Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Summary

Since recent OpenClaw versions, subagent completion/status announces can fail to reach WhatsApp with No active WhatsApp Web listener, even while the main WhatsApp session is clearly active and inbound/outbound conversation with the main agent is still working.

Steps to reproduce

1. Use OpenClaw with WhatsApp as the active user-facing channel.
2. Spawn a subagent from the main session.
3. Let the subagent complete and trigger its completion/status announce.
4. Observe gateway logs during the announce phase.
5. In affected runs, the subagent completion message is not delivered to the WhatsApp chat.

Expected behavior

Subagent completion/status announces should be delivered back to the same active WhatsApp chat/session without requiring any re-linking when the main WhatsApp session is already functioning.

Actual behavior

The completion announce path fails with repeated transient retries and logs like:

Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default). Start the gateway, then link WhatsApp with: openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp --account default.

The retry loop eventually gives up, and the expected completion/status message never arrives on WhatsApp.

Relevant redacted log excerpt:

03:54:48 [ws] ⇄ res ✗ agent errorCode=UNAVAILABLE errorMessage=Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default). Start the gateway, then link WhatsApp with: openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp --account default.
03:54:48 [warn] Subagent announce completion direct announce agent call transient failure, retrying 2/4 in 5s
03:54:53 [ws] ⇄ res ✗ agent 0ms errorCode=UNAVAILABLE errorMessage=Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default). ... cached=true
03:54:53 [warn] Subagent announce completion direct announce agent call transient failure, retrying 3/4 in 10s
03:55:03 [ws] ⇄ res ✗ agent 0ms errorCode=UNAVAILABLE errorMessage=Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default). ... cached=true
03:55:03 [warn] Subagent announce completion direct announce agent call transient failure, retrying 4/4 in 20s

OpenClaw version

2026.3.13

Operating system

Windows 11

Install method

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

Model

GPT 5.4

Provider / routing chain

OpenClaw main session -> subagent completion announce path -> gateway/backend -> WhatsApp account default

Config file / key location

Redacted intentionally. No secrets included.

Additional provider/model setup details

The important point is that the main WhatsApp conversation was still usable, so the failure seems specific to the subagent completion/announce delivery path rather than a fully disconnected WhatsApp environment.

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

See redacted log excerpt above.

Impact and severity

• Affected users/systems/channels: WhatsApp users relying on subagent progress/completion notifications
• Severity: High for subagent-based workflows
• Frequency: Intermittent to frequent in recent usage
• Consequence: Background tasks appear silent or unfinished because the completion/status signal never reaches the user-facing WhatsApp chat

Additional information

This feels like a regression in the WhatsApp announce/listener path for subagent completion delivery. The system message suggests re-linking WhatsApp, but that is misleading when the main WhatsApp chat is otherwise still functioning normally.