iMessage saying delivered on one device but not on the other

Question

iMessage saying delivered on one device but not on the other

My sister just got her first iPhone after graduation from university, and whenever I send her a message, it is really odd. I sent her the first two messages congratulating her for getting an iPhone and for graduating from university from my MacBook and it said 'delivered' on my MacBook Pro 16" m1 immediately after sending the message. But three minutes later, I sent another message to her but this time, it does not say delivered on my MacBook Pro. However, the same message does say 'delivered' on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Then, I sent her a message on my iPhone 14 Pro Max. Again, it does not say 'delivered' on the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but it said 'delivered' on my MacBook Pro.

That meant any message I sent from my iPhone would not say 'delivered' on my iPhone but it would on my MacBook.

And any message I sent on my MacBook would not say 'delivered' on my MacBook Pro but it would on my iPhone.

I texted her on my 16:9 app testing phone on a different iCloud account (iPhone SE 3) days prior and some of the messages only say delivered several hours later (I sent one message at 3:06, it does not deliver until around 10:00 and another message at 10:40 does not say delivered until sometime around 14:30, which is kind of odd, given my iPhone is connected to WiFi and is not on a cellular network

I am scared my sister might have already blocked me if the iMessage system is so inconsistent like that.

iPhone 14 Pro Max

Posted on May 15, 2023 9:50 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

SteveJobs2727

Level 1

8 points

Jan 29, 2024 8:45 AM in response to Bill_T1

This is actually a bug in apple software that Apple fails to address. Delivered is only accurate on the device that it is sending from; all other devices in iCloud will show "Delivered" once that device has received the message from iCloud; not when the other user has received the message.

This has been a bug for at least 3-4 years; but fails to be addressed by Apple or the iMessage Team.

It is very easy to reproduce; simply send a message to an iPhone that is turned off or is in airplane mode. The message will fail to show delivered on the originating device, but will show delivered on all other devices synced with the iCloud. Once the other user turns their phone on or turns off Airplane Mode, it will show delivered on the originating device.

Sincerely,

Concerned Software Engineer

Reply

Answer 2

Bill_T1

Community Specialist

May 17, 2023 2:43 PM in response to iHelpFixUriDevice

Hi iHelpFixUriDevice,

The first piece of information that will be necessary to assess the scope of this concern is whether or not the messages are being received on the other device. Knowing that may change the nature of how the problem is addressed from your "Delivered" status to an undelivered message matter.

As far as message delivery is concerned, the article How iMessage sends and receives messages securely offers a very technical explanation of how messages are transmitted and delivered. It's important to note that the "Delivered" status relies on the message being transmitted through the Apple network as an iMessage vs through your carrier as an SMS message.

Regards.

Reply

iMessage saying delivered on one device but not on the other

Similar questions