I cannot send a message — the 24-hour window is closed · Help
I cannot send a message — the 24-hour window is closed
A disabled composer in the inbox means the messaging window has expired. Explains how the window works, what the human agent window adds and how to reply with WhatsApp templates.
You open a conversation, you are ready to type, and the composer is disabled with a line saying 24 hours have passed since the last message. This is not a fault, it is Meta's rule: a business may write freely only for a limited time after the person's last message. This guide explains when the window is open, when it closes, and what you can do once it has.
⚠️ Note: This limit sits on Meta's side and applies to every tool that uses their API. {{brand.name}} cannot extend it; it only uses the routes Meta allows — the human agent tag and approved templates.
You may be seeing one of these situations:
The composer says the window is closed.
It says the human agent window has closed too.
It says the person has never messaged you.
An automation could not send, but you can.
A concrete example: a florist is asked on Saturday lunchtime "can you deliver tomorrow?", and the team only gets back on Monday morning. More than 24 hours have passed, so the composer is disabled. On Instagram, if the human agent window is enabled the agent can still write on Monday, because the 7 days are not up; on WhatsApp the only route is an approved template. That difference explains why the same delay plays out differently on the two channels.
How the window works
Every time the person writes to you, the counter resets and a 24-hour window opens. While it is open you can send any text, file or message with buttons. The remaining time appears above the conversation as Open until {time}.
24 hours applies to both Instagram and WhatsApp.
The counter starts from the person's last message; your own messages do not extend it.
Comments, story mentions, post shares and ad clicks do not open the window. They trigger automations, but they do not grant a free-form message.
If the person has never written, the panel says so, and no route is available.
The human agent window on Instagram
On Instagram, Meta offers a tag that extends the reply time to 7 days for replies written by a real person. {{brand.name}} uses that tag only when it is needed.
The tag is applied only when you type in the inbox yourself. Automation sends always stay at 24 hours — that is Meta's rule, because no human wrote the reply.
If you reply before the 24 hours are up, the tag is never used and the message goes out exactly as it would normally.
While the extension applies, the conversation header shows Human agent: until {time}.
When the 7 days are up too, the message changes to say the human agent window has closed as well.
This extension does not exist on WhatsApp; there, the only routes are the 24 hours and approved templates.
💡 Tip: The human agent tag is not switched on for every portfolio. If time still shows above the conversation after 24 hours, it is switched on for yours.
Writing on WhatsApp after the window closes
On WhatsApp, once the window closes you may send the person an approved template only. A template is a fixed message that Meta has reviewed and approved in advance.
Open the conversation.
Press the Template button next to the composer.
Pick an approved template from Choose a template. Only templates with the status Approved appear.
If the template has variables, fill in each one (Value 1, Value 2 …).
Press Send template. You will see a confirmation that the template was sent.
The moment the person replies to the template, the 24-hour window opens again and you can write freely.
What you can do on Instagram after the window closes
Instagram has no templates. These routes remain:
Wait for the person to write again. The moment they do, the window opens and your automations start working again.
Send a private reply to a comment. If the person commented on your post, you may send one private DM per comment, within 7 days of that comment. This route carries plain text only: buttons, cards, list rows and files are dropped.
Start the conversation in your posts and stories. When the person messages you, the window opens.
Use ice breakers and the persistent menu. Share the chat link from Settings › Connection so people find it easy to message you.
An automation could not send, but I can
This is the part of the window rule that surprises people most often, and it is intended behaviour.
Automations are always limited to 24 hours; they cannot use the human agent extension.
In the run log the reason appears as the 24-hour window being closed. Open the run under Automations › the automation › Logs and read the Reason line.
If you want your flow to branch on this, use the messaging window condition: you can build a branch that leaves a team note instead of a message while the window is closed.
Other known issues and limits
The "Seen" receipt follows the window too. While it is closed, opening the conversation does not mark it as seen on the person's screen; Meta rejects that request as well.
The typing indicator only works while the window is open.
Message length is a separate limit. Even with the window open, a very long text comes back as too long for the channel.
Rate limits. If Meta receives too many requests in a short time, you are asked to try again shortly; that is not a window problem.
The window is counted per person, not per thread: if the same person wrote to another of your accounts, that window is separate.
If you have followed every step and the problem continues, contact our Support team.