What is the difference between SENT and DELIVERED?

What is the difference between SENT and DELIVERED?

SENT means the message has been submitted to the cellular network for immediate delivery. DELIVERED means the message was delivered to the recipient's cell phone. 

Why would the message status remain on SENT?

If a message status remains as SENT, it means that the WinSMS gateway never received a delivery report from the network operator for that message.

The networks do not guarantee delivery reports and they even sometimes turn them off or delay them during periods of network congestion.

It could also mean that there is a delay in delivering the message to the cell phone. For example, if the recipient has his/her cell phone off, the message will remain on the network (with status sent) until the recipient turns their cell phone on, or until the message expires which is normally after 72 hours. In most cases, however, if the status does not change to FAILED but remains as SENT, one can safely assume that the message was delivered to the cell phone.

Don't have a WinSMS account yet? Register your free trial account here.




    • Related Articles

    • Marketing vs. Transactional SMS

      Marketing and Transactional SMS messages are the two primary types of SMS messages that businesses send. It is important to understand the characteristics of each type of message for you to know if you can apply for a Transactional Routing Profile, ...

    • How to use the anniversary SMS system

      The Anniversary SMS system allows you to schedule and repeat yearly anniversary SMS messages.  This can be used for yearly events or serve as a reminder system. In order to use the Anniversary system, you must have a WinSMS account. If you do not ...

    • I cannot remember what my login name and password is

      WinSMS password recovery page Please note: Your WinSMS login name is normally your e-mail address.  You can also use the WinSMS password recovery page to retrieve your WinSMS username and password via SMS or e-mail, to do so please click here. Please ...

    • How the WinSMS long/short code system works

      Please note: The WinSMS short/long code is only available in South Africa.  A long Code is a 10 digit number dedicated to receiving SMS messages. Perfect for equipment and devices that are restricted from sending messages to a short code. A short ...

    • How to print SMS delivery reports in the Client Zone

      Printing from the WinSMS Client Zone Click here and log in with your WinSMS username and password, then click on “Message Logs”:  Click on “Download Messages”:  Select your Start Date, End Date, whether you wish to include sub accounts and your field ...