Quick Answer
What is the WhatsApp 24-hour customer service window?
When a customer messages your business, a twenty-four hour window opens in which you can reply with free-form content: plain text, media, interactive buttons, anything. The clock restarts every time they message again. Once it closes, free-form sending stops working and the API returns error 131047, re-engagement required. After that you can only reach them with a pre-approved template, which reopens the window if they reply.
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The WhatsApp 24-Hour Window, Explained
What the window is for
The window exists so that a conversation a customer started can be a real conversation, without every sentence going through template review. Inside it you can send anything the API supports.
The important detail is what restarts it. Only an inbound message from the customer does. Teams often assume a long back-and-forth keeps the window alive indefinitely, then find their first message the next morning rejected.
Working with it rather than against it
Treat 131047 as information rather than an error. If it appears occasionally, that is the system working. If your logs are full of it, it is telling you that replies routinely take longer than a day.
For planned sends, templates are the right tool and the window is irrelevant. For support conversations, the window is almost always enough, and when it is not, a short approved template to restart the thread is the intended path.
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Related reading
Frequently Asked Questions
Does sending a template open the 24-hour window?
No. Sending a template lets you reach someone outside the window, but it does not open one. The window opens only when the customer replies.
What happens if I try to send free-form after 24 hours?
The API rejects it with error 131047, re-engagement required. Retrying will not help; you need an approved template.
Does the window reset if I reply?
No. Only inbound messages from the customer restart the clock.
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By Weddingkart TeamLast updated