# The 24-Hour Messaging Window

> WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window - when you can send free-form messages, when you need a template, how Avox shows it in the Inbox, automations, Calls and the API, and how to reopen a conversation.

Source: https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/messaging-window

WhatsApp separates messages a customer asked for from messages a business starts on its own. The
line between them is the **customer service window**: a 24-hour period that opens each time a
customer messages you. This is Meta's rule for every business on the WhatsApp Business Platform, and
Avox follows it everywhere you can send from - the Inbox, automations, Calls and the Avox API.

> **Note: The short version**
>
> Inside 24 hours of the customer's latest message, send anything. After that, send an approved
> [template](https://docs.theavoxai.com/templates). When they reply, you have another 24 hours.

## The rule

| Situation | What you can send |
| --- | --- |
| The customer messaged you in the last 24 hours | Anything - text, images, buttons, lists, Flows, call permission requests, and templates. |
| The customer last messaged you more than 24 hours ago | Only an approved [template](https://docs.theavoxai.com/templates). |
| The customer has never messaged you | Only an approved template. |

- The 24 hours count from the customer's **latest** message. Every new message from them starts a
  fresh 24 hours.
- Your own replies don't extend the window - only the customer's messages do.
- When a template brings the customer back and they answer, a new window opens.
- The window belongs to **one business number**. A customer who wrote to one of your connected
  numbers has opened a window on that number only, not on your other numbers.

### What opens the window, and what doesn't

| Event | Opens or restarts the window? |
| --- | --- |
| The customer sends you a message (text, media, a button tap, a list choice) | Yes |
| The customer replies to a template you sent | Yes |
| Your team replies in the [Inbox](https://docs.theavoxai.com/inbox) | No |
| An [automation](https://docs.theavoxai.com/automation) replies | No |
| Your team replies from the WhatsApp Business app on a [Coexistence](https://docs.theavoxai.com/coexistence-explained) number | No |
| You send a template | No - only the customer's answer does |

### The window and Meta's pricing

The window also shapes what Meta charges. Free-form replies inside the window carry no Meta charge.
Template messages are charged per message by [category](https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/template-categories), and Meta
doesn't charge for **Utility** templates sent while a window is open. Rates and rules are Meta's and
can change - see [Pricing](https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp-platform) for how this shows in Avox.

## How Avox shows it

### In the Inbox

Avox works out the window from the time of the contact's latest incoming message to the number
you're replying from.

- **The chat header** shows the time left, for example **Reply window: 5h 12m left**. It turns amber
  when less than two hours remain, and reads **Reply window closed** once the 24 hours are up. Hover
  it to see "You can reply freely for 24 hours after their last message".
- **Window open** - the composer reads "Write a message…" and you can reply.
- **Window closed** - a note above the composer reads "It's been over 24 hours since this contact
  last messaged you - send a template to reopen the conversation." The composer is disabled and
  reads "Composer disabled - 24-hour window closed". See [AVX-3059](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3059).

![An Inbox conversation with Reply window closed in the header, the amber 24-hour notice above the composer, and the composer disabled](https://docs.theavoxai.com/screens/inbox/conversation-light.webp)

*A conversation whose window has closed: the header says Reply window closed, and the composer stays off until the customer writes again.*

Avox checks the window again on the server when you press send, so a message never goes out in a
window that closed while the conversation was open. In the window's final minute, Avox already
treats it as closed, so a reply can't reach WhatsApp just after the window ends.

### In automations

Automations reply to messages as they arrive, so their replies go out inside the window.

- **Send a template** ("One of your Meta-approved templates - works even outside the 24h window")
  is the one message action that still sends after the window has closed.
- Every other message action - text, media, buttons, lists, Flows, locations, contact cards, link
  buttons and **Request a call** - is skipped when the window has closed, and the automation carries
  on with its next step.
- **Wait for reply** and **Delay** steps end a little early when the window would otherwise close
  first, so the next message can still be sent.
- The **No-reply follow-up** trigger only follows up while the window is still open.

See [Actions](https://docs.theavoxai.com/automation/actions) and [Triggers](https://docs.theavoxai.com/automation/triggers).

### On Calls

A call permission request - from **Request calling permission** on [Calls](https://docs.theavoxai.com/calls), **Request a
call** in the Inbox header, or an automation's **Request a call** step - is a regular message, so it
uses the same window. Outside it, Avox shows "It's been over 24 hours since this contact last messaged
you - send a template to reopen the conversation." For those customers, send an approved template of
the **Calling permission request** type instead. See [Calling on WhatsApp](https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/calling).

### In the Avox API

The [Avox API](https://docs.theavoxai.com/avox-api) sends whatever you ask it to. Outside the window, Meta refuses free-form
messages and the API returns the error code `outside_messaging_window` ("It's been more than 24 hours
since this person last messaged you. Send an approved template instead.") - see
[API errors](https://docs.theavoxai.com/api/errors#outside_messaging_window). Send a `template` message instead (see
[Message types](https://docs.theavoxai.com/avox-api/messages)). In Meta's own terms this is error `131047`, "Re-engagement
message" - see [Meta error codes](https://docs.theavoxai.com/meta-error-codes).

> **Note**
>
> Meta can also accept a message and report shortly afterwards that it failed with `131047`. You'll
> see it as a `failed` status on [Logs](https://docs.theavoxai.com/logs) - open the event to see Meta's full payload.

> **Tip**
>
> You can try this path without a real customer: with a **test key**, sending to `+15550000002`
> returns `outside_messaging_window`. See [Testing](https://docs.theavoxai.com/avox-api/testing).

## Reopening a conversation

**1. Get a template approved**

Create a template that suits the reason you're getting in touch - for example a Utility
template for an order update. See [Create](https://docs.theavoxai.com/templates/create), or start from Meta's pre-verified
templates in the [Library](https://docs.theavoxai.com/templates/library).

**2. Send it**

Send it from an automation's **Send a template** action, through the [Avox API](https://docs.theavoxai.com/avox-api), or
from a tool connected to it such as [n8n](https://docs.theavoxai.com/integrations/n8n), [Make](https://docs.theavoxai.com/integrations/make) or
[Zapier](https://docs.theavoxai.com/integrations/zapier). The premade **Re-engagement with a template** automation does
this for contacts another automation tags `re_engage`.

**3. Wait for the reply**

When the customer replies, a new 24-hour window opens and the Inbox composer is available again.

## Working well with the window

- **Reply while it's open**: Watch the countdown in the Inbox header. An amber timer means less than two hours are left.

- **Follow up automatically**: A **No-reply follow-up** automation answers customers your team hasn't reached, inside the window.

- **Keep a template ready**: Have an approved Utility template for each common reason to get back in touch.

- **Ask for the reply**: End a template with a question or quick reply button, so the customer's answer opens a new window.

## Common questions

**Why is the composer greyed out when the customer wrote to us yesterday?**

The window counts 24 hours from the exact time of their latest message, not from the start of the
day. If they wrote at 10:00 yesterday, the window closed at 10:00 today. The chat header shows
**Reply window closed** once that happens.

**Does replying keep the conversation open?**

No. Only the customer's messages restart the window. A long back-and-forth stays open because the
customer keeps writing, not because you do.

**The customer messaged our other number. Can we reply from this one?**

Not with a free-form message. The window belongs to the number the customer wrote to, so reply
from that number, or send a template from this one.

**Can I send a template from the Inbox?**

The Inbox composer sends text replies. Templates go out through an automation's **Send a template**
action or the [Avox API](https://docs.theavoxai.com/avox-api).

**Is the window the same on every plan?**

Yes. It's Meta's rule for every business on the WhatsApp Business Platform, so it's the same on
every Avox plan.

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