Undelivered SMS on Optus

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AJ - 30 Mar 2006 12:43 GMT

Just wondering if anyone knows how long an SMS will sit in the Optus
SMS system before being deleted if it hasn't been delivered to a
phone?

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John Henderson - 30 Mar 2006 19:56 GMT

> Just wondering if anyone knows how long an SMS will sit in the
> Optus SMS system before being deleted if it hasn't been
> delivered to a phone?

Is this an SMS coming from an Optus phone, or one going to an
Optus phone? If it was coming from a Telstra phone (eg), the
maximum validity period would be Telstra's, because the Telstra
SMSC (message centre of lodgement) delivers it (over the Optus
network).

In general, the validity period is set by the sending phone
(somewhere in the message settings). But the SMSC that the
sending phone uses will have its own absolute maximum. Last
time I checked, Telstra's was 5 days. I don't know what Optus'
is, but it's almost certainly in the region of 3 to 7 days.

John

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AJ - 30 Mar 2006 23:13 GMT

>> Just wondering if anyone knows how long an SMS will sit in the
>> Optus SMS system before being deleted if it hasn't been
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>time I checked, Telstra's was 5 days. I don't know what Optus'
>is, but it's almost certainly in the region of 3 to 7 days.

Thanks that makes sense, I have seen the settings in the phone.

BTW it was to an Optus phone I was talking about, but the message came
from AIS in Thailand. My phone was off the air for 7 days because I
was in a country without roaming agrements and when I came back into
coverage I had no messages, despite a friend sending one on the day I
left.

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John Henderson - 31 Mar 2006 01:23 GMT

> BTW it was to an Optus phone I was talking about, but the
> message came from AIS in Thailand. My phone was off the air
> for 7 days because I was in a country without roaming
> agrements and when I came back into coverage I had no
> messages, despite a friend sending one on the day I left.

In your example, only the SMS validity period at the AIS end
would have been relevant to the message's deletion. Some
overseas SMSCs set 3 days as the maximum validity period,
overriding any longer time set on the sending phone. Shorter
times seem more common in countries with better geographic
coverage.

AIS would have made at least an initial attempt to deliver the
SMS. On failing because you were unavailable, Optus should
have automatically notified AIS when your phone next
registered. I'm not sure of the exact chain of events if you'd
been roaming though.

John

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Joel - 31 Mar 2006 09:23 GMT

With Optus it's 7 days

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