scenariobot-guide

16. Troubleshooting

How to get there: each entry says where to go.

A contact was added but nothing works

Cause: the PING/PONG handshake wasn’t finished — the reply was never picked.

Fix: Phones → a phone → 👥 Contacts → reopen the wizard for that number. You’ll get the Override answer; complete step 3 by picking the reply.

Chapter 04

A call won’t start for a contact

Cause: a contact can only run one call at a time, and one is probably still open.

Fix: Phones → a phone → 👥 Contacts → the contact. If the live panel shows a running call, end it with ⏹ End call.

Chapter 10

The phone shows disconnected

Cause: the WhatsApp session dropped.

Fix: reconnect from the phone card and rescan. If it keeps dropping, work through Chapter 15 — battery optimisation is the usual culprit — and if it still drops, that’s an operations issue rather than something the interface can fix.

Chapter 03

A call expired without a reply, but the person says they answered

Cause: usually the match mode was too strict, not a missing message.

Fix: open the call, check the 📡 Events tab. If the reply is listed but the step still failed, change the EXPECT step from exact to contains.

Chapter 11, Chapter 06

A sent message has a blank where a name should be

Cause: a misspelled `` path. An unknown path becomes an empty string silently — nothing warns you.

Fix: open the step and check the spelling against the quick-add buttons, which insert the correct paths.

Chapter 06

A custom code step ran fine but stored nothing

Cause: an EXPECT code card must return a key named exactly expected. A differently-named key succeeds and stores nothing.

Fix: check the return object in the card.

Chapter 06

Editing a scenario changed my old reports

It didn’t. Each call stores a snapshot of the scenario as it was at run time, and that snapshot is what the flow diagram renders.

Chapter 11

A scheduled call didn’t happen

Check the schedule’s own log first. The three usual causes are: the phone was disconnected, the contact already had a call running, or the scenario was unpublished after the schedule was made.

Chapter 09

Publish is blocked

Cause: one of three checks failed — a required field, a code card that doesn’t compile, or the whole-scenario compile.

Fix: the errors panel opens by itself and lists them.

Chapter 05

The save button is greyed out

Cause: the scenario is published. Published scenarios are read-only.

Fix: unpublish, edit, publish again.

Chapter 05

A template has been pending for a long time

Cause: approval is automatic and normally takes about two minutes. If it hasn’t happened, the phone’s container isn’t answering — it’s a connection problem, not a slow reviewer.

Fix: check the phone’s status on Phones. Reconnect if it shows disconnected. The template will approve itself once the phone is back.

Chapter 08

The Templates tab looks empty on a new phone

Cause: only check_contact is created when a phone is provisioned. The five standard samples are imported from the provider afterwards, within about fifteen minutes.

Fix: wait and refresh. Nothing is broken.

Chapter 08

A duplicate template appeared

Cause: a template is matched to the provider’s copy by name plus language. Renaming one breaks that match, and the next import brings the original back as a second row.

Fix: delete the one you don’t want, and create a new template rather than renaming an established one.

Chapter 08

The contact handshake won’t start at all

Cause: the PING is sent as a template, and the phone has no approved, published template to send. Usually check_contact was deleted.

Fix: re-provision the phone, or ask whoever runs the system to recreate check_contact.

Chapter 04, Chapter 08

A template isn’t in the designer’s list

Cause: the Input step lists only templates that are approved AND published. Approved alone isn’t enough.

Fix: Phones → Templates, publish it.

Chapter 08

I can’t edit or delete a template

Cause: it’s published. Published templates are locked.

Fix: unpublish, edit, publish again — but note that changing the text sends it back to pending.

Chapter 08

Running a schedule now does nothing

Cause: either it’s already firing — in which case the request is refused until it finishes — or the play only queued it and the Scheduler hasn’t ticked yet.

Fix: wait a moment and check the schedule’s log.

Chapter 09

Can a scenario be tested without messaging a real person?

Use Playback to read it as a conversation, and the check button for custom code steps. A real send still needs a real linked contact.

Chapter 07

The panel warns that multiple calls are active

Only one is supposed to be. Report this — it isn’t fixable from the interface.

Chapter 15


Next: Glossary