What do the various ‘connection statuses’ for phone numbers signify?

There are different statuses for phone numbers that usually refer to its connection status (for example, Connected, Offline, etc.). Occasionally, a phone number may show one of two particular statuses that are related to quality and messaging limits: Flagged and Restricted.

• Flagged - When the quality rating reaches a low state, the phone number is moved to a Flagged status. If the message quality improves to a high or medium state and continues to maintain this for the next 7 days, the phone number will return to a Connected status. If the quality rating does not improve, the number will return to a Connected status but with a lower messaging limit imposed on it.
• Restricted - Phone numbers that reach their messaging limit are moved to a Restricted status. During a Restricted phase, the number will be unable to send any notification messages until the 24-hour window for sending messages is reset. They can still respond to any messages initiated by users.

You will receive a notification in the Business Manager if a phone number status from your WhatsApp business account(s) changes to Flagged or Restricted. If your messaging limit changes, you will also receive a notification about this change.

Other phone number statuses include:

• Pending - This is when a business first sets up a phone number that hasn’t yet been registered.
• Connected - The phone number is online and functioning normally.
• Offline - The phone number is currently not reachable by WhatsApp servers or is not otherwise online.

Learn how you can send WhatsApp messages to your customers easily and securely using the Sinch WhatsApp Business API.