
Check your messaging limit. Since October 2025, limits apply at the Business Portfolio level. New portfolios start at 250 unique contacts per 24 hours for business-initiated messages outside the customer-service window. Replies within an open customer-initiated conversation do not consume this limit. To check: WhatsApp Manager → Account tools → Messaging limits.
Moving from 250 to 2,000 requires an eligible scaling path: Meta business verification, partner verification, or delivering 2,000 qualifying template messages to unique users within a rolling 30-day period. From 2,000 onward, Meta can automatically increase your limit when message quality is high and you consistently use your available capacity. Specifically, you need to reach at least 50% of your current limit within the previous seven days. For example, at the 2,000 tier, reaching at least 1,000 unique users within that rolling seven-day window can qualify you for the next increase.
Note: your contact list may include numbers that are inactive or no longer registered on WhatsApp. These do not count toward your used capacity even if they appear in your send list. Your effective daily reach may therefore be lower than your list size, so factor this in when trying to meet the usage threshold for the next tier.
Business Verification Stuck
Name mismatch is the most common cause. The business name in Meta Business Manager must closely match your registration documents. "Accra Traders Ltd" and "Accra Traders Limited" are treated differently. Copy the name directly from your certificate.
Wrong documents. Meta accepts registration and incorporation certificates, tax registration documents, and similar official organisational documents. The specific combination varies by verification case. Common documents by country:
Ghana: Registration certificates from the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) are commonly accepted
Nigeria: Incorporation and registration documents are commonly required; additional tax documents may be requested
Kenya: Business registration certificates and government-issued tax documents are commonly accepted
South Africa: CIPC registration documents are commonly accepted; SARS tax documentation may also be requested
Tax ID format. Enter exactly as it appears on your certificate with no additional spaces or characters.
Delayed review. Meta's documentation states most verifications process within 48 hours, though some take longer. If nothing has moved after 7 business days, contact your API provider rather than resubmitting. Submitting a second verification request while one is pending can create conflicting records and extend the delay further.
If you are an Intelli customer and verification is stuck, contact [email protected] with your Business Manager ID and the date of your original submission. The team can advise on what steps are available.
Templates Being Rejected
Missing variable examples. Every template variable must have a sample value at submission. A template with {{1}} and no example will be rejected.
Wrong category. Utility templates are for transactional messages. If a utility template contains promotional language, Meta may approve it as a marketing template instead, or reclassify it after approval. This means it is charged at the higher marketing rate.
Prohibited content. WhatsApp prohibits using the platform to promote or facilitate alcohol and tobacco, real-money gambling, certain financial products, drugs, weapons, adult products, and similar restricted categories. Political parties, politicians, and campaigns are also prohibited. These restrictions apply even where the business is locally licensed. Check the current WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy before building templates in regulated industries.
Forgotten sync. After Meta approves a template, it must be synced within your API platform before it can be used. If a newly approved template fails to send, check whether it has been synced. In Intelli, this can be triggered manually from the templates section.
Fix the specific stated rejection reason before resubmitting.
Account Restricted or Banned
Account restrictions can result from poor messaging quality, negative user feedback, or violations of WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy. Quality is one factor but not the only one: Meta also enforces its policy directly through separate review mechanisms.
High block or report rates from campaigns are a common quality trigger. Contacts who were not expecting to hear from you are more likely to block or report your messages. WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy requires opt-in before you contact someone, and this is both a compliance requirement and the most effective way to keep block rates low.
Template misuse can result in the template being reclassified as a marketing template, or in enforcement action depending on the nature of the violation.
If your account is restricted, check your quality rating and template statuses in WhatsApp Manager and address the underlying cause before resuming campaigns. If the account has been banned, submit an appeal through Meta Business Manager under the WhatsApp account section.
One thing to be clear on: the quality rating system and Meta's Business Messaging Policy enforcement are separate mechanisms. An account can be restricted through either pathway: a quality drop from user feedback, or a direct policy violation that Meta identifies independently of the quality system. The resolution path differs depending on which one caused the restriction.
Webhooks Not Receiving Messages
Not publicly accessible. Your webhook endpoint must be at a publicly accessible HTTPS URL. A localhost address or anything behind a firewall will not receive events from Meta.
SSL certificate. Meta requires a valid SSL certificate. An expired, self-signed, or misconfigured certificate can prevent webhook verification or delivery.
App not subscribed to the correct WABA. Ensure the app is subscribed to the relevant WhatsApp Business Account in Meta's app settings. On the Cloud API, inbound messages and status notifications both arrive under the webhook's messages field: status updates appear as a statuses object within that field, not as a separate subscription type.
Verification not completed. Meta sends a challenge token to your webhook when it is first registered. If your endpoint did not return the correct response, the webhook is not active.
If you are using Intelli, webhook configuration is handled by the platform and issues surface in the dashboard rather than requiring manual diagnosis. If you are building a custom integration directly against the API, work through the checklist above before escalating: the large majority of webhook issues are one of the four causes listed.
When to Escalate to Your Provider
Some API issues can be resolved through configuration changes and the checks described above. Others benefit from experienced support alongside you as you work through Meta's processes. Knowing when to stop troubleshooting alone and when to escalate saves significant time.
Escalate if:
Your Meta Business Manager verification has been in review for more than 7 business days with no update. Do not resubmit: contact your API provider with your Business Manager ID and submission date.
Your account has been banned and you do not understand what triggered it. The appeal process is more effective when you understand the root cause first. If the trigger is unclear, an experienced provider can help you read the signals.
You have worked through all the checks above and messages are still not delivering. At that point the issue is likely account-level or API-configuration-level and benefits from someone who has seen it before.
Template rejections are continuing despite following the guidelines. Persistent rejections on well-constructed templates sometimes indicate an account-level flag rather than a template-level issue.
Intelli's support team works with businesses across Africa through exactly these situations. Contact [email protected] with a description of the issue, your Business Manager ID, and what you have already tried. The team responds with specific guidance rather than a generic knowledge base link.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check my quality rating? WhatsApp Manager → select your phone number → quality rating displayed on the number overview as High, Medium, or Low. Your portfolio-level messaging limit is a separate metric under Account tools → Messaging limits.
How long does business verification take? Meta's documentation states most verifications complete within 48 hours. Some take longer. If nothing has moved after 7 business days, contact your API provider rather than resubmitting.
Can a banned account be reinstated? Yes, in many cases. Submit an appeal through Meta Business Manager. If you are an Intelli customer, contact [email protected]: the team can help you understand what happened and guide you through the appeal process.
My number worked yesterday and stopped today. What happened? There are several common causes and it is worth working through them in order. Check your quality rating on the number overview page in WhatsApp Manager. Check whether any of your active templates have been paused due to low template-level quality. Check whether you have reached your portfolio messaging limit for the 24-hour period under Account tools, then Messaging limits. Check your API credentials and connection if the platform configuration has recently changed. If none of these identify the issue, contact [email protected].
Intelli supports businesses across Africa through WhatsApp API setup, verification, and troubleshooting. Contact [email protected] or visit intelliconcierge.com.
