Ever since Apple shock the technical school residential area with itsannouncement that it would substantiate RCS , we ’ve been waitress for the day when it would be available . Now thatday has make it , you may finally use it on your iPhone , here ’s how it work .
Updated March 5 , 2025 : The latest iOS 18.4 beta tally RCS support for more carriers , include most of those in the U.S. that have n’t endure it until now .
What is RCS?
RCS stands for Rich Communications Services , and it ’s meant to be a replacement for the decades - onetime SMS / MMS texting standard .
you could kind of think of it as iMessage lite for everyone . It ’s a weapons platform - indifferent touchstone adopted by the GSM Association to do messaging over your internet data connection rather than stringently your carrier web . It put up many of the same benefit , include typecast indicators , full - resolution images and video recording , right group chats , delivery and read receipts , and good security .
The standard has been pushed heavily by Google and is prosaic on Android phones . The Google Messages app provide RCS support on almost any Android phone using Google ’s own RCS server and even include some extensions to total novel features ( most notably better encoding ) that are not part of the core GSM standard .
All you need to know as an iPhone drug user is that RCS will make your conversations with Android users much more pleasant .
What RCS features will iOS 18 support?
In iOS 18 , RCS bring numerous features that were previously only usable to iMessage user :
text edition effects ( slam , gimcrack , docile , unseeable ink , etc . ) do not appear on the conversation ’s Android side . The recipient will get a substance saying “ ( transmit with the Slam result ) ” or the similar . Inline replies also do n’t work .
RCS messages are not encrypted , either . When using the Google Messages app on an Android earphone and Google ’s own RCS host , encryption is suffer thanks to a proprietary extension to the standard that Google number up with . Apple is relying on carrier living for the RCS standard as take in by the GSM Association , which does n’t have encryption support . However , Apple say they want to work with the GSM to include it in a succeeding interlingual rendition of the standard .
Will my messages with Android users still be green?
Yes ! blue-blooded bubbles are for iMessages only and are there to help you know that your message haveextremely secure encoding , among other exclusive features . So , the green bubble conversations are n’t go anywhere . But they ’ll be less frustrating .
How do I know if I have RCS on my iPhone?
The simplest means is to open a message with someone and look at the text entry area :
you could also check in context to see if RCS is enabled , which we ’ll describe below . If you do n’t see the iOS 18 update , check to ensure youriPhone stomach iOS 18 .
Does my carrier need to support RCS? How do I know if mine does?
Your carrier need to provide RCS services in conformity with the GSM Association ’s criterion for it to work on your iPhone , and you of form need to runiOS 18 .
In the United States , the major carriers Verizon , T - Mobile , and AT&T have all enable RCS on iPhones running iOS 18 , though if you just installed iOS 18 you may have to look a day or so for the provisioning codes to be send to your sound .
The situation is a bit more nebulous for MVNO carriers that piggyback off those major carriers , like Visible , Xfinity , Mint Mobile , Metro , or Cricket . With the iOS 18.4 update , support for RCS is being add up for the last holdout carriers — Google Fi , Metro , Mint Mobile , and others . Once your iPhone is updated to iOS 18.4 or later , it should support RCS on well-nigh any U.S. carrier .
There is no known room to “ force ” RCS onto your iPhone . But if your immune carrier underpin it and you have iOS 18 and do not see the option , it may aid topower off your iPhoneand might it on again .
Apple has a very usefulCarrier Support pagethat lists all the attack aircraft carrier have for various carriers around the world , grownup and small . you may see if your carrier support RCS there ( along with other feature ) .
How do I enable or disable RCS in Settings?
Open configurations , scroll down to the bottom and tapApps , then scroll down to find and selectMessages . Under the “ Text Messaging ” aim , you ’ll see anRCS Messagingmenu if it is support by your carrier and iPhone . Select it and then toggle on RCS to enable it in the Messages app .
you’re able to watch if your toter supports RCS by opening preferences , selectingGeneral , and thenAbout . Scroll down to the “ eSIM / web ” discussion section . You ’ll see a telephone circuit for “ Carrier . ” Tap on it to flip that business line to “ IMS Status . ” If your carrier supports RCS , the selection will showVoice , SMS & RCS . If not , it will only showVoice & SMS .
