--- title: "Abandoned cart emails not sending? Causes and fixes" date: "2026-11-06" author: RocketCart url: "https://getrocketcart.com/docs/troubleshooting/messages-not-sending/" type: docs --- Usually, recovery messages aren’t missing, just not due yet. RocketCart picks up abandoned checkouts once an hour and sends the first reminder after a further delay. If nothing goes out at all, the store is usually a development store, not connected, or (for WhatsApp) missing an approved, active template. If you don’t see any abandoned checkouts in RocketCart at all, start with [No carts showing](/docs/troubleshooting/no-carts-showing/). ## How can I see what was sent? Open **Recovery** and click **View results**. Each cart shows its reminder steps with a status such as In Queue, Sent, Failed or Cancelled. See [Recovery results](/docs/recovery/recovery-results/). ## Why are recovery emails not sending? Work through these causes in order. ### 1. The email isn’t due yet The timing counts from when RocketCart imported the checkout, which happens once an hour. The first email then follows after a delay, usually an hour or more, and the next ones later still. RocketCart chooses the exact delays itself. Emails that would go out between 00:00 and 08:00 Central European time (Berlin) are held until 08:00. This is the same for every shopper, wherever they live. **Fix:** wait. A checkout abandoned in the evening often gets its first email the next morning. See [How email recovery works](/docs/recovery/email-recovery/). ### 2. It’s a development store On a Shopify development store, RocketCart sends no recovery emails or WhatsApp messages to customers. The Dashboard shows: “You’re on a development store. You can explore all app features and the SaaS dashboard, but no recovery emails will be sent to customers.” **Fix:** none. This is on purpose, so test stores don’t email real people. ### 3. RocketCart isn’t connected If the Dashboard shows **Disconnected** and a **Connect now** button, RocketCart can’t import checkouts or send anything. **Fix:** click **Connect now** on the Dashboard. ### 4. The shopper already bought RocketCart cancels the remaining reminders as soon as the shopper places the order. Those steps show as Cancelled on the results page. **Fix:** none needed. That’s a recovery. ### 5. RocketCart can’t email this shopper A checkout with only a phone number gets no email. RocketCart also skips addresses that bounced before, and addresses on domains that can’t receive email. The step then shows as Failed. **Fix:** none for that shopper. If many steps fail, send the details through [Request a Feature](/docs/settings/request-a-feature/) with the **Bug** type. ### 6. The shopper unsubscribed Every recovery email has an unsubscribe link at the bottom. The email service RocketCart sends through handles it, not RocketCart itself. ## Why are WhatsApp recovery messages not sending? The **Recovery** page shows a banner when WhatsApp can’t send. Match the banner to the cause: | Banner on the Recovery page | Cause | Fix | | --- | --- | --- | | “Your WhatsApp Business account isn’t connected yet, so no messages are going out.” | No WhatsApp number connected | Click **Connect WhatsApp** and finish Meta’s sign-up. See [Connect WhatsApp](/docs/whatsapp/connect-whatsapp/). | | “Your WhatsApp sender is connected but switched off, so no messages are going out.” | The number is turned off | Click **Turn WhatsApp on**, then **Turn on** on the Dashboard’s **WhatsApp connection** card. | | “No active approved template, so WhatsApp isn’t recovering any abandoned carts right now…” | Templates are approved, but none is active | Activate an approved template in the templates table. | | “Your message is with WhatsApp for review — it’ll start sending automatically once approved.” | The template is still in review at WhatsApp | Wait. Review usually takes a few minutes to a few hours. | | “WhatsApp rejected your message. Edit it and submit again to start sending.” | WhatsApp rejected the template | See [WhatsApp template rejected](/docs/troubleshooting/whatsapp-template-rejected/). | | “Finish your message and submit it for review to start sending.” | You only have drafts | Open the draft and click **Submit for review**. | Other reasons a single shopper gets no WhatsApp message: - **No phone number** in the checkout. - **The shopper replied STOP** (or STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, OPTOUT) to an earlier message from your number. They get no more WhatsApp messages until they reply START. - **The cart got emails instead.** A shopper with both email and phone gets two emails and one WhatsApp message, only emails, or a single WhatsApp message. RocketCart picks the mix by itself. Note A template that shows **Awaiting connection** was submitted before you connected WhatsApp. As the app says, templates submitted before you connect go for review and start sending once you’re connected. ## Related pages - [Recovery emails going to spam](/docs/troubleshooting/emails-in-spam/) - [WhatsApp recovery messages](/docs/recovery/whatsapp-recovery-messages/)