What this helps you do

Send a safe WhatsApp answer from Inbox and understand why normal replies sometimes stop working.

Before you start

Open the conversation and look below the customer name:

  • Reply window open means you can send a normal message. Upstorr also shows how much time remains.
  • Template required means WhatsApp's 24-hour free-reply window is closed.

The 24 hours restart when the customer sends a new incoming message. Sending your own message does not restart the window.

Steps

  1. Open the customer's conversation.
  2. Confirm that it says Reply window open and is not blocked.
  3. Type a message, choose a quick reply, attach a file, or record a voice message.
  4. Review the exact text and selected file.
  5. Select Send and watch its delivery label.

Send a text reply

  1. Type your message in the box at the bottom.
  2. Add an emoji if needed.
  3. Read the message once more.
  4. Select Send.

A text reply can contain up to 4,096 characters.

After you select Send, the outgoing message appears with Sending… while Inbox waits for confirmation. You can type your next reply during this wait. Send becomes available again when the current request finishes or Inbox finds the confirmed message. The pending label is not proof that the customer received it.

If the message shows Sending not confirmed, select its refresh icon (Check reply again). Inbox uses the original send reference to check the same reply, so an already accepted reply is not blindly sent again. Your next draft stays in the message box. This pending message stays with its conversation while Inbox remains open; reloading the page clears the local pending display. Check the conversation before writing a new copy.

While Inbox is open, a live connection signals new messages and delivery changes so the conversation can update without waiting for its regular check. Returning to the tab or reconnecting refreshes the latest conversation data.

When you scroll back, Inbox also checks older messages near your reading position for changes, including deleted messages and newly available files. If you see Older message updates paused. Retrying…, those messages may be out of date. Inbox retries automatically. These checks keep the older history you have already loaded and do not reset your place in the conversation.

Delivery ticks update separately from loading your chat history. Inbox checks recent sends more often and also checks older loaded outgoing messages in small batches. A long backlog can take more than one check. If you see Delivery updates paused. Retrying…, the last shown ticks may be out of date. Inbox retries automatically and checks again when you return to the tab or your connection comes back.

If you switch to another conversation or filter before sending, your text stays with its original conversation while Inbox remains open. Return to that conversation to continue writing. Reloading the page clears unsent text. Selected files and unfinished voice recordings are cleared when you switch conversations, so check the attachment again before sending.

Send a file

  1. Select the attachment button.
  2. Choose one supported file.
  3. Check its name, type, and size.
  4. Add a caption only when the file type allows one.
  5. Send the message.

The limits are:

  • image: 5 MB;
  • video: 16 MB;
  • audio file: 16 MB;
  • recorded voice message: 16 MB;
  • document: 100 MB; and
  • sticker: 500 KB.

Images, videos, and documents can have a caption of up to 1,024 characters. Audio, voice messages, and stickers cannot have a caption. Send the text as a separate message for those types.

Record a voice message

Select the microphone, allow microphone access if your browser asks, and speak. You can discard the recording, pause it, or finish and send it. If microphone permission is denied, enable it for the Inbox site in your browser settings and try again.

Use a quick reply

Open the quick-reply picker and choose a saved message. Upstorr places its text in the message box so you can review and change it before sending. A quick reply does not send automatically.

When the 24-hour window is closed

You cannot send a normal free-form reply. Select Open campaigns and send an approved WhatsApp template from the Upstorr admin. A normal reply becomes available again after the customer sends a new message.

This rule comes from WhatsApp. Marking the chat Open, Pending, Closed, or Unread does not reopen the window.

When the chat is blocked

Unblock the conversation before replying. Unblocking returns it to Open; it does not bypass the WhatsApp reply window.

Understand media placeholders

  • Media deleted: the stored file was moved to Trash or deleted by retention cleanup.
  • File not stored because media storage is full: the message remains, but Upstorr could not keep a copy of its file.
  • Media could not be stored: storage failed during intake.
  • Image unavailable, Audio unavailable, or a similar file label: select the refresh icon beside the label (Retry loading file). This tries to open the file again; it does not resend the message.
  • File not available yet: Inbox does not currently have a stored file to open. It shows this immediately instead of a download spinner. Select the refresh icon (Check file again) to check whether the file has become available. If it remains unavailable, the stored copy may need investigation.

Look through pictures and videos

When Inbox first opens, a progress screen prepares the workspace and media in the first visible part of the conversation. Older files load as you approach them. A file that takes too long shows a refresh control, so it cannot keep the whole Inbox closed.

Switching between recent conversations keeps their loaded media and video position. Inbox also remembers the message you were reading and keeps it in place when media above it finishes loading or becomes unavailable. Playback pauses when you leave a conversation. Inbox limits how much it keeps in memory, so an older conversation may need to load again after many switches or a page reload.

Open a picture, sticker, or video preview in the conversation. Use the Previous media and Next media arrows to look through files from the messages currently loaded in that chat.

A file that is still loading keeps its place in the viewer. If it shows Image unavailable or Video unavailable, select the refresh icon (Retry loading media). The viewer stays open while it tries again. You can also use the arrows to move to another file. Retrying a preview does not resend the message.

Listen to voice messages

Select Play voice message to listen, or Pause voice message to pause. Once the recording's length is available, drag the progress control to move within it.

Inbox prepares the sound-wave preview before you press play and saves it in this browser’s conversation cache for reuse. You can listen while it is being prepared. Recordings over five minutes or 4 MB use a simple progress bar. A preview may need preparing again after its cached conversation expires or is removed. If the file becomes unavailable, use the refresh icon beside the message to try loading it again.

What happens next

The reply appears in the conversation with Sent, Delivered, Read, or Failed status. It also becomes visible to teammates who can open that chat.

If the connection drops while sending, Inbox keeps the same send reference when you retry the unchanged text or file in that browser tab. If WhatsApp already accepted it, Inbox checks the saved message instead of sending another copy. A message saying the reply is still being checked means delivery is uncertain; check the conversation before writing a new copy. Changing the text or file creates a different reply.

Common problems

  • Send is unavailable: Check your staff permission, blocked status, and reply-window label.
  • A file is rejected: Use a supported type and keep it below the exact size limit above.
  • A caption is rejected: Send text separately for audio, voice, or sticker messages.
  • A message says Failed: Open the failure reason, correct the issue, and send a new message.