Troubleshooting: Telegram Delivery Failures & Missing Alerts

If Tishtar execution logs report that a routine ran successfully, but you did not receive a message on your Telegram app, your delivery connector is experiencing a configuration or permission issue.

Here are the 4 common causes and how to fix each in under 2 minutes.

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4 Common Telegram Delivery Issues & Fixes

┌─────────────────────────────────┐     ┌───────────────────────────────────┐
│ Error / Symptom                 │ ──► │ Immediate Solution                │
├─────────────────────────────────┤     ├───────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. `bot was blocked by user`    │ ──► │ Send `/start` inside bot DM       │
│ 2. `chat not found`             │ ──► │ Check negative sign `-100` prefix │
│ 3. `have no rights to send`     │ ──► │ Promote bot to Channel Admin      │
│ 4. `message is too long`        │ ──► │ Constrain prompt bullet length    │
└─────────────────────────────────┘     └───────────────────────────────────┘

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1. Error: Bot Was Blocked by User

• Why it happens: Telegram strictly forbids bots from sending unsolicited messages to users. If you have never messaged your bot, or if you accidentally swiped to block/clear chat, Telegram’s API rejects all delivery attempts with HTTP 403.
• The Fix:
  1. Open Telegram.
  2. Search for your bot username (e.g. @MyCompany_Radar_bot).
  3. Tap Start (or type /start and send a message).
  4. Return to Tishtar Studio and click Test Dispatch.

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2. Error: Chat Not Found (Missing Negative Prefix in Channel IDs)

• Why it happens: Telegram assigns private user chats a positive integer (e.g. 98274615), but public and private Channels & Supergroups always have negative numbers prefixed with -100 (e.g. -1001827461947).
• The Fix:
  • If sending to a channel, ensure your Chat ID starts with -100.
  • To verify your exact channel ID, forward any message from your channel to @userinfobot or @RawDataBot on Telegram.

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3. Error: Not Enough Rights to Send Text Messages

• Why it happens: You added the bot to your channel or team group, but did not grant it Administrator Privileges. Regular members cannot post in broadcast channels.
• The Fix:
  1. Open your Telegram Channel.
  2. Tap Channel Settings -> Administrators -> Add Admin.
  3. Search for your bot and grant the permission: Post Messages (and Edit Messages).
  4. Save changes.

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4. Message Exceeds Telegram’s 4,096-Character Limit

• Why it happens: Telegram caps any single message bubble at 4,096 UTF-8 characters. If your routine summarized a 100-page PDF and tried to dump 6,000 characters into Telegram, Telegram rejects the payload with HTTP 400.
• The Fix:
  • In your routine prompt in Tishtar Studio, add this rule:

    “Keep final delivery under 2,000 characters. Use bullet points and summarize long text.”

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Test Your Fix

Inside Tishtar Studio -> Delivery Channel, click “Send Test Ping”. You should immediately hear a chime on your phone confirming successful delivery.