The vendor's report says 99% DELIVRD, so you assume all delivered. Then users say they never got it. The catch: DELIVRD only means 'the carrier handed it to the user's network' — not that the user actually saw it.
Five common states, different meanings
- ENROUTE: in transit, not yet delivered, don't count as success.
- DELIVRD: carrier ack 'reached handset', but may be an 'early ack' — handed to the gateway counts, the user may not have glanced at it.
- EXPIRED: not delivered within validity (phone off/no signal too long), a failure.
- UNDELIV: clearly undeliverable (dead/disabled number), hard failure.
- REJECTD: blocked (blacklist/review/rate limit), rejected outright.
What's real delivery vs 'fake success'
Only DELIVRD counts as 'reached network side'; UNDELIV/EXPIRED/REJECTD are clear failures; ENROUTE is mid-state. Treating ENROUTE as success or DELIVRD as 'user read it' are the two most common misreads.
How to reconcile properly
- Count DELIVRD as 'delivered' but discount the 'early-ack' water (high complaints/unsubscribes signal fake delivery).
- Slice by REJECTD/UNDELIV to find bad number ranges and feed back to the route.
- To truly verify 'seen', use click/callback rates, not DLR state bits.
DLR tells you where the SMS went, not whether the user looked.
FAQ
What is cross-border SMS and how does it differ from domestic SMS?
Cross-border SMS is sent via foreign carriers (Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia…) to users worldwide; it differs from domestic SMS in routes, Sender ID, and per-country compliance.
Why is my SMS template rejected and how to fix it?
Usually sensitive words, wrong format, or unregistered Sender ID. Fix: use neutral wording, follow each country's template rules, register the brandname in advance.
Should I choose Brandname, OTP, or P2P SMS?
Brandname for branded marketing/notifications; OTP for verification codes; P2P for 1-to-1 chat. Choose by use case and delivery rate.
How are delivery rate (DLR) and pricing calculated?
Billed on DLR-confirmed successful sends; failed submissions are free. Look at actual delivery rate, not just submit volume.