Does a sent as text message mean the other person will see the text?

For the newbies, sending a text message or an iMessage can be quite confusing especially if it shows send as text.

Normally, using the imessage to send a message or imessage will never show sent as text unless the imessage is not available or maybe not working.

This bring out us to the topic of does a sent as text message mean the other person will see the text cause I have seen that lots of people are searching for the answer to this very question.

Now let’s continue.

Does a sent as text message mean the other person will see the text?

Sent as text simply means imessage sent a message using sms which involves the use of the cellular  network service. It usually occurs if the imessage is unavailable and send as sms is enabled on an iPhone. 

When you see sent as text, it doesn’t necessarily mean the other person which the message is being sent to will not see or receive the message.

It simply trying to notify you that the imessage couldn’t send the message, and instead used the sms feature in sending the message which uses the cellular network service and attracts charges from the network service provider. 

This is why you will see sent as text message and the color will be green instead of the imessage blue color.

Having answered the question of does a sent as text message mean the other person will see the text, the next question is;

Why would imessage show sent as text message on iPhone? 

There are reasons for imessage to show sent as text message on iphone after sending a message and before I proceed to that, kindly note that iMessage will show sent as text message to a recipient using iPhone or iMessage.

If the recipient iMessage is unavailable, then iMessage will try to send the text as sms text message and that’s why you see sent as text message which is green in color rather than iMessage blue color.

Does a sent as text message mean the other person will see the text?

1. Poor internet connection

This is the major reason why you’re seeing sent as text message on iphone after sending a message on your iPhone or probably on the recipient iPhone. 

As you know that imessage uses the internet to send a message or files, if you or the recipient is having a poor internet connection it will be quite will difficult sending a text message using iMessages on your iPhone or the recipient receiving iMessages. 

For imessage to work, there must have a good internet connection and be it Wi-Fi or a cellular data.

Sending an iMessage on your iPhone and it shows show sent as text message, it may be caused by a poor internet network on the recipient end of even yours which made the imessage to send the message using the sms text message.

2. You don’t have an available Wi-Fi or cellular data

Most people especially the newbies don’t understand imessage and how it works, you will see someone without a working Wi-Fi or cellular data trying to use the imessage in sending a message.

Definitely it won’t work because the imessage requires internet connection in order to work.

Kindly note that iMessage is an instant messaging service apps like whatsapp messenger, Facebook messenger, Skype, telegram, etc. These instant apps will not work if you don’t have a working Wi-Fi or a cellular data on your iPhone or iPad.

If you don’t have an available Wi-Fi or a cellular data, definitely the imessage will use the sms in sending the message and that is why you’re seeing show sent as text message after sending the message on your iPhone.

Note: As iMessage requires internet connection like Wi-Fi or cellular data, if there’s no active internet connection on the recipient phone or the sender’s phone, the sent iMessage will automatically turn green and the send the text as sms text message. 

This will occur if send as sms is enabled on an iPhone.

However, if send as sms when imessage is unavailable is not enabled on an iPhone, the text message won’t be sent as sms text message. It will hold on until the recipient iMessage is active. 


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These two reasons you should bear in mind when using the imessage to send a message. You must have a Wi-Fi or cellular data, and a good internet connection to avoid the message being sent as sms or text message.

Going back to the question once more, does a sent as text message mean the other person will see the text, once you see sent as text after sending a message on your iPhone, the other person or the recipient will see the sent text message. 

If you see delivered, then it means the recipient has successfully received the text message on it’s mobile phone or device though you delivery report is not available on green text message on iPhone. 

does a sent as text message mean the other person will see the text

What does it mean when you send a text message and it says sent as text message?

Sent as text message means the message was sent using the sms feature which make use of the cellular network service, airtime or texting plan and an active sim card or eSim. 

Whenever you see sent as text message after sending a message on your iPhone, kindly note that the message was sent using the sms instead of the imessage. And this attracts a fee or charges from the cellular network carrier. 

This is just like when using the messages app to send a message on android or on a feature phone. You must have a texting plan or airtime for you to be able to send an sms message because it uses the cellular network service.

This is what sent as text message on iphone means and will occur if you enable send as sms when imessage is unavailable on your iPhone. 

Using the cellular network service to send a message on iphone. It usually occurs if the imessage is not working, unavailable, or probably the imessage was disabled by the user.

Does sent as text message mean read?

No, sent as text message doesn’t mean read but rather the message was sent using the sms feature and whereas it doesn’t have delivery report. 

On the imessage, you will see a feature that state send read receipts. Once you have this feature enabled on your iPhone or iPad, it will notify a sender that you have read the message sent to you.

Sent as text message and send read receipts are two different features on the imessage.

How can i tell if a text message has been read?

On iphone, you will see read below the message if the message was sent as a imessage, and if the recipient enabled send read receipts on its iphone or iPad.

However, if the message was sent using the sms feature, you can never know if the person have read the text message as sms text message on iPhone doesn’t have delivery report and read receipt feature. 

Only on iMessage you will know if a text message is delivered and read by the recipient. 

On android, we now have the rcs feature which works similarly like the imessage, if you use the chat message on android to send a message, you will be notified when the person has read the sent message. But if you use the normal sms to send the message, you will never know.

In general, as long as you used the cellular network service in sending a text message, you will never know if the person has read the message or not.

However, as long as you saw delivered after sending the text message, you will assume that the recipient has received and read the text message.

What does it mean when someone’s iMessage turns green?

When an iMessage turns green in color, it means the message was sent as an sms using the cellular network service and not the imessage.

This is also what I’ve been trying to explain on this topic, does a sent as text message mean the other person will see the text. When the message turns green, it simply means it was sent using your carrier network and not iMessage as iMessage is blue in color and not green. 

What this means is that the message was sent using the sms feature and the network service as well. Remember, this will attract charges by your carrier network provider.


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By now you must have understood what sent as text message means whenever you see it on your iPhone. With this I come to the conclusion of this post on does a sent as text message mean the other person will see the text. I’m open to your suggestions and questions.

About Kennedy

I'm Amaechi Uchenna by name, a mobile tech enthusiast who love writing articles about tips and tutorials especially relating to gadgets.

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