iMessage says Not Delivered? How to fix it

iMessage shows small labels under your last message, and they tell you a lot. A red “Not Delivered” means your iPhone could not send it. A message with no label at all has left your phone but not reached theirs. Knowing which one you have saves a lot of guessing, because one is usually fixed on your side and the other usually is not. Look at the last message you sent in the conversation, since the label only appears under the most recent one, then use the list below to see what it means and which section of this guide applies.

What each iMessage label means

• Delivered: the message reached at least one of their Apple devices.
• Read: they opened it, and they have read receipts turned on.
• Delivered Quietly: it arrived while they had a Focus on, so they were not alerted.
• No label: it left your phone but has not reached theirs yet.
• Sent as Text Message: iMessage failed and your iPhone sent it as green SMS or RCS instead.
• Not Delivered, with a red !: your iPhone could not send it.

Two different problems

Is Apple’s iMessage service down?

If many messages fail at once for no reason, check apple.com/support/systemstatus. When iMessage has a problem, it shows there, and your messages will send once it is fixed. Meanwhile, turning on Send as Text Message lets important messages go through as SMS, and a phone call always works as a backup.

They switched to Android

The most common reason messages to one person stop showing Delivered is that they moved to an Android phone without turning off iMessage. Your iPhone still sees their number as an iMessage user and sends blue messages that never arrive. Ask them to deregister their number at Apple’s Deregister iMessage page, or to turn off iMessage on their old iPhone. Meanwhile, press and hold your message and choose Send as Text Message, or delete the conversation and start a new one once they have deregistered.

Group iMessage not delivered

A group iMessage fails if even one member can no longer receive iMessage, for example after switching to Android. The whole group may show Not Delivered. Check each member’s contact details, remove anyone who left if the group lets you, or start a new group. If the group includes Android users, it becomes a green MMS or RCS group, which needs MMS Messaging and cellular data. See why iPhone texts are not sending.

Photos and videos not delivered

Large videos sent over a weak connection often fail as iMessage attachments. Connect to Wi-Fi and try again, or share a link from the Photos app with iCloud Link, which sends a link instead of the full file. If Low Data Mode is on, iMessage may wait for Wi-Fi before sending big files. Also make sure your iPhone has some free storage, since attachments are prepared on the phone before sending.

Blocked, or just offline?

When someone blocks you, your iMessages usually look sent but never show Delivered, and you get no notice. The same thing happens if their phone is off, broken or out of signal for a long time, so a missing Delivered label alone does not prove you are blocked. A red Not Delivered error, on the other hand, points to your side. See how to tell if someone blocked you on iMessage.

Just changed your number or phone?

After a new SIM, eSIM or phone number, iMessage has to activate the number again, and messages can fail until it does. In Settings › Apps › Messages, check that iMessage is on and that Send & Receive shows your new number, not the old one. Activation can take up to a day. If it stays stuck, see what to do when iMessage is waiting for activation. Friends who saved your old number need to update their contact card for you, or their messages will keep going to the old one.

Settings that quietly break iMessage

• Date & Time: turn on Set Automatically in Settings › General › Date & Time. A wrong clock stops iMessage from connecting.
• VPN or content filter: some block Apple’s messaging servers. Turn them off to test.
• Public or school Wi-Fi: networks with sign-in pages or strict filters can block iMessage. Switch to cellular data.
• Screen Time: Communication Limits can block messages to people who are not contacts.

Delivered, but no Read

If a message says Delivered but never changes to Read, it has arrived. Either they have not opened it yet, or they have read receipts turned off, which many people do. Read receipts are a setting on their side, in Settings › Apps › Messages › Send Read Receipts, and can also be set per conversation. It is not a sign of a problem with iMessage or with your iPhone, and there is nothing to fix on your side.

Make important messages always get through

Turn on Send as Text Message in Settings › Apps › Messages. When iMessage cannot deliver, your iPhone then retries as a green text over the cellular network, which reaches almost any phone. It uses your plan’s texting, which is unlimited on most US plans. For urgent messages when someone is not replying, a phone call or a message in another app, such as WhatsApp, is the quickest check that they are reachable.

Ask the other person to check

• Their iPhone is turned on, has signal or Wi-Fi, and is not in Airplane Mode or low on battery.
• iMessage is turned on and their phone number is ticked in Send & Receive.
• They have not blocked you by mistake, in Settings › Apps › Messages › Blocked Contacts.
• Their storage is not completely full, which can stop new messages from saving.

Not delivered from a Mac or iPad

On a Mac, open Messages › Settings › iMessage and make sure you are signed in with the same Apple Account as your iPhone, and that your phone number is ticked. On iPad, check Settings › Apps › Messages › Send & Receive. Green texts from a Mac or iPad need Text Message Forwarding turned on for that device on your iPhone, in Settings › Apps › Messages.

If it only fails with one person, delete that conversation and start a new one. If it fails with everyone, see our full guide to iMessage not working.