WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. One of the handy features of WhatsApp is the ability to see when your contacts were last online and if they’re currently online. However, sometimes you may notice that a contact is shown as online but your messages to them aren’t being delivered or shown as received. There can be several reasons for this.
They may not have an active internet connection
One of the most common reasons why your WhatsApp messages may not be going through to someone even though they are shown as online is because they may not have an active internet connection at that moment. WhatsApp determines if someone is online based on when they last pinged the WhatsApp servers. So if someone opened the app briefly without an internet connection, it may still show them as online for a short while after that. Until they reconnect to the internet, any messages you send will remain pending and undelivered.
Their account may be logged in on multiple devices
WhatsApp allows you to link your account to multiple devices so you can send and receive messages on all of them seamlessly. However, an issue can arise if they are logged in on one device without an internet connection, but are shown online due to being active on another linked device. For example, if they are logged in on their phone which has no internet but are also logged in on their laptop which is connected to the internet, WhatsApp will show them as online. But until their phone gets an active internet connection, any messages you send to their phone will not be delivered.
They may have you blocked
If someone has blocked you on WhatsApp, this can also lead to a situation where your messages don’t get delivered to them, but they still show as online. When you are blocked by someone, you will no longer see their profile photo, last seen status or any changes to their online status. However, due to a bug in WhatsApp, sometimes a blocked contact may still show as online. But none of your chat messages will be delivered to a contact if they have blocked you.
Their account may be banned or suspended
If someone’s WhatsApp account gets banned or temporarily suspended due to violations of WhatsApp policies, they will be unable to send or receive any messages until the ban or suspension is lifted. However, their online/last seen status may still be visible. So if you notice someone is showing online but your messages are not getting delivered, it’s possible their account is facing restrictions.
Their phone could be off or have connectivity issues
If someone’s phone is switched off or experiencing intermittent connectivity problems, this can also prevent your messages from reaching them even if they are shown online. For example, if their phone network connection is patchy, WhatsApp may struggle to update their online status in real-time. So you may see them online for some time even after they have switched off their phone or lost connectivity.
They may be on Do Not Disturb mode
WhatsApp has a Do Not Disturb mode that lets you mute notifications and messages for a selected period of time. If someone has enabled this, your messages to them will remain unread until they turn off DND mode. But WhatsApp will still show them as online if they continue using the app after turning on DND. So this could also explain why your messages are not being read.
Their account privacy settings may be restricting you
WhatsApp gives you options to control your privacy settings and limit certain contacts from seeing your online status or last seen time. If someone has tweaked their privacy settings to block you specifically, you will no longer be able to see their last seen or online status. However, due to another WhatsApp glitch, sometimes contacts restricted through privacy settings can still occasionally see your online status.
There could be an issue with your phone or app
Before assuming the issue is with the recipient’s phone or account, also consider checking your own device. Make sure your internet connection is working fine. Force close and restart the WhatsApp app to eliminate any app glitches. Update WhatsApp to the latest version available in your phone’s app store. If the issues persist across multiple contacts, your phone could be facing connectivity problems.
Their account may be temporarily glitched
Like any app, WhatsApp can also sometimes face temporary glitches or bugs that affect specific accounts. There have been past instances where a bug caused some accounts to get stuck showing online even when the person had logged out. A reboot or reinstallation of the app usually resolves such glitches. If the issue seems to be only with one contact, it may be a technical glitch on their account.
WhatsApp’s servers could be facing downtime
Though rare, there can also be situations where WhatsApp’s servers themselves face downtime or connectivity problems. This can temporarily prevent messages from being sent, delivered or read across the app for all users. But users may still be shown online if they had logged in before the outage. WhatsApp usually resolves server issues within hours. Trying again later often delivers pending messages.
Their phone may have incorrect time settings
An incorrect time setting on someone’s phone can also sometimes confuse WhatsApp and result in messages not being delivered to them even though they appear online. If their phone time settings are too inaccurate or ahead/behind the actual time, it can disrupt WhatsApp’s algorithms for detecting online status. Setting the correct time on their phone can help resolve this.
How to confirm if they are actually online?
To get a better idea if someone is actually online and active on WhatsApp when their online status is shown, here are some steps you can try:
- Check if their profile photo is visible – if it disappears, they may have gone offline
- See if you can make a WhatsApp call to them – it will not connect if they are offline
- Check if the double grey tick (message read status) appears for your messages
- See if other contacts are also unable to reach them
- Check their online status at different times of the day
- Ask them directly over a phone call if they are active on WhatsApp web/desktop when their phone is offline
Troubleshooting tips
If you are unable to reach a contact who is shown online, here are some troubleshooting steps you can try:
- Force close and restart the WhatsApp app
- Check your own internet connection
- Update WhatsApp to the latest version
- Turn your phone’s airplane mode on and off
- Ask the contact to force close and re-open WhatsApp
- Ask the contact to check their app version and update if needed
- The contact can restart their phone and reconnect to the internet
- Clear the app cache/data and try again
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp if issues persist
Preventative tips
To avoid running into this confusion with WhatsApp contacts showing online when they are not reachable, here are some tips:
- Turn off WhatsApp before going offline to avoid stale online status
- Set your privacy settings to control who can see when you’re online
- Log out of WhatsApp web/desktop if you are not using your phone
- Frequently restart your phone and WhatsApp to clear glitches
- Check Ookla Speedtest to confirm your internet speed and connectivity
- Set your phone’s date/time settings to automatic to avoid discrepancies
- Update your phone operating system and WhatsApp to the latest versions
Conclusion
To summarize, if a WhatsApp contact is showing as online but your messages are not being delivered, don’t immediately assume they are ignoring you. The most common reasons are lack of internet connectivity on their end, multi-device linking issues, account privacy settings, app glitches or banned accounts. Following some troubleshooting steps like app restarts, reinstalls, clearing cache and ensuring your own phone connectivity is intact can usually resolve unknown ‘online’ status situations. Proactively updating apps, restarting devices and modifying privacy settings can also help avoid such confusion in the future.