IPhones On Google Fi And T-Mobile MVNOs Are A Big Step Closer To Getting RCS
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- iOS 18.4 Beta 2 appears to add an RCS toggle for Google Fi and T-Mobile MVNOs, but activation of the feature is still pending for some users.
- This marks a shift from September when Google said Apple needed to enable RCS for iPhone users on Google Fi.
- Full activation may require backend carrier setup or could arrive with the stable version of the iOS update.
Apple’s support for RCS messaging on iPhones took a major step forward with iOS 18, allowing iPhone and Android users to communicate with richer messaging features instead of being limited to SMS. However, not all iPhone users were able to take advantage of RCS, with Google Fi subscribers and others on MVNOs notably left out. Now, it appears that this limitation is beginning to change.
A recent observation by users running iOS 18.4 Beta 2 suggests that RCS is now live for Google Fi subscribers. A screenshot shared by one Reddit user shows a new RCS Messaging toggle within the Messages app settings, but it has a status reading “waiting for activation.” This suggests that while RCS support may be technically enabled in beta, users may still need to wait for activation on the backend. Still, this would mark a shift from the situation in September when Google stated that Apple needed to enable RCS interoperability for Fi users on iPhones.
Reddit user dirtyraat shared this image of an RCS setting in the iOS beta on Google Fi.
Beyond Google Fi, iOS 18.4 Beta 2 appears to be paving the way for RCS support across T-Mobile MVNOs. According to another Redditor testing the update on the USMobile subreddit, the same RCS setting is available under Settings — Apps — Messages — RCS in iOS 18.4 Beta 2. In that thread, another user with a Helium Mobile plan, which is also a T-Mobile MVNO, could also see the RCS option in beta.
However, activation remains inconsistent. At the time of posting, some of these users’ devices were still stuck in a “waiting for activation” state, possibly due to a queue of activations or unfinished backend configurations from T-Mobile. However, earlier this week, Mint Mobile users also saw the RCS option and were able to activate it.
Since this change is still rolling out and tied to the beta version of iOS 18.4, users who aren’t seeing RCS yet or don’t have it activated may simply need to wait for Apple to push the full stable update.
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