How to fix waiting for this message error in WhatsApp
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If you’re seeing a “Waiting for this message. This may take a while” message instead of what should have been a text in WhatsApp, then our guide will help you solve this error.
Now, usually, if you see this notification in a chat, it means that the sender needs to be online for the message to be fully delivered to the recipient with end-to-end encryption. There are a few reasons why this happens – one of the parties was offline when the message was sent, or one of the users involved has an outdated version of WhatsApp.
In any case, getting this error message is not a big deal, and the issue will be resolved on its own in a few minutes. If you’re still seeing the error, then there are a few things you can do.
Step
Check your internet connection
Just to be sure that it’s not an issue on your end, check if your internet connection is stable and it’s working. You can quickly verify this by sending someone else a message on WhatsApp and see if it gets delivered.
Step
Wait for a few minutes
Generally, the “waiting for this message” error gets resolved on its own when the user comes back online, the message gets delivered, or WhatsApp gets updated to the latest version.
Step
Update WhatsApp to latest version
As mentioned earlier, one of the reasons why this error shows up is that either your or the sender’s WhatsApp has not been updated to the latest version. You can head over to the Google Play Store or App Store and install the new updates if there are any. Once the updates are installed, check if you can see the messages.
Step
Try clearing cache
Sometimes, a corrupt file in the cache may cause this kind of error on WhatsApp. You can quickly clear the cache and relaunch the app to see if it has worked.
To clear the cache on Android, go to Settings> Apps > WhatsApp > Storage (or Memory) > Clear cache.
On iPhones, clearing the cache may not be possible on every device, but it’s worth it if you can. Settings > General > iPhone Storage > WhatsApp > Clear cache.
Step
Check the status of WhatsApp servers
Another reason why you might not be able to see the message is that WhatsApp servers might be down for maintenance. You can quickly Google and check if there is a server outage. In this scenario, you will have to wait until the app is up and running again.
Step
Delete and reinstall WhatsApp
If nothing seems to be working and you have exhausted all your options, then you can consider deleting WhatsApp and reinstalling it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I fix pending messages on WhatsApp?
If the pending messages error does not get resolved on its own after a few minutes, you can try a few troubleshooting steps, like clearing the cache, updating WhatsApp, or reinstalling the app. Check our guide here for more details.
Conclusion
To sum up, the “waiting for this message” error on WhatsApp is nothing that you should be worried about. It’s a fairly common error that shows up when the message wasn’t delivered properly or if the sender or the recipient has an outdated WhatsApp version. Usually, the issue gets resolved on its own in a few minutes. But if it doesn’t, you can try updating your WhatsApp and restarting it.
