Apple added RCS support to the iPhone with iOS 18 in late 2024, and Google has spent years refining the experience on Android. Together, they’ve turned RCS from a niche standard into the default texting backbone for billions of phones. But even in mid-2026, setting it up still involves outdated web tutorials, carrier-dependent toggles, and a Samsung Messages shutdown that will strand users who don’t switch apps.
We sorted through the latest setup steps from Google, Apple, and the updated Technobezz guide to give you a clear path — whether you’re on Android, iPhone, switching between the two, or trying to text from a computer.
What actually changed: RCS becomes the de facto text standard
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the long-promised upgrade to SMS and MMS. It delivers high-resolution photo and video sharing, typing indicators, read receipts, delivery confirmations, and modern group chat behavior — all over mobile data or Wi-Fi. Critically, RCS doesn’t require a new app, account, or phone number. It’s the same texting inbox you’ve always used; your phone simply selects RCS when both sides support it and falls back to SMS or MMS when they don’t.
Three shifts made RCS genuinely practical for most people:
- iPhone support arrived with iOS 18. Before that, RCS was an Android-only affair, leaving cross-platform threads stuck on blurry MMS. iOS 18 brought the toggle to Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging. It remains carrier-locked — if the toggle is missing, your carrier hasn’t flipped the switch yet.
- Samsung Messages is being phased out in the US. Samsung confirmed the app will be discontinued for affected devices in July 2026, with multiple reports pointing to July 6 as the cutoff. Samsung is directing users to Google Messages, and devices running Android 11 or older are excluded from the shutdown. Anyone still clinging to Samsung’s app needs to migrate now.
- Google Messages for web dropped QR-code pairing in the US. Old guides still show scanning a barcode to pair a computer, but Google now requires Device Pairing tied to your Google Account. You sign in on the browser, approve the session on your phone, and that’s it. QR codes are no longer supported in the US, and failing to follow the new flow is the top reason people can’t get web texting working.
Encryption is the messy asterisk. Google Messages supports end-to-end encryption for eligible Android-to-Android chats, but SMS, MMS, and RCS handled by unsupported apps are not encrypted. Apple lists end-to-end encrypted RCS as a carrier-dependent beta feature in iOS 26.5 — it requires both a supported carrier and that specific OS version, and even then it’s hidden behind an additional toggle under RCS Messaging settings.
What this means for your daily texting
The practical impact splits by platform:
| Audience | What changes |
|---|---|
| Android users on Google Messages | You’re already on the right track. RCS lights up automatically for compatible contacts. Media quality jumps. Read receipts and typing indicators work like chat apps. |
| Samsung phone owners in the US | If you’re still using Samsung Messages, your texting app will stop working as early as July 6, 2026. Switch to Google Messages now and make it the default SMS app to keep RCS and avoid message loss. |
| iPhone users on iOS 18+ | RCS turns on in Settings; no extra app needed. Texts to Androids that support RCS will show delivery/read receipts and higher-quality media, but the bubbles stay green. iMessage remains blue and exclusive to Apple-to-Apple chats. |
| Anyone texting cross-platform | The days of grainy group photos and missing read receipts between iPhones and Androids are largely over — as long as both carriers support RCS. If your iPhone lacks the toggle, blame the carrier, not Apple. |
| Privacy-conscious users | Assume RCS is not encrypted in mixed Android-iPhone threads today. Android-to-Android chats can be end-to-end encrypted if both sides use Google Messages with the feature enabled. iPhone-to-anything encryption requires iOS 26.5, a compatible carrier, and you to opt into the beta toggle. |
Neither platform forces you to choose RCS per message. The system negotiates it silently. If you see a message fail to send, check whether “Resend messages if they fail” in Google Messages is configured to your liking — you can choose whether failed RCS falls back to SMS/MMS automatically.
How we got here: a decade-long crawl
RCS was first proposed by the GSM Association around 2007 as a replacement for SMS, but adoption stalled for years because carriers, phone makers, and OS vendors couldn’t agree on a single profile. Google finally seized the initiative by building RCS directly into Google Messages and pushing carriers to adopt its Jibe platform. That turned Android’s fragmented texting landscape into a unified, reliable system for anyone who used Google’s app.
Apple held out for nearly a decade, arguing that iMessage provided a superior experience and that RCS didn’t offer end-to-end encryption. The EU’s Digital Markets Act and sustained carrier pressure likely nudged Apple to add RCS in iOS 18. The implementation is functional but deliberately separated from iMessage — green bubbles still signal Android, and Apple’s encryption layer for RCS is a beta add-on, not a built-in default.
Meanwhile, Samsung began backing away from its own messaging app, first preloading Google Messages on US Galaxy devices and then setting a hard sunset date. The fragmentation lesson is clear: if you want RCS to work reliably, use Google Messages on Android and iOS 18’s built-in Messages on iPhone. Any other combination is a gamble.
What to do now: step-by-step setup and fixes
These steps reflect the latest interfaces as of July 2026. Outdated tutorials may still mention QR codes for web pairing, Samsung Messages paths, or pre-iOS 18 menus. Ignore them.
On an Android phone
- Install or update Google Messages from the Play Store.
- Set it as the default SMS app: Go to Settings > Apps > Google Messages > SMS > Google Messages, then confirm. (Labels vary slightly by manufacturer.)
- Enable RCS chats: Open Google Messages, tap your profile icon, then go to Messages settings > RCS chats. Toggle RCS chats on.
- Verify: The setting page should show “Connected” once activated. If it gets stuck, make sure your phone has an active data connection and that your carrier supports RCS (most major carriers do).
Once active, you can control read receipts, typing indicators, and fallback behavior from the same RCS chats menu.
On an iPhone
- Update to iOS 18 or later. (For encrypted RCS, iOS 26.5 beta is required.)
- Open Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging.
- Toggle RCS Messaging on.
- If the toggle is missing, visit Apple’s wireless carrier support page for your country and confirm your carrier supports RCS. The toggle won’t appear until both iOS and the carrier allow it.
For encrypted RCS (beta), you’ll see an additional “End-to-End Encryption (Beta)” toggle. Turn it on only if you’re on iOS 26.5 and your carrier lists support for “End-to-end encrypted RCS messaging (beta).”
Texting from a computer or tablet
- Android users: Open Google Messages on your phone, tap the account menu, then Device Pairing. Select your Google Account when prompted. On your computer, open Google Messages for web, sign in with the same Google Account, and approve the emoji match on your phone. Do not scan any QR code — that flow is dead in the US.
- iPhone users: Use iCloud sync for Messages across your Apple devices, and enable Text Message Forwarding in Settings > Apps > Messages to handle SMS/MMS/RCS on an iPad or Mac.
Switching phones or deactivating RCS
If you’re moving to a new device without properly turning off RCS, you might miss texts. Google offers a deactivation page at messages.google.com/disable-chat. Enter your phone number, receive a verification code, and deactivate. Google says this removes you from RCS group chats if you don’t reenable RCS within 30 days.
Samsung Messages users: migrate now
Open Google Messages, follow the prompts to set it as the default SMS app, and enable RCS chats. Samsung Messages will stop working for affected US devices on or around July 6, 2026. Don’t wait until messages stop sending.
What to watch next
RCS’s future hinges on encryption. Google and Apple are both moving toward universal end-to-end encryption for RCS, but it’s currently a patchwork: Google’s E2EE works only for Android-to-Android chats, and Apple’s solution is in beta and carrier-gated. Until those align, treat RCS as a richer but not necessarily private replacement for SMS.
Samsung’s July 2026 shutdown will push the last holdouts onto Google Messages, finally unifying Android’s RCS story. And as carriers drop older SMS infrastructure, RCS will become the only game in town — but the transition won’t be entirely painless for people who skip the setup steps above.