Glossary

Delivery receipt

What is a delivery receipt?

When sending an SMS, most mobile operators will return a notification called a delivery receipt to let the sender know whether or not the message was delivered to the handset.   

Some Short Message Service Centers (SMSCs) will return a delivery receipt when a message has been accepted or if the message is buffered in the SMSC, for example if the handset is switched off. Although it’s not ideal, this is sometimes unavoidable due to operator’s restrictions. 

 

How does Sinch work with delivery receipts? 

For every SMS or MMS sent with Sinch’s REST APIs, we receive information about the delivery status of the message from the carriers. This information is then available to you in our delivery reports. Delivery receipts may vary depending on the type of number used and the sender, but here’s a general overview of the different delivery statuses you might encounter: 

  • Queued : The message is queued within the REST API system and will be dispatched according to the rate of the account. 
  • Dispatched: The message has been dispatched and accepted for delivery by the SMSC. 
  • Aborted: The message was aborted before reaching the SMSC. 
  • Rejected: Message was rejected by the SMSC. 
  • Deleted: The message has been deleted. This may happen if the destination is invalid or an opted-out subscriber. 
  • Delivered: The message has been delivered. 
  • Failed: The message failed to be delivered. 
  • Expired: The message expired before delivery to the SMSC. This may happen if the expiry time for the message was very short. 
  • Unknown: The message was delivered to the SMSC but no delivery receipt has been received or the delivery receipt couldn’t be interpreted. 

Got questions about delivery receipts for a specific type of number? Explore our developer resources or get in touch to find out more.  

What are the benefits of delivery receipts for your business? 

Delivery receipts are a key feature to monitor the reach of your text messages and take action in case they aren’t being delivered to your end users. In short, delivery receipts ensure you make the most of your investment in SMS messaging.

Read more

5 ways to boost sales using RCS
Short Codes vs Long Numbers vs Toll Free Numbers
Delivery receipts at community.sinch.com
Delivery receipts for Developers

Related glossary terms

A2P SMS
Application Programmable Interface - API
MMS - Multimedia messaging service

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