Understanding SMS message delivery reports
When we send messages to parents we expect that they will all be delivered and read by the recipients. Well, this is not always the case - some get delivered immediately, others much later on and some do fail completely.
To access the message delivery report of your message click on the 'View Report' button under your sent messages. This will open the 'Delivery report' dialog window shown below.
The report starts by showing a summary of the various message statuses - here is what they mean:
Pending - The message has been forwarded to the mobile network operator successfully and now we are waiting for the to update us on whether it was delivered or it failed.
Delivered - The message has been received to the parent successfully.
Undeliverable - The messages has not been delivered. Look at the 'Description' column in the per parent report table to see the reason why it failed. One of the most common reasons why messages fail with this status is if the recipient has opted out of promotional messages. Affected recipients are advised to dial '*456*9*#' on their Safaricom lines. Learn more about promotional messages.
Expired - The parent did not receive the message within the 48 hour trial window. This may happen when a phone is off or one is out of network coverage. It is also possible that the messages was indeed delivered but Sematime did not get a delivery confirmation report from the mobile operator for us to change the status to 'Delivered'.
Rejected - The mobile network operator has rejected this message. Look at the 'Description' column in the per parent report table to see the reason why it failed.
From this dialog window you can also 'Download' the delivery report inform of an Excel file document. Click the 'Force Update' button to refresh your delivery report.
To access the message delivery report of your message click on the 'View Report' button under your sent messages. This will open the 'Delivery report' dialog window shown below.
The report starts by showing a summary of the various message statuses - here is what they mean:
Pending - The message has been forwarded to the mobile network operator successfully and now we are waiting for the to update us on whether it was delivered or it failed.
Delivered - The message has been received to the parent successfully.
Undeliverable - The messages has not been delivered. Look at the 'Description' column in the per parent report table to see the reason why it failed. One of the most common reasons why messages fail with this status is if the recipient has opted out of promotional messages. Affected recipients are advised to dial '*456*9*#' on their Safaricom lines. Learn more about promotional messages.
Expired - The parent did not receive the message within the 48 hour trial window. This may happen when a phone is off or one is out of network coverage. It is also possible that the messages was indeed delivered but Sematime did not get a delivery confirmation report from the mobile operator for us to change the status to 'Delivered'.
Rejected - The mobile network operator has rejected this message. Look at the 'Description' column in the per parent report table to see the reason why it failed.
From this dialog window you can also 'Download' the delivery report inform of an Excel file document. Click the 'Force Update' button to refresh your delivery report.
Updated on: 04/04/2024
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