iPhone users notice RCS messaging enabled for more carriers on iOS 18.4 beta 2
After Apple seeded its second beta build of iOS 18.4 to developers for testing this week, many testers took to Reddit and various other social media platforms to share that Rich Communication Services (RCS) became available on handsets powered by carriers that previously didn’t support it – namely some of T-Mobile‘s smaller Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in the United States.
The list of new carriers that now support RCS on the iPhone in the United States as of iOS 18.4 beta 2 includes Boost Mobile, Google Fi, Metro by T-Mobile, and Mint Mobile, just to name a few. These join not only the big three U.S. carriers (AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile), but also various other lesser-known carriers that have supported RCS.
In other countries, such as France, carriers like Orange and Sosh also appear to be offering RCS messaging with the rollout of iOS 18.4 beta 2, iPhoneSoft reports.
As some users have pointed out, the RCS option becomes available after the iPhone activates and/or installs available carrier updates. This means that users upgrading to iOS 18.4 beta 2 may need to be patient immediately after installing the beta update for the option to become available to them.
Users can easily ascertain whether RCS is supported on their handset by navigating to Settings → Apps → Messages and scrolling down to where it says RCS Messaging. Tapping on this reveals the preference pane shown above, which from my T-Mobile handset, RCS Messaging is turned on:
RCS is a feature that Android owners have had for years that many iPhone owners have long wanted Apple to implement for cross-platform interoperability, allowing even those sending regular text messages to enjoy read receipts, typing indicators, unlimited characters, and uncompressed media sharing, among other things.
These are things that iPhone owners could previously only enjoy when iMessaging other Apple device owners, but it’s now universal whether that recipient is an iPhone owner, Samsung Galaxy owner, or something else (as long as that something else supports RCS).
If you’re using a carrier that hasn’t been listed above, and you’ve started seeing RCS support as of iOS 18.4 beta 2, be sure to let us know in the comments section down below.
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/03/05/ios-18-4-beta-2-rcs-more-carriers/
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