WhatsApp Business Cloud: video Media URL works when hardcoded, but not when mapped from Google Sheets

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:bullseye: What is your goal?

I want to send WhatsApp Business Cloud video messages from Make using a dynamic Media URL stored in Google Sheets.

The goal is to have several videos listed in Google Sheets, retrieve the correct video URL with a Search Rows module, and send that video through WhatsApp Business Cloud as part of an automated conversation flow.

:thinking: What is the problem & what have you tried?

Hi everyone,

I’m having an issue with the WhatsApp Business Cloud “Send a Message” module in Make, and I’d like to know if anyone has experienced something similar.

I’m trying to send a video through WhatsApp Business Cloud using a Media URL.

First, I tried sending it as a regular video message:

  • App: WhatsApp Business Cloud
  • Module: Send a Message
  • Message Type: Video
  • Video field: Media URL

The module ran successfully and WhatsApp/Meta returned a Message ID, but the message was not delivered to the recipient.

Then I tried another setup that works when the URL is entered manually:

  • Message Type: Interactive
  • Interactive Type: Reply Buttons
  • Header Type: Video
  • Video field: Media URL

The strange behavior is this:

If I paste the video URL manually into the Media URL field, the video is delivered correctly through WhatsApp.

However, if I map the exact same URL dynamically from a Google Sheets “Search Rows” module, the Make module runs successfully, WhatsApp/Meta returns a Message ID, but the message is not delivered to the recipient.

The video URL is a direct public .mp4 URL hosted on my WordPress site. for example:
https://mydomain.com/wp-content/uploads/yyyy/mm/video-file.mp4

I have already tested:

  • Sending the video as a regular Video message.
  • Sending it as an Interactive message with Reply Buttons and a video header.
  • Removing the hyperlink from the Google Sheets cell and leaving the URL as plain text.
  • Using trim().
  • Mapping the Google Sheets field directly.
  • Using the same URL manually in the module, which works correctly.
  • The module output shows success and returns a WhatsApp Message ID, but the message does not arrive when the URL is mapped.

So the issue seems to be specifically related to using a dynamically mapped URL from Google Sheets in the Media URL field.

Has anyone found a reliable way to pass a video URL from Google Sheets into the WhatsApp Business Cloud Media URL field?

Is there any formatting, encoding, or conversion required before mapping the URL?

Would it be better to use the WhatsApp “Upload a Media” module first and then send the video using a Media ID instead of a Media URL?

The same scenario works perfectly with a hardcoded URL, so I’m trying to understand whether the issue is with Google Sheets mapped values, Make’s WhatsApp module, or WhatsApp’s handling of dynamic media URLs.

Any guidance would be very appreciated.

4

Hi @Emcom_Soluciones

I once faced a similar issue mapping telegram ID which failed and worked perfectly when I manually typed it in. The truth is, Google Sheets columns can pass hidden formatting or character encodings that Meta doesn’t resonate with and this causes it to fail silently. But you can force Make to treat the mapped variable as a completely raw, sanitized URL string.Inside your WhatsApp module’s Media URL field.

Try to wrap your Google Sheets variable in the toString() and encodeURL() functions like this:{{encodeURL(toString(1.Video_URL_Column))}}

Don’t forget, If your URL already contains special parameters (like ?v=1), encodeURL() might break it. If that the case, use just {{toString(trim(1.Video_URL_Column))}} to strip hidden spaces. But from the video URL example you provided it shows no specific chars.

Another potential problem is your Google sheets. if the video link is clickable on your Google sheet (like turns to blue clickable link when you open the sheet) it almost certainly has additional hidden formatting or chars. Change the entire video URL column on your Google sheets into text and try the mapping again. I recommend you do this first if it fails before you try using the formula.

Best Regards