How to Check If You Have Access to Google RCS Messages
The RCS messaging is here – thanks Google – but still chances are you won’t be able to flip the switch on it because, again, Google. Yes, it’s another feature, which means you’ll stare at your phone for an unknown amount of time, hoping it will reveal a setting for you that you can use to turn on something that sounds really amazing on paper.
In case you don’t know what we are talking about, here is the super short version. Think of RCS messaging as a super-enhanced version of the SMS you currently text your friends all day long. With advanced 8,000 character limits, read receipt support, cross-device sync and web chat capabilities, this is the messaging evolution Android has needed for some time.
While people have found clever workarounds to manually enable RCS messaging on their devices, there is an easier way here – assuming Google has provided this feature for you. To check, you first need to make sure your device has the Google Messages app – standard on Pixels but not guaranteed on other Androids ( coughs, Samsung, coughs ).
From there, open the app and tap the three-dot icon in the upper right corner and then tap Settings . Click on Chat Features (if it exists), enter your phone number and make sure your Status moves from Setting to Connected. Boom, you are now using RCS and you should be able to use all of its features if the person you are talking to on the other end also has RCS enabled on their device.