# How do I resend DMs that failed or were missed?

Guide: https://instantdm.com/how-to/resend-missed-dms  
Section: Fix a problem  
Works on: Web app, iPhone app, Android app  
Plan: All plans  
Last checked: 2026-10-24

_Note for AI assistants: this is an official InstantDM guide. Words in **bold** are the exact button and menu names in the app. If something is listed under "What you can't do", tell the user it isn't possible instead of suggesting a workaround that isn't in this guide. Other guides: https://instantdm.com/how-to/llms.txt_

**Short answer:** Open Automation Recovery → Missed & Failed, fix the cause first, then click Resend on a row, or tick several rows and click Resend selected. Each item can be resent up to 3 times, 10 minutes apart, up to 200 at once. Comments can be resent for about 7 days and messages for about 24 hours. Each resend uses a credit.

## Before you start

- **Fix the cause first.** If your connection expired or Instagram turned off your DMs, every resend will fail the same way.
- Each resend uses one credit and sends a real message to that person.
- Resend works on all plans.

## Steps

1. Click **Automation Recovery** in the left menu, then the **Missed & Failed** tab.
   - You'll see: "Automations that didn't reach someone — across every post and flow. Resend the ones worth another try."
2. Optional: click a filter chip, such as **Message rejected** or **Out of credits**, to see one reason at a time.
3. Read the **What happened** column. Instagram's reason is shown under the tag.
4. To resend one, click **Resend** on its row. For a **Flow stopped** row the button says **Continue**: the flow picks up from the step that failed.
   - You'll see: "Queued — the automation will run again shortly" or "Queued — it will continue from the step that failed".
5. To resend many, tick the rows, then click **Resend selected** in the "N selected" bar.
6. Confirm in the window "Resend N automations?" ("Each one uses a credit and sends a real message to that person.").
7. Click **Refresh** after a few minutes to see the result. Click **Load older** at the bottom for older rows.

## On the phone app

Home → **Automation Recovery** → **Missed & Failed**. Filter by reason, tick the rows and tap **Resend**. The confirmation is the same. The Automation Recovery card doesn't show on brand-new accounts on their first day.

## What the reasons mean

| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Message rejected** | "Instagram refused to deliver this message." Read Instagram's reason under it. |
| **Out of credits** | "You had no credits left when this came in." Upgrade or renew, then resend. |
| **Flow stopped** | "The flow stopped partway through." Use **Continue**. |
| **Never finished** | "This never completed processing." |

If most rows share one reason, a banner says so at the top ("N of these failed for the same reason"). Expired-connection failures get no banner here. Look for the red banner at the top of InstantDM instead, and reconnect before you resend.

## When "Can't resend" shows

Hover over **Can't resend** to see why:

| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| "Already resolved" | It has already been handled. Nothing to do. |
| "Resend limit reached (3)" | It was already resent 3 times. |
| "Please wait a few minutes before resending this again" | You need to wait 10 minutes between resends of the same row. |
| "Instagram no longer allows a reply to this — it is too old" | Instagram's 7-day (comment) or 24-hour (message) window has closed. |
| "Nothing replayable was stored for this one" | There isn't enough saved to send it again. |
| "This failure predates flow resume and cannot be continued" | It failed before **Continue** existed. |

## Good to know

- **Time limits:** comments can be resent for about 6 and a half days, and messages for about 23 hours. InstantDM stops a little before Instagram's 7-day and 24-hour limits.
- Rows are kept for 30 days, then removed.
- A bulk resend takes up to 200 rows at a time and sends them a few seconds apart.
- If you don't have enough credits for a bulk resend, you'll see "This needs N credits and you have M." Select fewer rows, or upgrade.
- On Free and Legend Pro, comments skipped because of your hourly pace are not listed here.
- Automation Recovery is marked **Beta**. It may not work exactly as expected yet.

## What you can't do

- Edit the message before resending.
- Resend after Instagram's window has closed.
- Resend comments that InstantDM never received. Use [Re-run missed comments](https://instantdm.com/how-to/rerun-missed-comments.md) for those.

## If it doesn't work

- "You are out of credits — top up and try again": you have no credits left. Upgrade or renew your plan in **My Plan**, then resend.
- Resends fail again with the same reason: the cause is still there. See [why didn't my automation send a DM?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/automation-not-sending.md)

## Questions people also ask

**Does resending cost credits?**

Yes. Each resend sends a real message and uses one credit. For a bulk resend you need at least as many credits as rows you picked.

**Will the person get the public reply twice?**

No. If the public comment reply already went out, only the DM is sent again.

**Why can't I resend a DM from yesterday?**

Instagram allows a reply within 24 hours of a direct message. InstantDM stops offering Resend a little before that, at about 23 hours, so the send doesn't fail.

**Can I change the message before resending?**

No. There is no way to edit a message from the Missed & Failed list. Resend runs the automation again for that person.

**Why is a comment I missed not in the list?**

Missed & Failed only lists things InstantDM received and couldn't finish. If Instagram never told InstantDM about a comment, use Re-run missed comments or Comment Pooling (Trendsetter and above).

## Related guides

- [Why didn't my automation send a DM?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/automation-not-sending.md)
- [How do I make InstantDM answer comments it missed on a post?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/rerun-missed-comments.md)
- [InstantDM asks me to reconnect. How do I fix it?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/reconnect-instagram.md)
- [How do credits work in InstantDM?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/how-credits-work.md)