Turn on RCS chats in Google Messages

With Rich Communication Services or RCS, a modern industry standard for messaging, you can have a more dynamic and secure conversation with someone than through SMS or MMS. Learn about Rich Communication Services messaging.

Turn on RCS chats for the first time

When RCS chats are turned on, you can send messages over Wi-Fi and use other features.

If your operator and device aren't automatically set up for RCS chats or you can't turn on RCS chats, learn how to troubleshoot.

Turn RCS chats on or off

Important: It is not advised to turn RCS chats on and off. If you do, you'll be removed from group chats. Apply the steps below if you:

Swap to a device without RCS and don't receive messages on your new phone.
Switch to another message app and don't receive your messages.
Lose or break your phone but still have your phone number.

If you have access to your device:

On your device, open Google Messages .
At the top right, tap your profile picture or initial Messages settings RCS chats.
Turn RCS chats on or off.

Tip: If you can't use your device, use the Google Messages deactivation web portal to turn off RCS chats temporarily.

Understand RCS chat status

To find your status, go to Settings RCS chats.

The possible statuses are:

Connected: You can use RCS chats with other people who have them turned on.
Connecting: Your phone number is under verification. Please wait.
Trouble connecting. Awaiting retry: There's an issue with your phone number verification. Please wait.
- If this takes more than 30 minutes, tap Details Submit feedback.
Not supported: You can't use RCS chats. Check your Internet connection.

If the message 'RCS chats are disabled by your operator' appears, contact your operator.

Turn specific features in RCS chats on or off

Let others know that you've read their messages

To turn on read receipts:

On your device, open Google Messages .
Tap your profile picture or icon Messages settings.
Tap RCS chats.
- If you can't find 'RCS chats', tap Chat features.
Tap Send read receipts.

To find out when others have read your message, they must turn on read receipts in the settings.

Show others when you're typing in a conversation with them

To turn on typing indicators:

On your device, open Google Messages .
Tap your profile picture or icon Messages settings.
Tap RCS chats.
- If you can't find 'RCS chats', tap Chat features.
Tap Show typing indicators.

If sending a message doesn't work, choose how to resend it

If you've tried unsuccessfully to send a message over Wi-Fi or mobile data, you can choose how to resend a message:

On your device, open Google Messages .
Tap your profile picture or initial Messages settings.
Tap RCS chats.
- If you can't find 'RCS chats', tap Chat features.
Tap Resend messages.
Choose how to resend a message.
- Important: If you choose the option to send as 'SMS with a link', your media could be accessible by a public link and not controlled by Google.

Stop Google Fi sync

If you use Google Fi and have synced texts, calls and voicemail, your RCS chats will be turned off. To stop Google Fi syncing and use RCS chats, use one of the following options:

Stop sync in Google Messages

Open Google Messages .
At the top right, tap your profile picture or initial Messages settings Advanced.
Tap Google Fi Wireless settings Sign in to your Google Fi account.
Select your account.
In the 'Using RCS chats?', select Turn off.
On the next screen, tap Sync conversations.
At the bottom, tap Stop sync and sign out.
In the confirmation dialogue, tap Stop syncing.

Stop sync via the web

If 'Google Fi Wireless settings' isn't available in Google Messages, you can stop Google Fi syncing through a web browser.

On your device, go to messages.google.com/web.
Sign in with your Google Account.
At the top left, tap Menu Settings.
At the bottom, in the 'Account' section, select Stop sync and sign out.

After you've completed the steps, enable RCS on your phone:

Open Google Messages .
At the top right, tap your profile picture or initial Messages settings RCS chats.
Turn on RCS.
Tap Retry.
In the confirmation dialogue, tap Continue.

When you tap 'Stop sync and sign out', RCS automatically activates. However, this takes some time. To speed up activation:

Open Google Messages .
At the top right, tap your profile picture or initial Messages settings.
Under 'RCS chats', tap Retry.

Find out if your message will be sent by mobile data, SMS or MMS

The send icon in the compose bar displays the method via which your message will be sent. These are the possible ways in which your messages will be sent: