reachout_timelocked — Reach-outs timelocked
What the API returns
{
"error": {
"code": "reachout_timelocked",
"message": "WhatsApp has temporarily locked reach-outs for this channel.",
"request_id": "req_01JRQ8F4X9N2K7YB3C5V6W8H0T"
}
}Every Wapito error is this one envelope. Branch on code, which is stable; message is written for people and can be reworded; details appears only when there is something specific to say; request_id is what to quote to support.
What it means
reachout_timelocked is an HTTP 423 error from the Wapito WhatsApp API: reach-outs timelocked. The response message reads “WhatsApp has temporarily locked reach-outs for this channel.” It is retryable: the same request can succeed later without changes. 4 endpoints can raise it, POST /messages/text among them.
Why it happens
WhatsApp itself has put a temporary hold on new outbound conversations from this number. It is a protection against cold blasting and it usually follows a burst of first messages to people who never wrote to you, or a rash of blocks and reports. Replies inside existing conversations normally keep working, which is the clearest signal of what has happened. The details.until field carries the time the hold is expected to lift.
How to fix reachout_timelocked
Stop the outbound job immediately; every further attempt confirms the pattern that caused the hold.
Read details.until and schedule your resume after it, then restart at a fraction of the previous rate.
Fix the underlying list: message people who opted in, warm the number up gradually, and keep an easy opt-out in the first message.
The same failure in other stacks
If you are moving from a library or a self-hosted gateway, this is the same failure under the name that stack gives it:
WAHA 463timelock
Endpoints that raise it
Where you will meet it
- Send Without Template
Feature guide
Retry guidance
Safe to retry
The condition is transient, so the same request can succeed later without any change on your side. Retry with exponential backoff and jitter — start at one second, double each attempt, cap at a minute — and stop after a handful of tries so a stuck condition surfaces as an alert rather than a hot loop.
Frequently asked questions
Is a timelock the same as a ban?
No, but it is the warning that precedes one. A timelock is temporary and lifts by itself; a ban removes the number from WhatsApp permanently. Treat the first timelock as the last cheap signal you will get, and change the sending pattern rather than waiting it out and repeating it.
Can I keep answering incoming messages during a hold?
Usually yes - the hold targets new conversations rather than replies, so support threads continue. Test carefully with one reply rather than resuming a whole queue, and keep the automated outbound work paused until the time in details.until has passed.
Related
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