Retry Strategies

Not every call connects on the first try. Retry strategies tell Gomobile how to handle failed calls—whether to try again, when, and how many times.

Why retries matter

Phone calls fail for many reasons:

Busy signal
No answer
Network issues
Voicemail (when you need a human)
Temporary phone problems

Without retries, these contacts are lost. With smart retries, you can significantly improve your connection rate.

Strategy types

Gomobile supports three retry strategies:

Strategy	Best for
`none`	One-shot notifications, testing
`fixed_delay`	Most campaigns, predictable timing
`scheduled`	Specific time windows, compliance requirements

No retries

The simplest option—each contact gets one call attempt:

{
  "retryStrategy": {
    "type": "none"
  }
}

Use this when:

You’re testing a flow
The message isn’t time-sensitive
You’ll handle retries externally
One attempt is all you need

Fixed delay retries

Retry failed calls after a consistent delay:

{
  "retryStrategy": {
    "type": "fixed_delay",
    "delayMinutes": 30,
    "maxRetries": 3
  }
}

How it works:

First attempt fails
Wait 30 minutes
Second attempt (retry 1)
If that fails, wait another 30 minutes
Third attempt (retry 2)
If that fails, wait 30 minutes
Fourth attempt (retry 3)
If that fails, contact marked as failed

With maxRetries: 3, a contact gets up to 4 total attempts.

Choosing delay times:

Delay	Use case
5-15 min	Urgent messages, short campaigns
30-60 min	Standard campaigns
120+ min	Less urgent, spread throughout day

Scheduled retries

Retry at specific times:

{
  "retryStrategy": {
    "type": "scheduled",
    "retryDates": [
      "2025-01-20T14:00:00Z",
      "2025-01-21T10:00:00Z",
      "2025-01-22T16:00:00Z"
    ]
  }
}

How it works:

First attempt (at program start time) fails
Next attempt at 2025-01-20T14:00:00Z
If that fails, next attempt at 2025-01-21T10:00:00Z
If that fails, next attempt at 2025-01-22T16:00:00Z
If that fails, contact marked as failed

The number of dates equals the number of retry attempts. When to use scheduled retries:

Different times of day might work better
Spreading attempts across multiple days
Compliance requirements (max calls per day)
Specific business hours

What triggers a retry?

Retries happen when a call fails to connect meaningfully. This includes:

Outcome	Triggers retry?
Busy	Yes
No answer	Yes
Voicemail (with AMD)	Configurable
Rejected	Yes
Network error	Yes
Human answered, flow completed	No
Human answered, flow error	Depends on error

Successful calls (human answered and flow completed) don’t retry.

Retry behavior with pause windows

Retries respect pause windows. If a retry is scheduled during a pause window:

The retry waits until the pause window ends
Then it proceeds with the call

This ensures you don’t accidentally call during inappropriate times.

Monitoring retry progress

Track retries through the execution counters:

{
  "totalContacts": 1000,
  "contactsCompleted": 650,
  "contactsFailed": 50,
  "contactsPending": 280,
  "contactsInProgress": 20
}

contactsPending includes contacts waiting for retry. As retries process, they move to completed or failed.

Call reports and retries

The call report API shows all attempts for a contact:

{
  "jobId": "job-uuid",
  "status": "completed",
  "finalOutcome": "completed",
  "attempts": [
    {
      "attempt": 1,
      "call": { "status": "busy" },
      "outcome": "busy"
    },
    {
      "attempt": 2,
      "call": { "status": "completed" },
      "outcome": "completed"
    }
  ]
}

This helps you understand:

How many attempts were needed
What outcomes occurred
Time between attempts

Strategy recommendations

Standard campaigns

{
  "type": "fixed_delay",
  "delayMinutes": 60,
  "maxRetries": 2
}

Three total attempts, one hour apart. Balances persistence with respect.

Urgent notifications

{
  "type": "fixed_delay",
  "delayMinutes": 15,
  "maxRetries": 4
}

Five total attempts, 15 minutes apart. More aggressive for time-sensitive messages.

Multi-day campaigns

{
  "type": "scheduled",
  "retryDates": [
    "2025-01-20T10:00:00Z",
    "2025-01-20T15:00:00Z",
    "2025-01-21T10:00:00Z",
    "2025-01-21T15:00:00Z"
  ]
}

Morning and afternoon attempts over two days.

One-shot with external handling

{
  "type": "none"
}

No retries. Export failed contacts and handle them through another process.

Best practices

Start conservative - 2-3 retries is usually enough
Space them out - Avoid overwhelming recipients
Respect time zones - Schedule retries during reasonable hours
Monitor results - Track if retries actually help
Consider the message - Urgent = more retries, routine = fewer
Use pause windows - Combine with retries for best results

Common mistakes

Too many retries - Annoying and may get numbers flagged
Too short delays - Recipient situation won’t change in 5 minutes
Ignoring time zones - Retries at 3 AM don’t help
No pause windows - Retrying during lunch hours

Programs

Setting retry strategies.

Executions

Monitoring retry progress.

Pause Windows

Controlling when retries happen.

Introduction

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Features

Agent Studio

Guides

Why retries matter

Strategy types

No retries

Fixed delay retries

Scheduled retries

What triggers a retry?

Retry behavior with pause windows

Monitoring retry progress

Call reports and retries

Strategy recommendations

Standard campaigns

Urgent notifications

Multi-day campaigns

One-shot with external handling

Best practices

Common mistakes

Programs

Executions

Pause Windows

​Why retries matter

​Strategy types

​No retries

​Fixed delay retries

​Scheduled retries

​What triggers a retry?

​Retry behavior with pause windows

​Monitoring retry progress

​Call reports and retries

​Strategy recommendations

​Standard campaigns

​Urgent notifications

​Multi-day campaigns

​One-shot with external handling

​Best practices

​Common mistakes

​Related topics

Programs

Executions

Pause Windows

Why retries matter

Strategy types

No retries

Fixed delay retries

Scheduled retries

What triggers a retry?

Retry behavior with pause windows

Monitoring retry progress

Call reports and retries

Strategy recommendations

Standard campaigns

Urgent notifications

Multi-day campaigns

One-shot with external handling

Best practices

Common mistakes

Related topics