WhatsApp error 131047: More than 24 hours since the customer's last message
The ArabyBot teamOfficial Meta partner · written from our own platform dataOn this page 5
The short answer
Error 131047 means you tried to send a regular message to a customer whose last message is more than 24 hours old, and WhatsApp then only allows an approved template. Send a template; when the customer replies, a new 24-hour window opens and you can message freely.
Why error 131047 appears
- The reply came more than 24 hours after the customer's last message.
- An automatic follow-up went out as plain text after the window closed.
How to fix it, step by step
- Send an approved template
A utility or marketing template, depending on what the message is for.
- Reply within 24 hours next time
An auto-reply or AI agent answers at once inside the window, so no template is needed.
What ArabyBot does about it
- The reason appears in plain words under the message itself in the inbox, on the web and in the phone app, with what to do — instead of Meta's raw English.
- ArabyBot's «keep the conversation window open» feature sends the customer a button message before the 24 hours run out; if they tap it, a new window opens for free with no template.
Related codes
- 131026The message could not be delivered to this number
- 131049Meta held back a marketing message from this customer
- 130403Your business blocked this customer on WhatsApp
- 130472The customer is in a Meta marketing experiment
- 131050The customer stopped your marketing messages
- 131021The recipient is the sender's own number
Every WhatsApp error code, grouped by kind ←
Questions about error 131047
Are messages inside the 24-hour window charged?
Customer-service replies inside a window the customer opened are not charged by Meta; what is charged is the template that starts a conversation.
Source: Meta's official error code reference, with what we see on our own platform.
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