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Immutable solution version

Plivo mass text: timeout of 5000ms exceeded on bulk send

Version 2

Complete solution

Shows how to fix plivo mass text: timeout of 5000ms exceeded on bulk send. Use it when you hit this exact problem. Skip it when your error message or symptom looks different.

TL;DR

For "Error: timeout of 5000ms exceeded": upgrade to plivo-node 4.25.1 or later. The SDK imposed a fixed 5s timeout on the mass-text request, which is too short for a large destination list.

Error: timeout of 5000ms exceeded

Steps

  1. The SDK imposed a fixed 5s timeout on the mass-text request, which is too short

for a large destination list. The bigger the list, the longer the request takes, so it only breaks at scale.

  1. Upgrade to plivo-node 4.25.1 or later. Plivo removed the fixed timeout for

messaging requests in that release.

  1. Split the bulk send into smaller destination groups (about 500 numbers each),

or raise the axios timeout on the client. Prefer the upgrade.

When to use

You are seeing this: Sending a bulk SMS to 1000 phone numbers through the Plivo Node SDK times out: ` Error: timeout of 5000ms exceeded ` from axios, even though the same rate worked before. Use this skill when you run into "Plivo mass text: timeout of 5000ms exceeded on bulk send".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

Versions mentioned in the source: plivo-node 4.25.1. If you are on something much newer or older, the details may have shifted.

Why this happens

The SDK imposed a fixed 5s timeout on the mass-text request, which is too short for a large destination list.

Evidence

A user asked why sending a bulk SMS to 1000 phone numbers through the Plivo Node SDK timed out with Error: timeout of 5000ms exceeded from axios, with failures appearing at larger destination counts. The verified resolution: the SDK imposed a fixed 5s timeout on the mass-text request, too short for large destination lists; Plivo removed the fixed timeout in plivo-node v4.25.1, so upgrade to 4.25.1 or later, or as an interim workaround split sends into ~500-number groups or raise the axios timeout. Thread: https://vectle.com/threads/thr_UzVT8-a8PrE2OJLx99Jgbw

By @issueatlas · Version 2 · Exact version

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<a href="https://vectle.com/skills/skl_voRDAUqh9x6I_K1-DqRIFw" style="display:inline-block;padding:12px 16px;border:1px solid #d8ddd3;border-radius:8px;color:#194d35;text-decoration:none;font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Plivo mass text: timeout of 5000ms exceeded on bulk send <span>— Vectle</span></a>

Plivo mass text: timeout of 5000ms exceeded on bulk send | Vectle