Not a surprise. Messages on my iPhone will sometimes be sent via iMessage, and other times, even after making the swoosh, just sit there unsent for 4-5 minutes (doesn't say 'delivered'), then get sent via sms. Quite the irritant.

Since "delivered" status is contingent on factors outside Apple's control, there may sometimes be a (usually quite short) delay before one sees "delivered." That's not what this is about.

The outage didn't affect me at all -- been sending iMessage stuff all day -- and I haven't seen any reports of large-scale outages previously (or now, come to that). Still, for those affected its irritating, and I hope Apple gets it corrected quickly.

Originally Posted by chas_m

Since "delivered" status is contingent on factors outside Apple's control, there may sometimes be a (usually quite short) delay before one sees "delivered." That's not what this is about.
The outage didn't affect me at all -- been sending iMessage stuff all day -- and I haven't seen any reports of large-scale outages previously (or now, come to that). Still, for those affected its irritating, and I hope Apple gets it corrected quickly.

Actually, the delivered status is completely within Apple's control, since they control the iphone, they control iMessage, and they control the routing.

Normally if you iMessage someone, it shows up in messages in blue (vs. green for SMS). Sometimes these messages just sit there for 4 minutes, then it will send via SMS (as green). It's not a couple of seconds, it's four minutes. I can highlight the message and actually choose "Send as SMS" to force it to SMS.