Apple and the RCS (Rich Communication Service) protocol, it's a long story, full of twists and turns. For years, Google has been pestering the Cupertino company to adopt this messaging protocol, instead of iMessages. And during all these years, Apple has always refused to support this messaging protocol, which is intended to replace SMS. Before finally changing its mind.
Also read: RCS Message: Everything you need to know about the successor to SMS
iOS 18 introduces RCS support
To everyone's surprise, Apple announced last November that it would be integrating the RCS protocol into its Messages messaging app. This long-awaited support should provide iPhones with better fluidity with other devices, running on Android in particular, compared to SMS and MMS.
Thanks to this protocol, the iOS Messages application now supports personalized reactions, the ability to edit a message after sending, and even the ability to recall and delete it. Above all, you will now be able to see, from your iPhone, when a contact with an Android smartphone is responding to you, or has read your missive. It will also be possible to hold group conversations, without going through a third-party application.
If Apple finally decided to support the RCS protocol in its Messages application, it was also necessary for the operators to adapt to the change. Because without them, no RCS compatibility is possible with the iPhone. Since the release of iOS 18 in beta version, they have been on a war footing. Each must indeed update their profile integrating the operator settings that will be automatically pushed to the iPhone, to integrate support for RCS. Although the beta version of iOS 18 has been available since June, only SFR has succeeded in the challenge of supporting the RCS protocol on iPhones under iOS 18. At the time of writing, RCS messaging is still not available at Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Free.
How to check RCS messaging activation on iOS 18?
After installing iOS 18 on your iPhone, the RCS protocol is, in principle, enabled by default. Provided of course that your operator already supports it. However, you can check it very simply.
To do this, go to the Settings of iOS, then at the very bottom of the page, select Apps. Then search for the app Messagesand enter its settings.
Then scroll down through the options, then under the heading SMS serviceenter the menu RCS Service. If it is available with your operator, the option should in principle already be activated on your device. If this is not the case, it is because your operator most likely does not yet support the protocol on the iPhone. You will therefore have to wait a few more days, hoping that your operator does not take too long to deploy, on its side, the update allowing support for RCS messaging on your iPhone.
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