iMessage "delivered" but not received

I've had this problem since starting to use iMessage. I would say about 1 in 10 imessages to my friend never gets delivered even though iMessage says it has been. I have, for other reasons, restored my iPhone a couple of times in the last couple of months and it hasn't helped that problem. It wouldn't be so bad if the app actually reported "not delivered" - at least I'd know! This is a serious bug!

I am having similar problems with my friend on iMessage. Messages can be delayed up to an hour even though the delivered time shows the time when I should have received it!! I have checked my settings & will get them to do the same but I don't really understand! We are on the same mobile network as well.

Have the same issues.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3766002

Totally useless messaging app then basically - someone at Apple should disable/remove it or bloody fix it. What is the point of losing messages silently?

I had the same problem and could solve it right now.

My wife using also an iPhone 4 like me didn't receive any message from me (neither iMessage not SMS).

- Switched time zone automatic off/on

- Switched iMessage off/on again. Verified phone number and e-mail-address

This Apple Support article was very helpful:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2755

Hope it will also solve your issue.

Had same issue tonight for the first time. My wife sent me two iMessages to me from her iPhone 3GS with iOS5 to my iPhone 4S and I didn't receive either message. Did a test later and it worked fine.

Any ideas apart from turning off iMessage?

Having the same issues. Wife just bought the new 4S and I have a 4 running iOS5. When I send her iMessages they get lost. It's happened once to another friend, but about 70% fail rate with my wife.

No issues with anyone else, at least none reported.

I'm having the same problem with my 4S. Last night my son was out and about with his iPhone4. He had no WiFi connection. He used Message to send me some texts, as he often does. But they weren't sent as SMS messages over the reliable GSM network. They were sent as iMessages, and never arrived.

This morning, he texted me again, wondering why I hadn't replied to his messages last night. Things worked fine this morning.

He didn't notice if the messages sent last night were marked as 'delivered', but he does remember the blue background.

It would appear that Apple's iMessage infrastructure is buggy and unreliable.

Same problem. iMessages to my girlfriend's iPhone 4 from my iPhone 4s are marked as delivered but she never receives them.

Makes me wonder what the delivery receipt even means. Is it delivery to a server or the phone?

More strangeness. As per a suggestion elsewhere, I went into Settings to disable then re-enable iMessage.

When I opened the Settings page, iMessage was turned on, but the screen only listed the various options for SMS/MMS: MMS on/off, Show Subject Field and Character Count. I wish I had taken a screen shot to document the partial set of settings.

I turned iMessage off, then back on. I had to re-enter my AppleID password in order to authenticate with the iMessage server again. As if by magic (through in reality, due to poor programming and software bugs), the full iMessage settings page appeared, including Send Read Receipts, Send as SMS, Receive At, etc.

Others having problems with iMess should open the Settings page and check to see if the full complement of options are displayed. If you don't see the options to Send as SMS, Receive at, etc, try toggling the ON/OFF switch and see if that restores proper iMess functionality.

I had the same problem yesterday & it just lost me 3 days work so obviously if this isn't fixed soon I'll ditch my iPhone 4s in a heartbeat - Apple simply have to get the BASICS right before they start messing around with gimmicks like Siri - it has to be a reliable phone and messaging device or else it's a pointless toy.

I am having the same issue.

iMessage works 80% of the time... but always says that the messages have been delivered, always! Which makes the whole experience unreliable... I never actually know whether someone has received my text or not. It's happened loads of times already - any suggestions? this never happens on whatsapp.

I had the exact same problem! I wasn't receiving imessages from random iphone users (some I WAS receiving). Seemed to all be from people with the newest version of the iphone. I had to wipe my phone back to factory settings and reinstall iphone software and that seems to have fixed the problem. But in the meantime, I missed a lot of important texts, and its so annoying!!!

I'm having the same issues - iMessages sent from my iPhone say "Delivered" yet the recipients don't get the message. This happens about wvery 5th message I send. Since I have an unlimited SMS texting plan, I just turned off iMessage until Apple (or AT&T?) solve this problem. iMessage is just too unreliable and unpredictable.

I should have noted I'm on the Three network and my friend is on O2, but since our iMessages generally go via wifi I don't think it's a network issue. I use it a lot with my Dad who has a wifi-only iPad 2, so turning it off is not an option for me. It does seems more reliable with him. I'm trying WhatsApp to see if that's any better - at least the "double tick" confirmation is a bit more helpful with that app!