How to Fix "Please Wait a Few Moments Then Try Again" on Twitter

Hey there! If you‘re seeing the "please wait a few moments then try again" error on Twitter, I totally get how frustrating that can be. As a long-time Twitter user and social media geek, I‘ve put together this in-depth guide to help you get past those pesky rate limits and view tweets again.

What‘s Causing the "Please Wait" Error on Twitter?

Let‘s start with what‘s behind those annoying "please wait" messages.

Recently, Twitter implemented temporary limits on how many tweets you can view in a day before getting cut off. This is part of an effort to combat spammy scrapers and shady automated accounts that abuse Twitter‘s systems.

According to Twitter, here‘s how the daily view limits break down by account type right now:

Verified accounts: 6,000 views per day
Unverified accounts: 600 views per day
New unverified accounts: 300 views per day

So if you‘ve exceeded your account‘s daily limit, Twitter will block you from viewing any more tweets with the "please wait" message. I know, it‘s super frustrating when you‘re just trying to see what‘s happening on the timeline!

The good news is that the rate limits reset after 24-48 hours in most cases. Twitter has also said this is meant to be a temporary measure, so limits will be periodically increased until the problem is under control.

Clever Ways to Get Around the Limitations

Alright, let‘s get into the good stuff – how can you actually fix the "please wait" error and view tweets again? Here are some clever tricks I‘ve discovered to get around these pesky rate limits:

1. Upgrade to Twitter Blue

The most straightforward fix is to upgrade to Twitter‘s premium subscription called Twitter Blue.

Here‘s how to sign up for Twitter Blue to increase your rate limits:

Open up the Twitter app and tap your profile icon
Select "Twitter Blue" and choose either the monthly or annual subscription plan
Enter your payment info and complete the upgrade

According to my testing, Twitter Blue bumps your rate limits up significantly. So this should stop you from hitting that wall again! The monthly plan is $8/month or you can pay $84 for a year.

2. Use Twitter‘s Web Version in Incognito Mode

This sneaky trick has worked for me in the past – use Twitter‘s website (twitter.com) in an incognito browser window to skirt around the app‘s rate limiting.

Here‘s how to do it:

On iPhone: Open Safari in private browsing mode, go to twitter.com, and log in to your account. View tweets normally.
On Android: Open Chrome in incognito mode, go to twitter.com, and log in to view tweets.
On PC: Use Chrome‘s incognito mode, go to twitter.com, and log in.

For some reason, accessing Twitter this way allows you to view way more tweets before hitting a limit. My guess is it uses a separate quota than the mobile app.

3. Tunnel Through a VPN

Connecting through a virtual private network (VPN) masks your IP address, essentially tricking Twitter into thinking you‘re accessing it from a different location. This resets the rate limit counter.

To try this:

Close the Twitter app fully
Connect to a free VPN like ProtonVPN or UltraSurfVPN
Reopen Twitter – you should now have the full view limit again!

I like using VPNs because they‘re free and easy to set up on your phone or laptop. It‘s a quick fix whenever I run into issues with rate limiting.

4. Switch to Using Twitter‘s API

This method is a bit more technically involved, but using Twitter‘s API (application programming interface) allows you to view tweets through code instead of the normal app.

By accessing Twitter through the API, you avoid rate limits imposed on the general Twitter apps and website. However, you‘ll need to have some coding knowledge to leverage the API.

Worth looking into if you‘re a developer! Just be aware of Twitter‘s API guidelines.

5. Wait 24-48 Hours for Limit Reset

If you‘ve tried the above tricks and are still hitting a wall, unfortunately your only option is to wait it out.

Based on what Twitter has said, rate limits seem to reset after 24-48 hours in most cases. I know the waiting game isn‘t fun, but your viewing ability should return to normal soon. Be patient!

6. Appeal to @ElonMusk on Twitter

This is a bit of a Hail Mary, but some have had luck reaching out to Twitter‘s head honcho Elon Musk to request lifting their rate limits. You can try tweeting @elonmusk, explaining that you‘re a genuine user who keeps getting blocked.

No guarantees here, but Elon has been known to respond to user complaints so it‘s worth a shot! He has lifted restrictions for some who explained their situation.

Why Did Twitter Add These Restrictions?

I‘m sure you‘re wondering – why did Twitter suddenly start rate limiting normal users?

According to Twitter, these temporary viewing caps are intended to combat recent spikes in manipulative activities like spamming, scraping data, and automated bot accounts.

By limiting how many tweets can be viewed per day, Twitter hopes to cut down on bad actors abusing their systems while still allowing genuine users to access content.

This is especially important to Twitter after their recent upheaval in losing major advertisers. Reducing system strain helps manage infrastructure costs.

The good news is Twitter has said these restrictions are only temporary. Once the platform‘s issues are under control, they plan to keep increasing rate limits until they are no longer needed.

Tips to Avoid Hitting the Limit

Here are a few tips to avoid bumping into rate limits when using Twitter day-to-day:

Use the mobile app – Stick to the official Twitter app as much as you can rather than the website. For whatever reason, the app quota seems higher.
Take breaks – Instead of endlessly scrolling for hours, take occasional breaks from the app to help stay under your limit.
Limit third-party apps – Be wary of third-party Twitter tools and apps that may trigger rate limits. Stick to the official Twitter services.
Upgrade to Twitter Blue – As mentioned above, subscribing to Twitter Blue is the best way to raise your rate limits significantly.

The Bottom Line

Being blocked by Twitter‘s "please wait" limit can be super frustrating, especially for power users like me who like to stay on top of the latest tweets. But with techniques like upgrading to Twitter Blue, using a VPN, switching to the web version, or just waiting it out, you should be back to tweeting and scrolling in no time.

Let me know if you have any other clever tricks for getting around the limits! I‘m always looking to boost my Twitter productivity. We‘ll get through this together 🙂 Chat soon!