Why Is My Message Stuck on 'Submitted / In Transit'?

When sending SMS broadcasts or transactional OTPs, you may occasionally see a message remain in the Submitted (or In Transit) state instead of immediately turning Delivered.

This guide explains how telecom carrier delivery receipts (DLRs) work under the hood, why messages enter a pending state, and how Nyota’s automated 10-minute polling daemon guarantees accurate audit reporting.

1. How Delivery Receipts (DLR) Work Under the Hood

When Nyota SMS dispatches a message, it transitions through distinct telecommunication carrier milestones:

TEXT

1. NYOTA DISPATCH (status: "queued" -> "submitted")
    Nyota submits message over direct binds to Safaricom/Airtel/Telkom SMSCs
    (Short Message Service Centers) in under 500 milliseconds.
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 2. CELLULAR TOWER ATTEMPTS DELIVERY
    Telecom tower searches for recipient's handset:
    - Handset Active & In Coverage -> Tower delivers SMS -> Emits DLR Code 32.
    - Handset Off / Out of Coverage -> Tower queues SMS for retry (up to 48h).
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                         ▼
 3. HYBRID DLR SYNCHRONIZATION
    - Real-Time Callback: Carrier sends webhook to Nyota -> status updates to "delivered".
    - Automated 10-Minute Sweeper: Nyota background daemon polls carrier logs
      for any stuck messages, eliminating "pending status" limbo.

2. Common Reasons Messages Stay in "Submitted"

If a message remains in submitted status for several hours, it is almost always due to recipient handset conditions, not a failure on the Nyota gateway:

Handset Condition	What Happens at the Carrier Level	Resolution
Phone Powered Off / Flat Battery	The carrier SMSC holds the message in its tower queue and attempts redelivery as soon as the phone turns on.	Message delivers automatically within 48 hours.
Out of Coverage Area	The tower retries delivery periodically whenever the device reconnects to a cell signal.	Message delivers when user enters network coverage.
Do-Not-Disturb (DND) Filter	The recipient has activated carrier-level marketing blocks (e.g., Safaricom DND registry).	Promotional broadcasts are deferred; transactional OTPs bypass DND.
Full Handset Storage	Older feature phones with full SMS inboxes reject incoming packets until space is freed.

3. Telecom Carrier DLR Status Codes Matrix

In your delivery logs at sms.nyotaimara.com/logs, you can review raw carrier status codes:

Carrier Code	System Status	Meaning & Next Step
`32`	`delivered`	DeliveredToTerminal: Message successfully reached recipient’s handset.
`0` / `16`	`submitted`	EnRoute / QueuedAtTower: Carrier is actively retrying delivery to handset.
`1`	`failed`	UnknownSubscriber: Number does not exist. Reserved units refunded.
`2`	`failed`

4. Automatic Refunds for Invalid or Undeliverable Numbers

Nyota SMS uses an atomic hold-and-settlement architecture:

If a recipient number is malformed, deactivated, or permanently rejected by the mobile network operator (Status: failed), the reserved SMS units are automatically refunded back to your workspace unit balance.
You are never penalized for invalid numbers in your uploaded customer lists.

5. How to Check Live Message Status in Console

Log in to sms.nyotaimara.com.
Click Logs & Delivery Reports in the left sidebar (/logs).
Search by recipient phone number (e.g., 254712345678) or Campaign Name.
Review the real-time status pill (Delivered, Submitted, or Failed) and carrier timestamp.