WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the key features of WhatsApp is the ability to broadcast messages to multiple contacts at once. When you send a broadcast message on WhatsApp, you may notice different types of ticks next to your message.
The ticks indicate if your broadcast message has been successfully sent, delivered, and read by the recipients. A single tick means your broadcast message is still in the process of being sent. Let’s take a closer look at what the single tick in a WhatsApp broadcast means.
Meaning of Single Tick in WhatsApp Broadcast
A single gray tick next to a WhatsApp broadcast message means that your message is still in the process of being sent to your recipients. It has not yet been delivered to the recipient’s device.
Here are some key things to know about the single tick in a WhatsApp broadcast:
- Your broadcast message is still pending and has not been sent yet.
- It is still making its way through the WhatsApp servers to the recipient.
- None of the recipients in your broadcast list have received the message yet.
- Recipients will not be able to see or read your broadcast message at this point.
The single gray tick indicates your message is still in transit. It will usually change to double ticks within a few minutes once the broadcast is sent and reaches the recipients’ phones.
Why You Might See Single Tick in Broadcast
There are a few common reasons why your WhatsApp broadcast message may show just a single tick for a longer period of time:
- Poor internet connection – Slow or unstable internet can delay the sending of your broadcast messages. The single tick will remain until the message is sent.
- Large broadcast list – If your broadcast list contains too many recipients (over 256), it will take longer to send out all the messages. The single tick will persist during this extended sending time.
- Service issues – Sometimes delays can be on WhatsApp’s end if they are facing service disruptions or bugs. Your broadcast ticks will freeze until the issues are resolved.
- Recipient offline – If a recipient has poor connectivity or is offline for a prolonged time, your broadcast to them will remain pending.
In most cases, the single tick will eventually change to double ticks as your broadcast gets sent out. If it stays a single tick for a very long time, one of the issues above could be preventing your broadcast from being delivered.
How Long Single Tick Remains
Typically, the single tick will change to double ticks within a few minutes, once your broadcast message starts getting delivered. However, there is no fixed timeframe for how long the single tick remains.
Some factors that influence how long the single tick stays before changing:
- Number of recipients – More recipients means longer sending time
- Recipient connectivity – Delayed by those with poor connections
- WhatsApp service status – Outages can lead to longer single tick times
- Your network strength – Weak mobile data delays message sending
As a rule of thumb, if your broadcast list contains fewer than 100 people, the single tick should change within 5 minutes. For larger lists of 250+ recipients, it may take 15 minutes or longer in some cases.
If the single tick persists for over an hour without changing, there is likely an underlying technical issue. Some troubleshooting may be required in such cases.
What to Do If Single Tick Persists
In most scenarios, the single tick will eventually change to double ticks as the broadcast gets delivered. But sometimes issues can prevent it from changing. Here are some things you can try if the single tick remains for a long time:
- Check your internet connection and try sending again when connectivity improves.
- Restart your phone and reopen WhatsApp to force a reconnection.
- Remove some recipients from the broadcast list to reduce load.
- Update WhatsApp to the latest version in case of app issues.
- Contact WhatsApp support if the problem persists for hours.
You can also try sending the broadcast message again from scratch. If the issue was temporary, your resend should go through with no problem.
As you wait for the single tick broadcast to send, you can continue using WhatsApp as normal for your other chats and messages.
What Happens After Single Tick
Once your broadcast message starts getting delivered to recipients, the single tick will change to double ticks. Here is what happens after the single tick stage:
- Single tick turns to double ticks – Double ticks indicate your message has been sent from your phone and received on the recipient’s phone.
- Blue ticks appear – Blue ticks will show up when recipients open your broadcast message and view it.
- Reply messages come in – Recipients may start replying to your broadcast message once they view it.
- Message expires if unread – Broadcast messages expire after 24 hours if they have not been opened by the recipient.
Once your broadcast progresses past the initial single tick stage, you will be able to see more precise delivery receipts and know if recipients have seen your message. The content of your broadcast will also start to be visible to recipients at this point.
Other WhatsApp Broadcast Tips
Here are some additional tips to help you effectively use the broadcast message feature on WhatsApp:
- You can only create broadcast lists up to 256 people at one time.
- Add your most important recipients first if you have a long list that exceeds 256.
- Personalize your message by using recipient names when possible.
- Avoid overusing broadcasts to prevent recipient fatigue.
- Check for double ticks and blue ticks to see who has received and read your broadcast.
- Monitor responses and reply to recipients when required.
Conclusion
The single gray tick on WhatsApp broadcast messages indicates your message is still pending and in transit. It typically changes to double ticks within minutes once delivery starts. A persistent single tick could indicate an issue with connectivity, large recipient size, or WhatsApp service status.
Troubleshooting steps like resending, reducing recipients, and contacting WhatsApp support can help resolve a stuck single tick state. With the proper use of broadcasts and monitoring of delivery receipts, WhatsApp can be a very effective way to reach groups of contacts at once.