Understand Message Delivery Statuses

When you send messages through Kero, delivery statuses help you understand what happened after your messages were submitted. Kero supports SMS, RCS for Business and WhatsApp Business, but each channel provides different levels of delivery information. Understanding these differences helps you interpret your results, investigate unsuccessful messages and make informed decisions about your messaging activities.

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Message delivery statuses explained

Kero uses the following statuses to help you track your messages. A message’s status reflects the information available to Kero at that point in the delivery process. For example, a message may initially show Sent and later change to Delivered when a delivery confirmation is received.

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How delivery reporting differs by channel

Although Kero provides a consistent messaging experience, SMS, RCS and WhatsApp do not report delivery in exactly the same way.

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SMS delivery reporting

SMS delivery information depends on the mobile networks and upstream messaging providers involved in delivering the message. When an SMS is submitted, the network may return a delivery receipt indicating whether the message was delivered. However, delivery receipts are not always available, complete or reliable. This means:

• Sent confirms that the SMS was submitted for delivery, not that it reached the recipient.
• Delivered means that a delivery confirmation was reported by the network or provider.
• A message without a delivery confirmation has not necessarily failed.
• Some networks may delay delivery receipts or not provide a definitive delivery outcome.
• SMS does not support read receipts, so Kero cannot confirm whether a recipient opened or read an SMS.

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RCS for Business delivery reporting

RCS for Business can provide more detailed message status information than traditional SMS. Depending on the recipient’s device, messaging application, network and available reporting, RCS may provide:

• Confirmation that a message was sent
• Delivery confirmation
• Read confirmation

Read receipts may not always be available, even when a message was successfully delivered. If a recipient cannot receive RCS messages, Kero may attempt another configured channel when fallback is enabled.

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WhatsApp Business delivery reporting

WhatsApp Business supports message delivery and read status reporting. Depending on the information available, Kero may receive confirmation that a WhatsApp message was:

• Sent
• Delivered
• Read
• Unsuccessful

Read confirmations depend on WhatsApp’s reporting behaviour and the recipient’s privacy settings. A WhatsApp message may also fail because of factors such as:

• The recipient cannot receive WhatsApp messages.
• The recipient’s number is invalid or unavailable on WhatsApp.
• A required message template is not approved or cannot be used.
• A message is sent outside the permitted customer service window without an appropriate approved template.
• Meta applies a messaging restriction or other delivery limitation.

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Understand fallback delivery

Kero can use automatic fallback to attempt delivery through another messaging channel when the original channel is unavailable or a delivery attempt is unsuccessful. Fallback is not limited to SMS. Depending on how your Kero template is configured, a message could follow a sequence such as: RCS → WhatsApp → SMS For example:

1. Kero attempts to send a message through RCS.
2. If the RCS channel is unavailable or the attempt is unsuccessful, Kero may attempt WhatsApp.
3. If WhatsApp is also unavailable or unsuccessful, Kero may attempt SMS, provided it has been configured as another fallback channel.

The actual sequence depends on the channels and agents configured in your Kero template.

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What does the Fallback status mean?

Fallback indicates that Kero attempted another configured messaging channel. It does not mean the message was successfully delivered to the recipient. The fallback delivery attempt has its own outcome, which may be successful or unsuccessful.

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When is fallback available?

Fallback depends on your messaging configuration. Kero can only attempt channels that:

• Have been configured as part of the message’s fallback sequence
• Have the required agents and channel setup
• Are available for the intended message and recipient
• Meet the applicable channel requirements

If no suitable fallback channel is configured or available, Kero cannot automatically deliver the message through another channel.

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Why messages may fail

A Failed status indicates that a message delivery attempt was unsuccessful. There are several possible reasons, and not every failure is caused by an issue within Kero. The information returned by the messaging provider can help identify the reason for a failure. However, some networks and providers return limited information, so a precise explanation may not always be available.

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Where to view message statuses in Kero

Kero provides two useful views for monitoring message delivery.

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Sent Statistics

Navigate to Messages → Sent Statistics to view an overview of your messaging activity. This includes message status totals, daily messaging statistics and a breakdown by agent. You can select a reporting period and refresh the information to review the latest available statistics. Use Sent Statistics when you want to understand overall messaging performance or compare delivery outcomes.

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Sent Messages

Navigate to Messages → Sent Messages to investigate individual messages. This view provides information such as:

• When a message was sent
• Its delivery status
• When its status was last updated
• The reason for a failure, where available

Select the Sent Time of a message to open further details. Use Sent Messages when you need to investigate a particular recipient or delivery attempt.

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What to do when a message is not delivered

If a message has failed, or you are unsure whether it reached the recipient, start with the information available in Sent Messages.

1. Check the status. Determine whether the message is Sent, Delivered, Failed or marked as Fallback.
2. Review the failure reason. If Kero has received a reason from the provider, use it to identify the likely issue.
3. Verify the recipient details. Confirm the mobile number and whether the recipient can receive messages on the intended channel.
4. Check the channel requirements. For RCS and WhatsApp, confirm that the appropriate agents, templates and other requirements are in place.
5. Review fallback configuration. If fallback was expected, confirm that the alternative channels are configured and available.
6. Contact Kero Support if needed. If the failure remains unclear, provide the message details and any reported failure reason to help the team investigate.

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Frequently asked questions

My SMS shows Sent. Has the recipient received it? Not necessarily. Sent means the message was submitted for delivery. It does not confirm that the recipient received it. Why does my SMS not show Delivered? The mobile network or upstream provider may not have returned a delivery receipt. This does not automatically mean the SMS failed. Can I see whether someone has read my SMS? No. SMS does not support read receipts. Why does my RCS or WhatsApp message not show Read? Read confirmations depend on the channel, recipient settings and available provider reporting. A missing read receipt does not necessarily mean the message was not read. Does Fallback mean my message was delivered? No. Fallback means Kero attempted another configured messaging channel. The fallback attempt has its own delivery outcome. Will Kero always try another channel when a message fails? No. Automatic fallback depends on the channels and agents configured for the message, their availability and the applicable channel requirements. Where can I find out why a message failed? Open Messages → Sent Messages and review the message’s status and Reason information, where available.