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What to do if WhatsApp gets stuck "waiting for message" and nothing arrives

Updated in 2026 · 4 min read

If you open WhatsApp and see that messages take a while to arrive, get stuck halfway, or simply nothing new comes in even though you know someone is writing to you, there's almost always a simple explanation. Go through these causes in order: most of the time it's solved in the first two steps.

In this article:

  1. Check your internet connection
  2. Check the battery saver
  3. Incorrectly set date and time
  4. Check whether the problem is WhatsApp's servers

1. Check your internet connection

This is the most common cause. WhatsApp needs a stable connection, whether over wifi or mobile data, to receive messages in real time. Open another app that needs the internet, like the browser or a maps app, and check whether it loads normally. If it's slow or won't load, the problem is with your connection, not WhatsApp.

Also try turning airplane mode on and off for a few seconds, or switching from wifi to mobile data (or vice versa), to force your phone to look for the best available signal again.

Quick tip: if the connection seems fine but messages still won't arrive, restart your phone. This forces WhatsApp to reconnect from scratch with the servers and fixes a good part of these one-off blocks.

2. Check the battery saver

If your phone has a power-saving mode turned on, it might be restricting WhatsApp's background activity to use less battery. This causes the app to not receive push notifications until you open it manually, giving the impression that messages are "stuck waiting".

To avoid this, go to your phone's Settings → Battery (or Apps → WhatsApp → Battery) and turn off battery optimization or power saving specifically for WhatsApp. It's also worth checking that the app is up to date: go to Google Play or the App Store, search for WhatsApp and, if there's a pending update, install it, since older versions may have connection bugs that have already been fixed.

3. Incorrectly set date and time

WhatsApp uses security certificates that require your phone's date and time to match the real time. If they're off, even by mistake, the app can fail to establish a secure connection with the server and stop receiving new messages.

Go to your system's general settings and turn on "Automatic date and time" (or "Use network-provided time"), instead of having it set manually.

4. Check whether the problem is WhatsApp's servers

If you've checked everything above and still aren't receiving messages, the fault might not be on your phone, but on WhatsApp's own servers. These outages are usually temporary and affect many users at once. You can check this on websites that monitor the status of online services: if they detect a widespread issue, all that's left is to wait for WhatsApp to fix it on their end.

✔ If after trying these steps you're still not receiving messages, check with someone else whether they're not getting yours either: it will help you find out if the issue is only yours or something more general.
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Frequently asked questions

Why do messages arrive late and all at once?

It's usually the battery saver: the system pauses the app and only wakes it up when you open it or when a push notification manages to get through. Turn off battery optimization for WhatsApp and it should go back to normal.

Could it be a problem with WhatsApp's servers and not my phone?

Yes, it happens from time to time. You can check this on websites that monitor the status of online services: if there's a widespread outage, there's nothing you can do except wait for WhatsApp to fix it.

Does uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp actually help?

It can help if the problem comes from a corrupted install or a very old version, but it's only worth trying after checking the connection, the date and time, and battery saver, which are the most frequent causes.

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