How to Activate RCS on iPhone Running iOS 18

With the latest iOS 18, Apple is introducing RCS messaging to make communication between iPhones and Android devices smoother. RCS offers features like read receipts, support for audio messages, improved group chats, and more features that were previously only available through iMessage. The iOS 18 Developer Beta 2 enabled RCS for some US network providers and with iOS 18 Beta 3, this feature is expanding to more countries worldwide. If you’d like to try out RCS messaging on your iPhone, this guide will show you how to enable it.

What Is RCS on iPhone

RCS, which stands for Rich Communication Services, is an advanced messaging protocol designed to replace the old SMS/MMS system. Unlike SMS/MMS, which have limits on characters and media sizes, RCS allows you to send unlimited text and high-quality media. With iOS 18, Apple has added RCS support, making communication between iPhone and Android users smoother. Here are some benefits of RCS over traditional SMS and MMS:

How to Use RCS on iPhone

If you’ve upgraded to iOS 18 and your network carrier supports RCS, you can easily turn on or off RCS messaging on your iPhone. Here’s how to do it:

• Tap on the Settings app on your iPhone then scroll down and tap on Apps.

• Scroll down or Use the search bar for finding Messages.

• Here, tap on RCS Messaging and toggle the RCS Messaging switch on.

And that’s how you can enable RCS on your iOS 18 running iPhone. Currently, all major carriers support RCS, and with the iOS 18 beta 3 update, RCS is also available through network carriers in Spain, Canada, Germany and some other countries. As the stable version of iOS 18 is released this fall, more carriers are likely to offer RCS support.

Apple is also planning to collaborate with Google and other members of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) to enhance the RCS standard. This partnership aims to introduce advanced features, such as the ability to edit messages and undo sending RCS messages.