If WhatsApp is not showing online or typing status for your contacts, there are a few potential reasons why this may be happening. The most common reasons are that the contact has disabled their online/typing visibility in their WhatsApp settings, your own internet connection is unstable, your WhatsApp version is out of date, or there is an issue with your phone’s notifications settings.
They have disabled online/typing visibility
The most likely reason you can’t see someone’s online or typing status is because they have disabled the option to share it in their WhatsApp settings. Every WhatsApp user can choose whether to show their “last seen” status as well as hide their online and typing status. So if someone has disabled sharing their online status, you simply won’t be able to see it.
To check if this is the case, you can ask the contact if they have disabled their online/typing visibility. If so, there is no way for you to override this from your side. It is their personal preference and you will need to respect their privacy choice.
Your internet connection is unstable
An unstable internet connection can also prevent WhatsApp from displaying accurate online and typing indicators. WhatsApp needs a consistent internet connection to be able to show real-time presence information.
So if your WiFi or mobile data connection is spotty, slowing down, or cutting in and out, WhatsApp may struggle to detect your contacts’ presence properly. To troubleshoot, try switching between WiFi and mobile data to see if one is more stable. Also move closer to your WiFi router if possible or try toggling Airplane mode on and off to reset the connection.
Your WhatsApp is out of date
An outdated version of WhatsApp can also cause issues with presence status not showing up. WhatsApp frequently releases new updates with bug fixes and improvements. Being several versions behind the latest release may cause certain features like online/typing visibility to stop working properly.
Go to your app store and check for any WhatsApp updates. Install the latest version and see if this resolves the issue. Also enable auto-update if it’s disabled so WhatsApp stays up-to-date automatically in the future.
Notifications are disabled
If your phone’s notifications settings are blocking WhatsApp notifications, this can prevent online/typing statuses from being displayed. WhatsApp needs to be able to send background notifications to indicate when contacts come online or start typing.
Go into your phone’s settings and make sure WhatsApp notifications are enabled. Double check that the Notification style is not set to “Silent” as this will still block the notifications. If you have battery optimization enabled for WhatsApp, consider adding it to the exceptions list so notifications aren’t restricted.
Their account is banned or deleted
If someone has had their WhatsApp account banned or deleted by WhatsApp, you will no longer see any presence information for them. Their profile picture will be removed and online/typing status will never display.
You can confirm if this is the case by checking with the contact through another method of communication. Banned accounts can be restored by contacting WhatsApp support if the ban was made in error.
It’s a widespread technical issue
Very occasionally, a problem with WhatsApp’s servers can cause online/typing indicators to stop working for many users globally. This is quite rare, but can happen if there are major technical issues.
Check social media or WhatsApp’s Twitter account to see if others are reporting the problem. Usually the issue will be resolved within a few hours once WhatsApp engineers are aware. All you can do is wait for WhatsApp to fix their servers in this case.
Refreshing or reinstalling WhatsApp
If you’ve ruled out the other possibilities, a simple refresh or reinstallation of WhatsApp may help get online/typing status working again. Here are the steps:
- Force close WhatsApp – On Android go to Settings > Apps > WhatsApp > Force Stop. On iPhone swipe up and hold to close the app.
- Toggle Airplane mode on and off on your phone to refresh the network connection.
- Clear app cache – On Android go to Settings > Apps > WhatsApp > Storage > Clear Cache. On iPhone go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage > WhatsApp > Offload App.
- Open WhatsApp again and check if contacts’ online status appears.
If the issue persists, you can try fully uninstalling and reinstalling the app:
- Back up your WhatsApp data and media before uninstalling.
- Uninstall WhatsApp.
- Reboot your phone.
- Reinstall WhatsApp from the app store and restore your backup.
This should refresh all data and settings and hopefully resolve any bugs that were preventing online status from displaying properly.
How to show your online status
While troubleshooting why you can’t see others’ online status in WhatsApp, also check that you have enabled sharing your own online and typing status. Here’s how to check and change these settings:
- Open WhatsApp Settings.
- Tap Account > Privacy.
- Tap Last Seen & Online to open settings.
- Toggle Show online status to green so it’s enabled.
- Toggle Show status to contacts only if desired.
This will make sure your contacts can see when you are online or typing. You can also change Who can see my last seen to control your last seen timestamp visibility.
Using airplane mode
A handy trick to view your WhatsApp contacts’ online status while keeping yours hidden is to turn on Airplane mode. Here’s how:
- Open WhatsApp and check all your contacts status.
- Once loaded, turn on Airplane mode on your phone.
- Keep checking your contacts list in WhatsApp.
Since internet is disabled, your own online status will not update. But you can still see your contacts’ last seen status and when they come online or start typing. Turn off Airplane mode when done.
Third-party apps
Some third party apps claim they can show more detailed WhatsApp status information like exactly how long a contact has been online. However most of these apps do not work reliably or violate WhatsApp’s terms of service.
It’s best to avoid such apps as they may compromise your privacy or security. Stick to the official WhatsApp app for the most accurate online status information.
Summary
- Ensure the contact hasn’t disabled status sharing in their settings.
- Check your internet connection is stable on WiFi/mobile data.
- Update to the latest WhatsApp version.
- Enable notifications for WhatsApp.
- Try refreshing or reinstalling WhatsApp.
- Make sure your own online status sharing is enabled.
Following these troubleshooting steps should help restore missing online and typing indicators in most cases. If the problem still persists after trying all solutions, you will need to contact WhatsApp support for further help.