FAQ — My conversation is stuck or I can’t reply
A conversation seems wrong. Walk through these in order — most cases resolve on the first or second check.
“I can’t reply — the editor won’t open or send fails”
Is the conversation Archived?
Archived conversations are locked. The reply editor either won’t open or the send button is disabled. Check the conversation status in the header. If it says Archived, the conversation is permanently closed.
To handle the customer’s continued issue, ask them to reach out again — their reply will create a new linked conversation. Or send a fresh outbound from the contact’s CRM record.
See Archive a conversation for why archived is terminal.
Is the conversation assigned to someone else?
Some teams configure assignment rules so only the assigned agent can reply. Check the conversation header — if it’s assigned to a teammate, either:
- Reassign to yourself (
A) and reply - Add an internal note tagging the assigned agent
- Coordinate via your team’s chat
Is the channel temporarily down?
If the channel provider is having issues (e.g., your email provider, Twilio for SMS, Meta for Messenger), outbound replies may fail. Check the channel’s status indicator in Settings → Channels, or look for a banner at the top of the conversation noting delivery issues.
Is the customer’s contact missing or invalid?
If the email bounced or the phone number was disconnected, replies will fail at send. Check the conversation header — invalid contacts are usually flagged. Update the contact’s record in CRM and try again.
“The conversation has new messages but isn’t moving to the top of my list”
What sort is your list using?
If you’re sorted by SLA priority or Last contact message, a new inbound might not bubble to the top — it depends on the customer’s prior activity, not just the most recent message.
Switch sort to Updated to see the most recently active conversations at the top.
See What is the conversation list? for sort options.
Is the conversation Snoozed?
Snoozed conversations don’t appear in Active even with new messages… wait, actually they do — a customer reply on a Snoozed conversation wakes it back to Active automatically. If you’re not seeing it, check the Snoozed tab specifically.
If it’s still in Snoozed and the customer replied, that’s worth flagging — wake-on-reply should be automatic.
“The conversation isn’t in my list at all”
Is it assigned to a different agent or team?
The default conversation list shows what’s assigned to you (or to your teams). Filter to “all conversations” or “unassigned” to see ones outside your normal scope.
Is it filtered out by your saved view?
If you have a saved view applied, it might be filtering out the conversation. Check the active filters at the top of the list — clear them or switch to a default view.
Is it in the Done or Archived tab?
It could be a closed conversation. Check the Done and Archived tabs. If you find it in Archived, see “I can’t reply” above.
“My reply went out but engagement didn’t change”
Did you send a reply or an internal note?
The reply editor has a Reply / Note tab toggle. Internal notes don’t change engagement state because they’re invisible to the customer. Check the message you sent — if it shows up styled as a note (typically a different color or marked “Internal”), it was a note, not a reply.
Was the message sent by an automation rule?
If your tenant has automation rules sending outbound messages and they’re tagged with isAutomated: true, some engagement views filter them out. Your view might be excluding the message that ought to flip engagement.
See Engagement state — the section on automation messages.
“I marked Done, but the conversation is back in Active”
This is by design, not a bug. The customer replied, which automatically reopens the conversation. Check the latest message — there’s an inbound message after your Done timestamp.
If the customer hadn’t replied and it still re-opened, it’s worth flagging — the only mechanism that auto-reopens is customer reply.
See Mark Done or reopen and Conversation statuses.
“The customer says they replied but I don’t see it”
Did it land on a different conversation?
If the customer’s email reply was missing the threading headers (e.g., they composed a fresh email instead of clicking Reply), it might have created a new conversation. Search by their email address in the conversation list.
Was it flagged as spam by the channel?
The channel provider (email, especially) may have intercepted the reply. Check the channel’s spam/quarantine on the provider side, or check the customer’s contact in CRM for any delivery flags.
Is it on a related contact?
If the customer has multiple contact records (different emails, merged duplicates), the reply might be on a sibling record. Search the contact’s name, not just the specific email.
“The conversation feels stale and nothing happens”
If the conversation hasn’t moved in a while and you can’t tell why:
- Check engagement — is it Engaged (waiting on customer) or Pending (waiting on us)?
- Check assignment — is anyone listed as responsible?
- Check tags — is something flagging it (waiting-on-supplier, blocked, etc.)?
- Check the SLA priority — is it in a green / non-urgent state?
Stale conversations are often Engaged + assigned correctly + just genuinely waiting on the customer. Snooze with a sensible window if you want to be reminded to follow up.
When to escalate to support
If none of the above explains the behavior:
- The conversation status seems wrong (e.g., shows Active but reply editor is locked)
- Engagement state doesn’t match the message log
- Customer messages disappear silently
- Bulk actions don’t apply
That’s an Atender bug, not a configuration issue. Capture the conversation ID and reach out to your account contact.