Telegram Bot Not Responding? 12 Causes and Fixes
When a Telegram bot stops replying, the cause is almost always on a short list: the bot is stopped, its token changed, the same token is used in two places, the bot can't see group messages, or a limit was reached. Work through the checks below in order. The dashboard steps are for bots hosted on TeleCrow; the Telegram causes apply to any bot.
Check these first (60-second triage)
- Send
/startto the bot in a private chat. If it answers there but not in your group, jump to the group section. - Look at the status next to the bot's name in your dashboard. Live, Stopped or Error tells you where to look next.
- Think back: did you touch the token? Revoking it in @BotFather, or pasting it into another app or script, breaks the bot right away.
- Check your email. A "reached its daily user limit" email means new people may be turned away on busy days.
- For an AI bot, open the AI Brain tab and check that your AI key is connected and has credit.
The bot is stopped or paused
What you see: the bot doesn't answer at all, and the dashboard shows Stopped or Error instead of Live.
Fix: press Start on the bot page. If it is Live but silent, press Restart. If it goes back to Error, the token is the usual cause: see the next section.
The token changed or is used in two places
You revoked or regenerated the token
When you revoke a token in @BotFather, the old token stops working at once, and your bot goes silent everywhere it was used.
Fix: copy the new token from @BotFather. In TeleCrow, open the bot, go to Configuration › Bot Token Management, paste it into New Bot Token and press Update Token. The bot restarts with the new token. Because it is still the same Telegram bot, its users, products and settings stay as they were. The Configuration tab is part of the Pro and Ultra plans; on Free or Basic it shows an upgrade prompt, so contact TeleCrow support if you need the token changed.
Paste a token from the same bot. A token from a different Telegram bot switches your TeleCrow bot to that other bot. If Telegram Stars was on, Stars is then paused until you turn it on again for the new bot, and the old bot's Stars subscriptions are cancelled.
The same token runs in two places
Telegram sends each bot's messages to one place only: either a webhook (how hosted bots receive messages) or a program that polls for them. Telegram's Bot API docs say you can't poll for updates while a webhook is set. So if you also use your bot's token in a script, an automation tool or another builder:
- the other program may fail with an error such as
409 Conflict: terminated by other getUpdates request, or a conflict about an active webhook; - or it may remove or replace the webhook, and your hosted bot stops getting messages.
Fix: use one token in one place. To experiment, create a second bot in @BotFather and use its token instead. If the token may have leaked, revoke it and update it in the dashboard as above. Our guide on keeping a bot token safe covers this in more detail.
If you turn on Telegram Stars while the same token is also used by another bot on TeleCrow, setup stops with: "This token is also used by another bot on TeleCrow. Stars would go to whoever owns it in @BotFather. Delete the other bot or use a new token."
The bot can't see messages in a group
What you see: the bot answers in private but ignores normal messages in your group.
Why: bots in groups run in privacy mode by default. In this mode a bot only receives commands meant for it, replies to its own messages and service messages such as people joining. Bots also never see messages from other bots. A bot that is an admin, or has privacy mode turned off, receives all other messages (Telegram bot FAQ).
Fix:
- Make the bot an admin of the group. Welcome and captcha bots, and bots that sell access to a group, need admin rights to work at all.
- A bot that sells access must be allowed to Invite users via link. On TeleCrow, the Chats tab tells you when it isn't: "is in this chat but is not an admin yet. Make it an admin with 'Invite users via link', then check again."
- If the bot was removed from the group, add it back and make it an admin again.
- If you change privacy mode in @BotFather and nothing changes, remove the bot from the group and add it again.
People can't start it or get no reply
- They never pressed Start. Bots can't start conversations: a person must message the bot or press Start first (Telegram). A bot can't send someone a message just because it has their username.
- They blocked the bot. Telegram then refuses every message the bot tries to send them. Only they can unblock it.
- They opened a lookalike. Check that the link you share points to your exact @username. Share the link from the dashboard's Open button, or from the Share your bot kit on paid-channel bots.
The daily new-user limit was reached
Each plan allows a number of new users per bot per day: 50 on Free, 100 on Basic, and no limit on Pro and Ultra. Going over never stops the bot. You first get three warning emails on three different days. After that, on a day the bot goes over again, only new users past the limit see "⏳ This bot is full for today" until the next day (the day resets at midnight UTC). People who already use the bot are never affected.
Fix: nothing is needed if this happens rarely. If it happens often, a higher plan on the pricing page raises or removes the limit. Our page on whether a Telegram bot is free explains the limit step by step.
AI bot: key, credit and model problems
A personal AI bot answers with your own AI provider key. Its replies tell you what is wrong:
| The bot says | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "⚙️ This bot isn't configured yet…" | No AI key is saved | Add a key in the AI Brain tab and press Connect & test |
| "🔑 The configured API key was rejected…" | The key is wrong, deleted or for another provider | Copy the whole key again, or create a new one at your provider |
| "⏱ Rate-limited by the AI provider…" | Too many requests, or the account has no credit | Wait a little; if it continues, add credit or switch to the free option |
| "🛠 The AI provider is having issues…" | The provider's service has a problem | Try again later, or pick another model |
The AI Brain tab tests your key and model when you press Connect & test, and marks a key with no credit as Needs credit. If a model is retired by the provider, choose another model there.
The free option. With an OpenRouter account you can use the openrouter/free model without credit, within OpenRouter's daily limits for free models. OpenRouter also blocks free models until you allow them in your OpenRouter privacy settings; the AI Brain tab links you there when this is the problem.
Shop and payment problems
- "⏸ This shop isn't taking new payments right now." Telegram Stars is paused for this bot, for example after a token change. Turn Stars on again from the bot page.
- "This item can't be paid in Stars." The price is above the Stars limit for one payment (25,000 Stars, about $500 at the default $1 = 50 Stars). Buyers can still pay from their balance.
- "Sorry, this item is sold out." A product with one item per buyer has no stock left. Add more items to the product.
- A buyer paid but got nothing. TeleCrow shops refund automatically when delivery fails: Stars go back to the buyer, and balance payments go back to the balance. Bought files can be downloaded again from 📦 My Orders.
Telegram-side limits and outages
Telegram limits how fast any bot can send: about one message per second per chat, 20 a minute in a group and about 30 a second across all chats. A bot that goes over gets "429 Too Many Requests" errors and has to wait. When Telegram itself is slow or down, bots are too.
If you host a bot yourself with a webhook, start with getWebhookInfo: our guide to debugging Telegram webhook failures goes through the errors it shows.
Let TeleCrow keep your bot online
TeleCrow hosts your bot, shows its status on the bot page, and checks group rights, AI keys and payment setup for you. Start free with one bot, or compare plans.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my Telegram bot not working?
Check in this order: the bot is stopped; its token was revoked or replaced; the same token is used in another app; it isn't an admin in the group; the person never pressed Start or blocked it; the daily new-user limit was reached; or, for an AI bot, the AI key is missing or out of credit.
Why doesn't my bot respond in a group?
Bots in groups use privacy mode by default and only receive commands meant for them, replies to their own messages and service messages. Make the bot an admin, or turn privacy mode off in @BotFather, then remove and re-add it if nothing changes.
What does "Conflict: terminated by other getUpdates request" mean?
Two programs are using the same bot token at once, or one program is polling while a webhook is set. Telegram sends updates to one place only. Use one token in one place, and create a separate test bot for experiments.
I revoked my bot token. Do I lose my bot?
No. Revoking gives the same bot a new token. Paste the new token under Configuration › Bot Token Management › Update Token in TeleCrow (Pro and Ultra; on Free or Basic, contact support), and the bot keeps its users, products and settings.
Why does my AI bot say it isn't configured?
No AI provider key is saved for it. Add your key in the AI Brain tab and press Connect & test, or use the free OpenRouter option, which needs a free OpenRouter account and no credit.