iMessage does not revert to SMS when failing

Okay, so iMessage is great when it works but if for example I send a message to a friend and they are on iMessage but say they don't have a good data connection where they are, the iMessage will fail and it will show a red exclamation mark next to the message that failed. The problem I have is that you won't know if it has failed unless you are in that thread and see the warning. I could go a couple of hours after sending a message and then go into that thread and noticed it never went.
I have set up up iMessage to send via SMS when iMessage is unavailable but it never does! Does anyone else have this issue?
The automatic SMS fall back option is not working for me but lack of a decent failure notification is a real problem too. If this would show up in the top bar then at least I would more likely notice it.

 

I'm sending to the person, if they are enabled on iMessage then the send button turns blue automatically, I don't need to do anything on my end.
It will work for the person sometimes but other times it fails and says it can't be delivered. I can then tap the red exclamation mark and select retry and it may go the second time or it may fail again. If I select exclamation mark and hit send as SMS then it works fine. This shows it is using the person's mobile number.

 

Okay, so you are figuring the recipient only has an email address associated with iMessage therefore when it is successful, it is because they have a data connection and when it fails they don't? I'll check with them but that would at least explain it.
That also means iMessage is a broken service because surely it should be smart enough to resort to the recipient's mobile number if you have one listed for them?

 

I hear what you are saying but I am telling it who to send it to with no further action on my part. It uses iMessage because the recipient is also set up on iMessage but I have no control over their set up. They only have an email & a mobile number listed under Contacts. Surely iMessage must be able to resend the message using SMS and the mobile number listed for that person if it initially fails using the iMessage service?

 

I'm still at a loss. My mate only has an iPhone and no other IOS devices and this issue happens even when I initiate a new conversation.
I have logged it with Apple feedback anyway so will see if anything comes of it. Very frustrating.

 

Thanks, I'll give this a try on the next conversation - I have deleted the last one. Incidentally, I sent a message to my other half yesterday afternoon while I was in a meeting. I checked my iPhone after work and it said it had not been delivered. I hit resend and then I met her and she said I sent the message twice - once at 3.30pm when the original message said it had failed and then after 5pm when I resent it. Definitely an issue there.