Fix Instagram replies not sending or messages partly arriving

If some Instagram messages are missing from your inbox, or your replies fail with "There was an issue in delivery" or "not the thread owner," another tool connected to the same Instagram account is controlling the conversation.

Why this happens

Instagram lets you connect more than one messaging tool to the same account. When you do, Meta's Handover Protocol decides which tool "owns" each conversation. Only the owning tool receives live messages and is allowed to send replies. Every other connected tool, including ChatMaxima, receives a read-only copy and cannot reply.

This is controlled by your Instagram "conversation routing" setting. If routing points to another tool or to the Instagram inbox, ChatMaxima is treated as a secondary tool for those conversations.

Symptoms

• Some incoming Instagram messages reach ChatMaxima while others do not appear.
• Sending a reply fails with "There was an issue in delivery this message," or the underlying Instagram error "not the thread owner."

How to fix it

Make ChatMaxima the owner of your Instagram conversations using either option below.

Option 1: Route conversations to ChatMaxima

1. Open the Instagram app and go to your professional account.
2. Tap the menu, then Settings and privacy.
3. Under the messaging or business tools section, open Conversation routing or Connected tools.
4. Set ChatMaxima as the tool that handles your messages, or turn conversation routing off so the connected app receives messages directly.

You can also do this from Meta Business Suite: open Inbox, click the settings gear, then Connected tools or Conversation routing, and set ChatMaxima as the handler.

Option 2: Disconnect the other tool

1. If you are not actively using the other connected tool, disconnect it from this Instagram account.
2. With only ChatMaxima connected, it becomes the owner automatically and replies start working.

Verify

Send a test direct message to your Instagram account, then reply from ChatMaxima. The reply should deliver normally, and new incoming messages should appear without any missing.

Notes

• Incoming messages are always captured. ChatMaxima records every incoming Instagram message even before you fix routing, so nothing is lost; only replies require ownership.
• Once ChatMaxima owns your conversations, the other connected tool stops receiving new messages for this account. Instagram can route a conversation to only one owner at a time.