Why is RCS not working between my iPhone running iOS 18 and Android?

I wish I knew who "they" was. I don't understand how this is supposed to work.

I have T-Mobile. I have an iPhone 14PM. I have never gotten clear indication on where the fault lies for this.

I know that this has nothing to do with the recipient because my actual device keeps switching back to SMS based on Settings > About. When I tap on the ESIM Carrier, it shows Voice, SMS & RCS when RCS is available and Voice & SMS when it's not.

I just discovered that if I shut off my line and turn it back on, RCS does come back.

It's actually pretty simple. Your phone can only send a message, SMS or RCS through the carrier and if RCS is at times missing, it means your carrier doesn't have RCS available at the time you want to send the message. RCS is NOT an Apple Service. But it is a new service through iPhone, which the carriers have to implement on their end AND make stable on their end.

I honestly don't get why it matters that much? Whether a message is sent via SMS or RCS, as long as the message is delivered, seems most important to me. Maybe you can help me understand from your point of view, why it matters so much?

As others noted, there are significant advantages to sending RCS vs SMS especially if you send images or videos to Android users.

But I think your comment is overly simplistic as to the problems people are experiencing on this thread. Some people are having issues with their carrier support of RCS. But other people are having problems that might be issues with Apple’s implementation. For instance, when I upgraded to a new phone, RCS threads from my old device broke while new RCS threads worked. I suspect that was an issue with how Apple migrated older RCS threads to a new device.

In any event, RCS can’t work if Apple doesn’t implement it well on its own devices. So you can’t definitively say it’s a carrier issue. It might be a carrier issue in many cases (or even most cases), but RCS is a complex service that requires the entire stack to work together.

Thanks for your comment, but I don't agree with you in total. Apple opened the channel or service to RCS on iPhone. It's in the hands of carriers to use that channel reliably. Just like Apple doesn't send or deliver SMS/MMS. Carriers do.

Look into the GSMA’s Universal Profile specification that defines RCS messaging. It is not as simple as device makers just clicking a box to accept RCS. Devices need to make several technical changes to support RCS including:

Supporting IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) core, which is required for handling rich communication traffic.

Adopting new APIs for messaging and network protocols, ensuring consistent functionality.

And adding encryption during data transmission using Transport Layer Security (TLS).

I spent two hours on Facebook with T-Force on Saturday. They did all of the standard blame the recipient’s phone and other blame shifting methods. I tried to explain that it is not the recipient and that when it shuts off, I cannot RCS anyone who can get RCS message. I explained that when I restart the phone, it will sometimes work for an hour or two but that has been increasingly rare. Now it’s usually about fifteen minutes. They had me reset the network connection on my phone and it stayed connected for four hours before shutting down again. After two hours they told me that they “escalated it” and would contact me on 12/24. Want to bet that I hear nothing back?

I am weighing out continuing with their tech support knowing that I will spend hours with them to likely get no fix and asking myself if I really care about it that much. It has been nothing but frustration, just like most other things have been with them since I moved from Verizon back in 2022.

Hi the server itself is hosted by google.

https://ie.godaddy.com/whois/results.aspx?itc=dlp_domain_whois&domainName=telephony.goog

I believe this is the carrier responsibility but the way apple is doing this double tcp connection i believe it is apple responsibility. Android use the same servers but use dns resolution so this does not happen.

Not sure just want to bring some clarity and maybe a solution for more people that are having similar situations.

Hello~ This is the second time that you have posted this and I must agree with *Ikrupp* to whom you were rude to before. How about clicking on below? Turning off WiFi has consequences.

Turn on RCS messaging on your iPhone - Apple Support

~Katana-San~

i've only gotten 2 out of 3 of my android contacts to use RCS. the 2 i’ve gotten to work are Samsung Galaxy S22’s but the one that won’t work is on (i think) a Samsung Galaxy A53. i’m on Verizon btw.

Definitely a carrier issue at one end or the other, not your iPhone 12.

I solved it by updating my Mac to Sequoia. Weirdly enough, this made my iPhone behave properly.

I think it’s apple having an issue again or something. RCS was working totally fine yesterday but it’s busted again today. I can receive it fine, but can’t send it. Driving me insane.

Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging

there two options on mine

RCS Messaging and RCS Business Messaging

My only guess is maybe there is some type of firewall on your WiFi router that is causing the RCS to turn off.

I have the 15 pro max

Downloaded the ios update and no options for RCS in message settings

I was previous on Android and my carrier O2 supported RCS

But since this update nothing at all

It's one of the reasons that made me chose this phone over another android becuase with the promice of RCS I could message my friends and family

No idea what's gone wrong but I'm very disappointed