Error Code 131048 is triggered when a business phone number reaches its spam rate limit, and is accompanied by the following error message, “Message failed to send because there are restrictions on how many messages can be sent from this phone number. This may be because too many previous messages were blocked or flagged as spam.” This limit aims to maintain the quality of customer interactions on WhatsApp. Here’s a guide on how to manage and prevent this error by understanding quality ratings and messaging limits.
Why Error Code 131048 Happens
When customers block or report your messages as spam, your account’s quality rating can drop. Once this happens, WhatsApp imposes restrictions to control the number of messages you can send, helping to maintain a positive user experience on the platform.
Checking Your Quality Rating in WhatsApp Manager
Your quality rating is based on recent feedback from customers on your messages over the past seven days. To view it:
Go to the Phone numbers tab in your Meta WhatsApp Manager.
Check the Quality rating column. The ratings are categorized as:
Green: High quality
Yellow: Medium quality
Red: Low quality
If your quality rating drops to medium or low, hover over the rating to see customer block reasons, which may include “Spam” or “Didn’t sign up.” This insight can guide you to improve your message quality and lower the risk of further blocks.
Messaging Limits for Business Phone Numbers
Each business phone number has a set messaging limit, which is the maximum number of business-initiated conversations it can open within a 24-hour period. These limits start at 250 conversations and can increase to 1000, 10,000 or 100,000, based on your account’s verified status and quality rating. Here’s a breakdown:
1,000 conversations with unique customers per day
10,000 conversations per day (for higher-tier accounts)
100,000 conversations per day
Unlimited conversations for the highest verified tier
To improve messaging limits, maintain a high-quality rating by providing valuable and relevant communication to customers.
Status Changes and Alerts
Your account status changes based on your quality rating:
Connected: You can send messages within your limit.
Flagged: Triggered by a drop to low quality. Improve quality within seven days to avoid a decrease in message limit.
Restricted: Occurs when you reach your messaging limit. You can’t initiate new conversations until after 24 hours but can respond to customer-initiated messages.
If your phone number is flagged or restricted, you’ll receive an email notification to help you stay on top of these changes.
Best Practices to Avoid the Spam Rate Limit
Regularly check your quality rating and address any flagged issues.
Spread out messages over time and avoid sending repetitive messages to the same customer.
Ensure your messages are clear, relevant, and provide value to the customer.
Add an ‘Unsubscribe’ option as a quick reply button or add a text at the footer like “Reply STOP to unsubscribe” to give users the option to stop receiving messages and avoid your WhatsApp Business Number getting flagged as spam.
Do not message random numbers but only the users who have in any manner expressed an interest in your service, such as users who have visited your website or have interacted with your business through opt-ins, filled out forms, subscribed to updates, or engaged with your social media platforms.
Monitor the quality of your templates by assessing the response they are getting.
For more troubleshooting tips or insights on how to optimize your business using WhatsApp Business API check out our other blogs at heltar.com/blogs.
