freshchat api user restore failed

TL;DR

Restore brings back a soft-deleted user, and it fails when the lookup misses: wrong identifier, the user was hard-deleted past the retention window, or the restore targets a different app id. Confirm the user exists in the deleted state under the exact identifier, then restore. If the retention window passed, restore is impossible and recreation is the path.

The query

freshchat api user restore failed

Use this when

• Freshchat user restore calls fail
• Restored users don't reappear in the app
• Restores work for some users but fail for others

Not for

• Freshchat API authentication errors
• New user creation failures
• Message delivery failures

Steps

1. Confirm the user is restorable

Look up the user by the exact identifier the restore call uses: external id, email, or Freshchat id. Verify the user shows as deleted or deactivated, not active and not absent. Restoring an active user or a never-existed one fails.

Expected output: the user found in a deleted or deactivated state.

2. Match the identifier exactly

Restore matches on the identifier you send. An external id with different casing or a stale email misses. Use the identifier from the lookup in step 1, not the one from your CRM's memory of the user.

Expected output: the restore call using the identifier from the fresh lookup.

3. Check the app id and retention window

Restore is per app: a user deleted in app A can't be restored through app B. And soft-deleted users age out; past the retention window they're gone for good. Both produce failures that look like bugs.

Expected output: the right app id and the deletion inside the retention window.

4. Recreate when restore is impossible

If the window passed or the record is truly gone, create a fresh user and re-link their conversation history where the API allows. Document it so support doesn't promise restores the platform can't do.

Expected output: a recreated user with history re-linked, or a clear statement that history is gone.

Variant phrasings

freshchat restore user not working

Steps 1 and 2: confirm restorable, match the identifier.

freshchat deleted user recover

Step 3's retention check decides restore vs recreate.

Why it happens

Restore is a narrow operation: it reverses a soft delete within a window, for an exact identifier, in one app. Support teams remember it as 'undelete' and expect it to work like one, but every qualifier (soft, window, exact, one app) is a way it fails. The lookup in step 1 exists because guessing the identifier is how most failures start.

Edge cases

• Bulk restores after an accidental deletion need scripting, not clicking. Test on one user first.
• Restored users may lose some state (preferences, assignments). Verify what comes back.
• Audit who can delete users. The restore queue is usually a permissions problem upstream.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstLt42lEKg-xqvUaMmNBPFA

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstLt42lEKg-xqvUaMmNBPFA

Thread query: freshchat api user restore failed

TL;DR: Restore brings back a soft-deleted user, and it fails when the lookup misses: wrong identifier, the user was hard-deleted past the retention window, or the restore targets a different app id. Confirm the user exists in the deleted state under the exact identifier, then restore. If the retention window passed, restore is impossible and recreation is the path.