"Waiting for This Message" on WhatsApp: Meaning and Fix
"Waiting for this message. This may take a while." on WhatsApp means an incoming message hasn't reached your phone in a form WhatsApp can show yet. WhatsApp lists four causes: the message failed to deliver, you or the sender recently reinstalled WhatsApp, one of you is on an old version, or you moved your number to a new phone. Its page explains this next to end-to-end encryption, which means only you and the sender can read what you send each other.
The fixes WhatsApp gives start with getting both of you online at the same time, and end with asking for a resend or relinking a device. This page covers each cause, each fix, and why reinstalling again isn't one of them.
What the message is telling you
WhatsApp's help center says the placeholder can replace an incoming message for four reasons:
- The message failed to deliver.
- You or the sender recently reinstalled WhatsApp.
- You or the sender aren't using the latest version of WhatsApp.
- You replaced your primary device and installed WhatsApp on a new device with the same number.
Blocking and deleting aren't on that list. A deleted message has its own wording, covered in what "this message was deleted" means.
Nothing on the help page says how long the wait lasts, and it doesn't promise the message will arrive. The "may take a while" in the text is the only timing WhatsApp gives.
What to try, in order
These are the steps from WhatsApp's help page, in the order it gives them.
- Get both phones online together. Ask the sender to open WhatsApp and make sure you're both online at the same time.
- Check your connection. Try switching between Wi-Fi and mobile internet. With a weak signal, move somewhere else.
- Update WhatsApp on both phones. WhatsApp lists an out-of-date app on either side as a cause.
- Ask the sender to resend. WhatsApp's fix for a message that failed to deliver is a resend.
- Switch to your primary phone. That's the phone you used to register your WhatsApp account.
- Unlink and relink a linked device. If you only see the placeholder on WhatsApp Web, the desktop app or another linked device, remove it from Linked devices and link it again.
Steps 1, 3 and 4 need the sender. If they aren't answering on WhatsApp, a call or text asking them to open the app is a reasonable first move.
After a reinstall or a new phone
Reinstalling is on WhatsApp's list of causes, not its list of fixes, so a second reinstall isn't a cure. If you see the placeholder soon after reinstalling, work through the steps above instead: update, get online together, ask for a resend.
The same applies to a new phone with the same number. WhatsApp lists replacing your primary device as a cause, and one of its fixes is to switch to your primary phone, meaning the one you used to register your account. Once the app is updated and both of you have been online, ask the sender to resend anything that stays stuck.
WhatsApp doesn't document a way to recover a message that never completes. If it never arrives, the resend is the answer.
When it only happens in one chat
If a single contact's messages keep showing the placeholder, the causes on WhatsApp's list point at the two of you: a reinstall, an old version or a new phone on either side. Check that your WhatsApp is current, ask the contact to update theirs and open the app, then ask them to resend.
A security code change notice between the two of you is a separate notice, which WhatsApp ties to a reinstall, a new phone or an added or removed paired device. We explain it in why a security code changed.
If your own messages to them are stuck rather than theirs to you, that's a sending problem, not this one. The ticks tell you where they got to, as in what one grey tick means.
Linked devices need the phone too
The help page adds a note that matters for WhatsApp Web, desktop and other linked devices: you need to log in to your primary phone every 14 days to keep linked devices connected to your account. The full rule is in why linked devices log out automatically.
Where Tenashi fits
On a business number, a stuck message is a customer asking something and a team that can't read it. When the number lives on one phone, whoever holds the phone is the only one who knows.
Tenashi connects your own WhatsApp number as a linked device and shows its chats in a shared inbox. If a message from a customer arrives in a form that can't be read yet, Tenashi shows a waiting placeholder in the thread that fills in when WhatsApp completes the delivery, so the whole team sees the same state. It covers chats on your own connected business number, from the day you connect it. For running a team on one number, see our guide to WhatsApp for business.
Plans start at $18/mo. Get started.
FAQ
What does "Waiting for this message" mean on WhatsApp?
It means an incoming message hasn't reached you in a form WhatsApp can show. WhatsApp lists four causes: a failed delivery, a recent reinstall by you or the sender, an old app version on either side, or a new primary phone with the same number. Getting both of you online and updated, or a resend, are the official fixes.
How do I fix "Waiting for this message. This may take a while"?
Ask the sender to open WhatsApp while you're online too, check your connection, and make sure both of you have the latest version. If the message failed to deliver, ask the sender to resend it. WhatsApp also suggests switching to your primary phone or relinking a linked device.
Why do I see "Waiting for this message" after reinstalling WhatsApp?
WhatsApp lists a recent reinstall, by you or the sender, as a cause. It also lists replacing your primary device and installing WhatsApp on a new phone with the same number. Get both people online on up-to-date apps, and ask the sender to resend anything that stays stuck.
Does "Waiting for this message" mean I was blocked?
WhatsApp doesn't list blocking as a cause. Its causes are a failed delivery, a reinstall, an out-of-date app, or a replaced primary device. WhatsApp's own page on being blocked lists other signs, such as messages stuck on one grey tick, and says it can't tell you whether someone blocked you.
Does "Waiting for this message. This may take a while" go away on its own?
It can, once the message completes its delivery, but WhatsApp's help page gives no time frame and no promise. If it stays, get both phones online on current versions, then ask the sender to resend the message.
A placeholder is a delivery problem, and the cure is both sides being online and up to date. If your customers' messages land on a phone nobody else can see, get started with Tenashi.