In this article, you'll learn how to identify and troubleshoot the causes of broadcast failures.
Identify the cause of broadcast failure
If you suspect a broadcast has failed, here are a few ways to investigate and identify it:
- Check the Failed Message Log in the Reports module.
- View the error message in the Failed status.
- Check the number of Completed Recipients.
Check the Failed Message Log in the Reports module
Sometimes broadcasts are completed, but some Contacts fail to receive the messages. This can happen when the broadcast exceeded or violated Channel limitations.
To view messages that failed to be delivered for a specific broadcast:
- Go to Reports > Messages > Failed Message Log.
- Filter the messages:
- By Broadcast Name: select the broadcast(s) to view only their messages.
- By Date: select the date the broadcast was sent.
View the errors by scrolling all the way to the right in the Failed Message Log report. If you find errors here, check the limitations of the Channel the broadcast was sent on.
View the error message in the Failed status
In the Broadcasts module, select Failed status, then choose your broadcast. The error message appears in the Broadcast Details drawer.
Here are common reasons for failed broadcasts:
- Contact Segment not found — the Contact Segment could not be found.
- Segment limit reached — you've reached the maximum number of Segments allowed in the Workspace. Delete a Segment before creating a new one.
- Contact Segment name must be unique — the Segment name is duplicated. Create a unique name for each Segment.
- Broadcast messages allowed in plan exceeded — the broadcast failed because the limit in your current plan has been exceeded.
- No Contacts in the Target Segment — there are no recipients in the selected Target Segment. Ensure the Segment contains Contacts.
- Target Segment not found — the Target Segment could not be found.
Check the number of Completed Recipients
If your Completed Recipient number differs from your Targeted Recipient number, it could be due to several reasons.
The behavior of dynamic Segments
Segments update whenever a Contact enters or exits the Segment. Contacts may enter or exit during the period between scheduling and sending a broadcast. This is expected behavior due to the dynamic nature of Segments.
Example: A broadcast is scheduled to send in 2 days to 100 Contacts in a Segment. During those 2 days, 5 new Contacts that fit the criteria are added. When the broadcast sends, it reaches 105 Contacts. The targeted recipient number is 100, while the completed recipient number is 105.
The Segment includes duplicate Contacts
A broadcast is sent to one Contact, while any duplicate Contacts are excluded from the recipient count, which reduces the original Targeted Recipient number. Aelyst will not attempt to send the broadcast to duplicate Contacts.
To avoid duplicate Contacts, we recommend:
- Merging Contacts in the Dashboard.
- Selecting the Add & Update Contact option when importing Contacts.
In some cases, a broadcast may fail if a Segment contains Contacts with no assigned Channel (often caused by improper imports). To resolve this:
- Identify and remove Contacts without a Channel:
- Go to the affected Segment.
- Apply the filter: Channel > does not exist.
- Save the filter.
- Select all Contacts, then Delete.
- Reimport the list:
- Use the original list of Contacts for the segment.
- Set the phone number as the identifier.
- Import using the Add + Update Contacts method.
- Assign a new Tag to distinguish this updated segment.
The format of the identifier is incorrect
If a Channel that uses a phone number as an identifier (e.g. WhatsApp) has an invalid format, those Contacts are excluded from the recipient count and Aelyst will not attempt to send them the broadcast. Check the recommended phone number formats.
Channel limitations for broadcasts
To avoid broadcast failure, take note of the limitations of each Channel, including send-rate limits and messaging tiers.
If the send rate is higher than the Channel-allowed rate limit, the Channel will display an error and the attempt will still count toward the broadcast messages quota.
Resending failed broadcast messages
When broadcasts can't be fully sent due to Channel limitations, they're delivered partially.
Example: A business on WhatsApp's standard tier can send only 1,000 messages in a 24-hour period. If it sends a broadcast of 1,500 messages, only 1,000 are delivered and the other 500 fail.
In such cases, you may want to identify the recipients who didn't receive the message and resend it to them. There are two methods:
- Download failed messages using Data Export, reimport to add tags in bulk, create a Segment, and resend (recommended).
- View the Failed Message Log in the Reports module, manually add tags, create a Segment, and resend.
Method 1: Data Export, reimport with tags, and resend
- Go to Settings > Data Export, select Failed Messages from the dropdown, set the date range for when the broadcast was sent, click Export Data, and download the CSV.
- Filter the CSV by Channel ID to show only the failed messages from the Channel the broadcast was sent on. (To find your Channel ID, go to Settings > Channels — the Channel ID appears under the Channel name.)
- Go to Import Contacts, add the CSV, select Update existing contacts only, and select Contact ID as the identifier. Add a tag such as
failed broadcast 110122to identify these Contacts, then import. - Create a Segment containing the failed messages by filtering with: Contact Tag > has any of > Tag.
- Resend the broadcast to these Contacts using the Segment.
Method 2: Failed Message Log, manual tagging, and resend
- Follow the steps to check the Failed Message Log and identify the Contacts who didn't receive the broadcast.
- Go to each Contact's profile on the list and add a tag, e.g.
failed broadcast 110122. - Create a Segment containing the failed messages by filtering with: Contact Tag > has any of > Tag.
- Resend the broadcast to Contacts in the new Segment.
FAQ and troubleshooting
Why am I seeing the error "Spam rate limit hit"?
This happens when you send too many outbound bulk messages (broadcasts) and exceed your business portfolio messaging limit.
Why it happens:
- Messages fail to send because there are restrictions on how many messages can be sent from your phone number.
- Too many messages were previously blocked or flagged as spam.
What you can do:
- Upgrade your messaging limit by moving your business portfolio to a higher tier.
- Or wait 24 hours, then resend the broadcast if your messaging limit hasn't been upgraded yet.