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    MessagingGeneral

    Some contacts cannot read your WhatsApp messages

    You're sending messages through WhatsApp Business, and most contacts receive them fine, but some contacts report they can't see your messages. The messages show as sent on your end, but the recipient sees nothing or gets a "message unavailable" notice.

    3 min read

    Updated

    If your WhatsApp Business number operates in coexistence mode (connected to both the WhatsApp Business app on your phone and a Cloud API platform), messages sent through the API or WhatsApp Web may not be readable by contacts using outdated WhatsApp versions.

    This is a Meta platform limitation, not a bug in your setup.

    Contacts running older or unsupported versions of WhatsApp cannot receive messages sent through the Cloud API in coexistence mode:

    • WhatsApp versions that haven't been updated in several months
    • WhatsApp on unsupported phone operating systems (very old Android or iOS)
    • Some regional or modified WhatsApp clients

    Contacts on current, standard versions of WhatsApp receive messages normally.

    1
  1. Most contacts receive your messages, but a few specific contacts don't
    2. 2
  2. The affected contacts tend to be on older phones or rarely update apps
    3. 3
  3. You may see Error 131060 ("This message is unavailable") in your webhook logs
    4. 4
  4. Messages sent directly from the WhatsApp Business app (not through the API) still reach these contacts

    5. For affected contacts

    Ask them to update their WhatsApp app to the latest version from their app store. Once updated, messages sent through the API will be readable.

    Suggested message to send via another channel (SMS, email):

    "We noticed our WhatsApp messages may not be reaching you. Please update your WhatsApp app to the latest version and try again."

    If many contacts are affected

    If a significant portion of your audience uses older WhatsApp versions, consider:

    • Sending critical messages directly from the WhatsApp Business app (not through the API) as a fallback
    • Using SMS as a backup channel for time-sensitive communications
    • Gradually migrating contacts by encouraging app updates

    In coexistence mode, messages sent through the Cloud API use a different encryption and delivery path than messages sent directly from the phone. Older WhatsApp clients don't support this path, so they either show "message unavailable" or don't display the message at all.

    Meta documents this in their coexistence mode documentation.

    If you're unsure whether coexistence mode is the right setup for your audience:

    Talk to Volty

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