A chat says “waiting for encryption key”
Nothing is broken — here is what it means.
Your messages are end-to-end encrypted, and the keys that unscramble them live on your device rather than on a server. When you install the app afresh — a new phone, or a reinstall — that device does not yet have the keys for your existing chats.
The fix is simply time and another member. As soon as someone else in that conversation comes online, the key is shared automatically and the chat opens normally.
- Make sure you have a working connection.
- Leave the app open for a few minutes.
- In a group, it resolves once any other member is online — you do not need a specific person.