How to enable RCS on Android

The development of smart mobile phones has been rapid in recent years, and SMS, which was invented over 30 years ago, has not been able to keep up with the demands of the contemporary style of messaging. Today, we no longer send only text, instead, we send rich content in the form of pictures, videos, emojis and much more. SMS needs to be updated to meet new technological requirements.

In 2007, RCS began to be developed, and in 2018, the technology was ready to be implemented in all Android phones. The plan for making RCS available worldwide has been delayed a number of times, and the service is, as of now, only available to customers through a limited number of operators in Sweden, such as Telia and Tele2. RCS, as a standard app, has recently been integrated into newer Android phones in Sweden. For those with older phones it is possible to download the Messages app to Android, which makes it possible to send and receive RCS messages already today. Follow these five steps to enable RCS on your Android phone.

Step 1

To enable RCS on your Android, you first need to download the Messages app from Google Play.

Step 2

The next step is to choose the Messages app as the default app for mobile messaging. In some newer Android phones, Messages is already set as the default app for messaging, but if it is not, you can easily change this in the mobile settings app.

Apps > Messages  > Set as standard

Step 3

Time to activate RCS. Open Messages and go to the app settings. Settings are the three dots in the top right corner of the app. Then go to chat features and activate the Chat feature (RCS). Then wait a few seconds while the app reconfigures itself. When the configuration is complete, you will receive a message stating that you are connected.

Settings > chat features > enable chat features

Step 4

The mobile needs to be connected to the internet or Wi-Fi for RCS to work. Therefore, make sure you have an internet connection when sending a message.

Step 5

Good job! Now you are ready to start sending rich messages with RCS. Read more about what you can do with RCS.

In the map below you can see which countries RCS is available in so far.