WhatsApp not working anymore

gosuser12345

Hi,

Yesterday morning I noticed messages aren't loading anymore on my GOS P9P. Some of them were loading (few) but the rest were in the "waiting for message" loop with the clock logo.

Outgoing messages never got through, having the same clock logo next to them.

I tried enabling the Exploit compatiblity mode, it didn't work.

And I also tried deleting the app altogether, including cache and data, but now it doesn't recognize the app as official even though I tried both reinstalling it from Aurora Store and from the official WsatsApp website - when I try to verify my phone number I get the "Download the official WHatsApp to continue".

Is there anyone else facing the same issue? I'm not sure if this started hapening with the last 0524 update but nothing really changed on my phone, and it just stopped working.

Now I'm not sure what to do, reinstall the whole OS or maybe this is a known issue and there's a workaround already. Thanks.

DohnJoe

gosuser12345
In the past I could see friends having the "not genuine" error, and curiously enough, it was tied to their phone number.
Changing phone number during registration, it would work.
The fix has been to take a VoIP number, register and use the "Change number" feature after.

I don't know if you have the very same error, but I guess that might be worth a try.
I hope this helps.

UglyBrawler

Hi,

I have exactly the same symptoms on my Pixel 8 since the last 2026052401 update, on Whatsapp :

message notifications are OK
message content can be displayed 1 out of 10, otherwise messages are replaced by a "Waiting for this message" warning
I cannot send any message

My profile has no Google Play Services enabled

RandomGosSupporter

Same here. Since yesterday I have only been able to send and receive messages to very few people.
When I check the end-to-end security code it fails.
I'm on the version 2026052401.

gosuser12345

Interesting... This probably means that is something that was triggered by the 2026052401 update. Interesting, considering, that I'm on the stable branch.. I'm wondering, is there a fix on the way or at least an official reason for what's happening?

GrapheneOS

gosuser12345 2026052400 / 2026052401 was released on May 24th and reached Stable after a couple days. It's not responsible for a WhatsApp app / service update making changes days later. There's no reason to blame the 2026052400 / 2026052401 update for it. Someone here has also confirmed they were having the issue on 2026050900 so a GrapheneOS update clearly isn't the cause.

Laccio

Same here. Whatsapp had been working fine for a couple of weeks (new GOS user here, P9P XL), but two days ago it suddently stopped receiving messages from some (although not all) of my contacts. Whatsapp is installed on my main profile, with no Google Services. I tried basic fixes like forcing the app to close, deleting cache, turning off and on the phone, even deleting the app (without deleting files) and installing it again from whatsapp website, but with no luck.
Eventually, since I had the problem for more than one full day and I need whatsapp for my work, I backed it up by copying the Android folder and I deleted the app and files. I installed it again (making sure this time to allow it to have unrestricted battery usage, as I understand that would help with notifications and - maybe, although I have really no clue how - with keeping end-to-end encryption working), pasted the folders back, restored the data and now it works. I have no idea if this is a stable solution, or even a viable one for you, but I hope it helps!

Grapheny_user

Having the same problem. My messages wouldn't arive anymore, a couple of hours after installing the 2.26.20.72 update for whatsapp. Tried a lot of things, but nothing has worked so far. I even installed an apk update (2.26.21.73)

i hear some of yall thought it was because of the graphene 2026052401 update. But I was on the 2026050900 version (little bit older) and had the same problem. I just updated to 2026052400 but nothing changed. I find it so strange, because whatsapp worked after I updated it for a few hours. And I had not done a graphene update that day as far as I know. It just suddenly broke for some reason :(

I also dont have google play services btw

RandomGosSupporter

The behaviour is very strange.
I can communicate without issues with some people. For some I can neither receive (click icon and "waiting for this message" text) or send. For some I can receive the messages however my replies are never sent.
That sadly makes it quite unusable right now.
Any other workaround than reinstalling everything like @Laccio ?

snafu

I have this problem too with WhatsApp in a secondary profile, BUT: other messengers have problems, too. When I try to send a message with Signal e.g., it is sometimes delivered, sometimes not, but in the secondary profile the message stays in the "not even sent to the server"-state forever. Same with Threema.

Honestly for me it looks as if the latest 20260524 update broke something in the OS.

snafu

snafu The other way around it is similar: When I send e.g., a message from my main profile Signal to my secondary profile Signal, it is delivered, but it stays with one check mark in the main profile.

snafu

Interesting observation: When configuring push notifications in Molly (I use Molly actually, not Signal), it shows me now a 3rd option "FCM (Google Play Services)" which it - I am pretty sure - never did earlier since I don't have Google Play Services installed. When selecting it, it's not working for obvious reasons. So, I switched from UnifiedPush, which I normally use, to WebSocket and now everything is working fine again, messages are coming through as expected, also when switching back to the initial UniifedPush.

@GrapheneOS I am not an Android developer, but is it possible that also WhatsApp thinks for some reason that the Play Services are available and tries to use it and hence fails? Has there been a change in the latest release that might affect Play Service detection?

Grapheny_user

GrapheneOS

Small correction: I’m not actually 100% sure I was still on 2026050900 when the issue started. I only confirmed I was on 2026052400 after rebooting following an update, so I assumed 2026050900 was my previous version.

UglyBrawler

GrapheneOS
The only user mentioning 2026052401 does not look so sure... Also some users reported issues with Signal / Molly. I can confirm the option "FCM (Google Play Services)" appears in my Molly settings as a provider, whereas Google Play Services are not enabled / installed on my profile.

Even if the GOS update was dated 2026-05-24, most of us don't upgrade immediately. Personally I upgraded on the 28 or 29, so it could be related. But to be honest, I also upgraded my Whatsapp app to version 2.26.20.72 (from Aurora Store) in a very close timing.

All recent messages I could find about this issue are GrapheneOS users, see for examples:

One thing is maybe worth to look at: is there a way the FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging) was exposed as enabled in the last GOS update (whereas it should not), and Whatsapp tries to use this provider instead of a direct connection?

legreteco

I have no Issues with WhatsApp (Version 2.26.29.72) so far and I am on the 2026052401 GrapheneOS build.

rndmE

I had exactly that issue for three days now and was able to resolve it by reinstalling the app.
Wasn't able to communicate with anyone anymore.
Remember to backup Android/media/com.whatsapp if you need your old messages.

I hope this "fix" doesn't only work for a short time.
Pretty annoying since no one can say what Meta is really doing on server side.

UglyBrawler

rndmE
A few questions :

What is your current Whatsapp version? (after reinstall)
Where did you reinstall it from? (Aurora Store or another source)
Do you have the sandboxed Google Play Services enabled on your profile?
What is your GOS build running?

Thank you!

userofgos

I haven't had any issues with WhatsApp version 2.26.20.72 installed from GPS on the 2026052401 GOS build.

UglyBrawler

userofgos
It could be useful if you answer the same questions I asked to rndmE:

What is your current Whatsapp version?
Where did you install it from? (Aurora Store or another source)
Do you have the sandboxed Google Play Services enabled on your profile?
Also: do you use a VPN for all traffic from GOS?
Thank you!

rndmE

UglyBrawler
What is your current Whatsapp version? (after reinstall)
Where did you reinstall it from? (Aurora Store or another source)
Do you have the sandboxed Google Play Services enabled on your profile?
What is your GOS build running?

Sorry, was writing from my mobile device earlier.

WhatsApp version after reinstall: 2.26.20.72 (which should be the same as before reinstall)
Install Source: Latest version from Aurora Store
Sandboxed Google Play Services: No, not in the main profile, where WhatsApp is installed. (Only in private space, which was disabled)
GOS Build: 2026052401

Just to have it mentioned: I don't had any updates around the days where the issue started to appear, neither on GOS nor on WhatsApp-app side so I am pretty sure something must have happened on server side at Meta.

Edit:
And to also answer to your VPN question you've asked userofgos:
I usually tunnel all device traffic through my home LAN where I filter it with a Pihole but I also tested WhatsApp without the VPN connection when it didn't work which didn't change anything.

userofgos

UglyBrawler Do you have the sandboxed Google Play Services enabled on your profile?

Yes

UglyBrawler Also: do you use a VPN for all traffic from GOS?

Yes. I did have to switch VPN servers a few times before a couple messages moved from the "clock" icon to one check mark and a second check mark. I chalked it up to being in a rural area with low cell data reception