iMessage: What happens when....? (Regarding unlocked 3GS with no data plan)

[PaulDoFish]

Okay, so I have an iPhone 3GS unlocked on T-Mobile. I do not have a data plan. (If someone asks me why I have an iPhone with no data plan, I am a jobless student who got this phone as a gift, and cannot afford data )

My question is, if I am having a conversation with a friend through iMessage on our iPhones, and then leave my house (no more wifi), will my friend's iPhone know that I am not connected to iMessage anymore and start sending through SMS? Or will I not receive any more messages from any iOS 5 users until I reconnect back to wifi?

I really want to use iMessage because I also own an iPad. (If someone asks how I can afford an iPad but not a data plan, this was also a gift )

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[PaulDoFish]

Never mind. I found out.

An iPhone will not know that the recipient is not connected to the internet, and will continue sending iMessages.

So in my case, if a friend and I both have iMessage enabled, and they try to text me, I will not receive any messages from them until I am connected to wifi.

So if anyone out there is using an iPhone with no data plan/mobile wifi on iOS 5, I recommend you turn off iMessage so you don't miss out on important text messages.