You send a WhatsApp message and it sits there with one grey tick. An hour later it still has one tick. Or it doesn't even get that far, and a small clock stays next to the message instead. The question everyone asks next is whether they have been blocked.
Usually not. The ticks are delivery receipts, not a verdict on the relationship. They tell you how far the message has travelled: off your phone, onto theirs, then read. Once you know which stage it is stuck at, you know whose side the problem is on and whether there is anything you can do about it.
What each tick means, in WhatsApp's own words
WhatsApp's help article on read receipts defines the marks like this. You can also tap and hold a message you sent, then tap 'Info' (the letter i in a circle) to see when it was delivered and read.
- Clock: the message has not left your phone yet. WhatsApp's help connects this to your own internet connection.
- One grey tick: 'The message was successfully sent.' It reached WhatsApp, but not yet the other person's phone.
- Two grey ticks: 'The message was successfully delivered to the recipient's phone or any of their linked devices.'
- Two blue ticks: 'The recipient has read your message.'
- In a group, the ticks turn blue only when every participant has read the message. Tap 'Info' to see who has received it and who has read it.
If you see a clock: the problem is your connection
A clock means the message is still on your phone, waiting to go out. Nothing about the other person matters yet. WhatsApp's troubleshooting page for messages that won't send lists these steps, roughly in the order worth trying them:
- Make sure Wi-Fi or mobile data is turned on and working. Opening any website in your browser is a quick test.
- Turn airplane mode on and then off again to reset the connection.
- Restart your phone.
- Update WhatsApp to the latest version from the App Store or Google Play.
- Check that the date and time on your phone are set correctly.
- Make sure you completed the verification of your phone number when you set WhatsApp up.
- If other chats send fine and only this one shows a clock, leave the chat open for a moment once your connection is back, and check the mark again.
Cause 1: Their phone is off, offline, or WhatsApp hasn't connected
This is by far the most common reason for one grey tick. The message reached WhatsApp, but the other person's phone hasn't been online to collect it. Their battery died, they are on a flight, they are somewhere with no signal, their mobile data is off, or the phone simply hasn't connected to WhatsApp since you sent it.
WhatsApp also notes that the second tick won't appear if the recipient's phone is off and none of their linked devices, such as WhatsApp Web or Desktop, has received the message. Linked devices keep working while the phone is offline, but WhatsApp says they are logged out if the phone isn't used for more than 14 days. So someone who has left their phone in a drawer for a long time may not be getting messages anywhere.
There is nothing to fix on your side. The message is waiting, and it will be delivered when their phone comes back online. Sending the same message again only means they get it twice. If it is urgent, try another way of reaching them.
Cause 2: You may have been blocked, and WhatsApp won't confirm it
WhatsApp's article on being blocked lists the signs you might notice. It says that messages sent to a contact who has blocked you 'will always show one check mark (message sent), and never show a second check mark (message delivered).'
The other signs it lists are that you can no longer see the contact's last seen or online status, you don't see updates to their profile photo, and any calls you try to place don't go through.
Then it adds an important caveat. Even if you see all of these for one contact, WhatsApp says this could mean they have blocked you, but there are other possibilities. It says it has made this ambiguous on purpose, to protect the privacy of people who block someone, and so it cannot tell you whether you've been blocked. Last seen and profile photos can be hidden through ordinary privacy settings, and a phone that is off produces the same single tick. Treat the signs as a maybe, not an answer, and don't try to get around them with other apps or accounts.
One quick check on your own side: if you blocked the contact yourself at some point, messages between you won't go through either. On your phone, open WhatsApp 'Settings', then 'Privacy', and look at your blocked contacts list.
Cause 3: The number isn't on WhatsApp, or it has changed
WhatsApp's help for messages that won't reach one particular person mentions that the recipient may have changed their phone number or deleted their WhatsApp account. A message to an old number can sit on one tick indefinitely.
It is also worth checking how the number is saved. WhatsApp reads numbers from your phone's address book, and its contacts help says an international number must be saved in full international format: a plus sign, then the country code, then the full number. Drop any leading zero. WhatsApp's own example is a UK number written as 07981 555555, which should be saved as +447981555555.
- Open the contact in your phone's address book and check the number starts with + and the right country code.
- Search for the person under 'New chat'. If they are not on WhatsApp, they appear under 'Invite to WhatsApp' instead of as a contact you can message.
- If they changed number, ask them for the new one through another channel and save it as a new contact.
Two grey ticks but never blue: it was delivered
If you have two grey ticks, the delivery problem is solved: the message is on their phone. Missing blue ticks are a separate question. WhatsApp's help lists these reasons:
- They haven't opened your conversation yet.
- You or they have turned off read receipts under 'Settings', 'Privacy', 'Read receipts'. Turning them off works both ways: you stop sending them and stop seeing other people's.
- One of you has connection problems.
- The date and time are set wrong on your phone or theirs.
- It is the first message they have received from you. WhatsApp says a read receipt might not be sent until they reply or save you as a contact.
- In groups, read receipts are always sent, even if someone has switched the setting off.
How to avoid the guessing next time
Most of this is outside your control, but a few habits make it easier to tell what is going on.
- Look at the mark before you worry. A clock is your connection, one tick is their phone, two grey ticks means it arrived.
- Save every international contact with + and the country code from the start.
- Keep WhatsApp updated and your phone's date and time on automatic.
- Use 'Info' on a message to check delivery and read times instead of guessing.
- For anything time-sensitive, such as a booking, a payment or a delivery address, have a second way to reach people, so a phone that is off doesn't hold everything up.
When people can't reach you on one app
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