Why does my text say Sent but never arrive?

When Communicator marks a text as Sent, the message has left your account. That's all it tells you. It isn't a receipt from the other phone, so a text can show Sent and still never turn up. This page walks through the usual causes and how to look into one.

Some labels in your portal or apps may look slightly different from this guide.

What the states in Communicator mean

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In some versions of Communicator, each text you send shows a state. Yours may look a little different.

• Sending. The text is still going out.
• Sent. It left your account. Nobody has confirmed it arrived.
• Failed. It didn't go out. You may see a Retry option to send it again.

Common reasons a text doesn't arrive

Your company's texting registration isn't finished. Carriers require 10DLC registration before business texts can be sent. CallSprout files it for your company. Texts sent before it's complete may not get through, so ask support where yours stands.

The person opted out. If someone answered one of your texts with an opt out word, their number can end up blocked from your texting number, or from every texting number your company has. Carriers also keep their own opt out lists, so a person who opted out with the carrier stays blocked even when your account's list doesn't show them. How texting registration, opt outs and HELP replies work explains both.

The carrier blocked the sender. Carriers decide what they'll carry. One known trigger: if your account uses one of the carriers' reserved words, such as STOP, as its own keyword, a carrier may block your number. Your admin can check your keywords.

A picture message was too big. Picture messages are limited to a small total size and a set number of files. Communicator warns you when you hit the size limit, and files over it are left off the message. Picture messages can also be switched off for an account. These details come from an earlier version of Communicator, so check how yours behaves.

Check the text log (admins)

1. 1
   Step 1:

   Open the log

   In the admin portal, go to Reports, then SMS.
2. 2
   Step 2:

   Find the message

   Set the Date Range and enter the sending or receiving number. Set Direction to Outbound, and set Type to MMS if it was a picture message.
3. 3
   Step 3:

   Read the result

   Check the Status column and, when there is one, the reason in Error Message.
4. 4
   Step 4:

   Save a copy for support

   Tick the rows you need, then use Email or Download CSV. Email only works once you've picked at least one row.

Anyone can review their own texts in their user portal, if that section is turned on for them.

When to contact support

Contact support with your texting number, the number you texted, the date and time, and the status and error message from the log. Support can look into it from there. Keep in mind that some causes, like a carrier block or a customer's opt out, may be outside what we can change.