The 24-hour service window
The single rule that explains most "why can I not send this" questions on WhatsApp. It is set by the WhatsApp Business Platform, not by TopEdge, and it applies to every provider equally.
When a customer messages your business, a 24-hour service window opens in which you can reply with anything — free text, images, documents. Once 24 hours pass without a new inbound message, the window closes and only pre-approved message templates will send. Any new message from the customer reopens it for another 24 hours.
Inside the window
You can send whatever the conversation needs: free text, photos of a product, a PDF invoice, a voice note. This is the mode your Flow Builder menus and your agents in Live Chat operate in, which is why neither needs a template for ordinary replies.
Outside the window
Only an approved template will send. This is not a restriction TopEdge can lift — the Cloud API rejects anything else. In the dashboard this shows up as a composer that asks you to pick a template rather than letting you type.
| What you are doing | What is required |
|---|---|
| Replying to a customer who just messaged | Nothing — free text works. |
| Answering a question from three days ago | An approved template, which reopens the conversation. |
| Sending an order confirmation | An approved Utility template. No consent needed. |
| Sending a promotion | An approved Marketing template and recorded consent. |
| Chasing an abandoned cart | An approved template — the customer never messaged you. |
Reopening the window
A customer replying to anything — including a template you sent — opens a fresh 24-hour window. This is why a template with a quick-reply button converts so well operationally: one tap puts you back into free-form conversation.
Common confusions
- It is 24 hours from their last message, not yours
- Sending a template does not extend the window. Only an inbound message from the customer does.
- Opt-out does not close the window
- A customer who opted out of marketing can still be sent Utility templates and can still be replied to inside the window. Consent and the window are separate rules.
- The window is per customer
- It has nothing to do with your business hours or your other conversations.
- Agents hit the same rule
- A human replying three days later needs a template exactly as automation does. It is a platform rule, not a permissions setting.
- Message templates — Categories and approval.
- Conversation pricing — How conversations are billed.
- Live Chat — Where the rule shows up daily.
Frequently asked questions
What is the WhatsApp 24-hour rule?
When a customer messages your business, you get a 24-hour window in which you can reply with any kind of message. After 24 hours without a new message from them, only pre-approved templates will send. Their next message reopens the window for another 24 hours.
Does sending a template extend the 24-hour window?
No. Only an inbound message from the customer resets the clock. A template you send does not extend it — but if the customer replies to that template, including by tapping a quick-reply button, a fresh 24-hour window opens.
Can I send a photo to a customer after 24 hours?
Not as a free-form message. Outside the window only approved templates send, and a template can carry an image header. Once the customer replies you are back inside the window and can send media freely.
Updated 2026-10-04