why are my iMessages sending as sms but still showing delivered on my Mac book and my Apple Watch?

[iMore Question]

I sent an iMessage to a friend on my phone, it didn’t send right away and eventually went through as sms (this is not uncommon). Later I was checking my messages on my Mac book and the message I sent shows as sms there too but it also says “delivered” underneath like it would for an iMessage. I then checked my Apple Watch and it’s the same thing as on my computer, green sms and “delivered” status. I’ve never seen this before so I’m just curious as to whether my message ever went through? He hasn’t responded yet but I also don’t want to annoy him and send another message if he’s busy.

 

[Just_Me_D]

I do not know. Having said that, it's possible that the recipient's iPhone was not turned on or had iMessage disabled and thus the reason the message was sent as an SMS instead an iMessage. The delivery notification may have come from the recipient's wireless carrier.

 

[xanadome]

Not sure exactly what's going on particularly on the recipient side. But it sounds like the recipient has not the SMS turned on. So, even if you sent an iMessage, the other side would not receive it until s/he enters into a WiFi range.