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I have an iPhone SE with iOS 11.3.1 .

If I send a normal SMS (that is one that does not require internet, the old SMS we had) using iMessage then no delivery report comes. This is not a network issue because Android or non smart phones do get delivery reports.

As far as I have read, there is no way to turn on this feature on iMessage for normal SMS. Is there any other app that I can use to send normal SMS from iPhone that can show delivery reports?

Do note that I am not asking for apps that require data connection. I am just looking for any alternate program for sending network based SMS.

A related question has been asked about four years ago here at How can i get delivery confirmation for sent sms? . However, there no way out could be found.

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  • As far as I know, the only app that you can use to send "old fashioned" SMS messages is the "Messages" app.
    – Jules
    Commented May 29, 2018 at 6:59
  • What do you mean by Delivery Report? In context of SMS, the Delivery Report (or Delivery Notification) is a special message between the operator and the terminal device. This Delivery Notification is used by the network operator and aggregators to determine if the SMS was delivered or it has to be retried. DN cannot be turned off at terminal side, this would render SMS service impossible; however it is not necessary on operator's site to be implemented.
    – rexkogitans
    Commented May 29, 2018 at 9:05
  • @rexkogitans Delivery report says that the message has been delivered. It can be represented by some symbol like a tick below the message or one can go to details about any particular message where it is mentioned when the SMS was sent and when it was `delivered' to the recipient. In Messages app on iOS, there is no way to see details about a message either. This aspect I find rather inconvenient. I also do not understand what you meant by DN cannot be turned off at terminal side.
    – damaihati
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 3:21
  • @damaihati The phone that receives the SMS must send a delivery notification, otherwise the operator will retry delivery and finally run into timeout (retry time varies up to 7 days). On the other hand, forwarding this delivery notification to the sending phone may or may not to be supported by the operator.
    – rexkogitans
    Commented May 30, 2018 at 13:44

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Firstly, you can't send a normal SMS using iMessage since they are completely different messaging services even if both can be sent from the iPhone Message App. iMesssage only relies on iCloud account and internet access (Wifi is sufficient) while SMS requires a SIM card that is functional and access to your carrier network (and not necessary GPRS, 3G, 4G...).

Secondly, it is not a network issue or a bug to not receive delivery report for SMS on iPhone as Apple never provided such service (as far as i know). Moreover there is no alternative app to deal with SMS and delivery report on iOS (while it is possible on Android OS). As far as I know alternative SMS apps are not allowed by Apple (only instant messaging apps are allowed, that are apps using a cellular connection i.e. 3G, 4G and so on).

SUMMARY

There is no option to enable SMS delivery report on iPhone and there is no app that can achieve this goal because it is not allowed by Apple.

Note: Back in the days when jailbreak was quite common a solution used to exist but jailbreak is not recommended and may be hard to achieve on recent OS.

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