RCS Messaging on O2

[Chris_K]

Hey everyone,

Some of you may have spotted the recent news that Google was building RCS right into their own Messages app. Some of you may know exactly what RCS is, and some of you may not have a clue – but want it anyway. In any case, here’s a refresher…

What is RCS?
RCS is essentially an evolution of SMS. In the grand scheme of things, the SMS protocol today has barely changed since its inception in 1992 – it has the same character limit and same limitations. RCS has been designed to include functionality such as group messaging, sending/receiving voice & video messages, and even see read receipts or when someone is replying to your message. Think of RCS as a bit like WhatsApp, but with the ability to send rich media messages to someone that doesn’t have WhatsApp installed.

RCS vs iMessage vs WhatsApp
So you may be thinking, RCS sounds very similar to iMessage and WhatsApp – so what’s the difference? If you already use WhatsApp for the majority of your messaging, then you won’t notice a whole lot of change here in terms of functionality. And iMessage supports features that neither RCS or WhatsApp will – such as memoji – which are exclusive to Apple / iOS / iMessage.

The main things to note with RCS vs WhatsApp is that while messages sent via WhatsApp have end-to-end encryption, RCS does not. A positive for RCS however is that while this and WhatsApp both rely on mobile data to send messages, if you find yourself connected to a voice-only 2G network, RCS will fall back to the SMS standard and you’ll still be able to message folk – just without any fancy group messaging, pictures, voice or video clips etc.

When will you have more info on your network implementation of RCS?
RCS is a complex technology that requires careful and precise implementation, and it’s our duty to ensure that implementing such a feature will result in a positive and reliable experience for our customers.

That said, we have no precise ETA to share as we’ll only activate the service when we feel confident it’ll provide that experience, but we expect to be able to share further updates with you over the summer – which we’ll let you know about on this thread as and when we have more to share.

What about Google’s RCS?
If you have an Android device whose main messaging app is Google’s own ‘Messages’, then RCS is currently rolling out to you right now – though this could take days, weeks, or longer. If you use an alternative messaging app such as Samsung’s own Messages app, then RCS won’t work for you until we implement our own RCS service.

How do I get Google’s RCS?
As above, Google are currently rolling this functionality out to UK Android users. We have no influence on this roll out and have no further details on what the schedule looks like, and how long the roll-out will take, but we’re seeing more and more customers getting the option to enable it.

Here’s how to check if it has been rolled out to your device or not:

1. Ensure your Google Messages app is up-to-date (make sure it’s this one you’re using)
2. Open the app
3. Tap the three dot icon at the top-right hand corner
4. Go to ‘Settings’
5. Tap on ‘Chat features’
6. If the roll-out hasn’t reached you yet, you won’t have an option to enable this. If the roll-out has reached you though, you should have a toggle that’ll allow you to opt-in to Google’s RCS – you’ll need to agree to their privacy policy and T&C’s.

How do I know I’m sending an RCS and not an SMS?
If you’re using the Google Messages app and you’ve ensured the RCS Chat service is enabled (see above), then the text box where you type out a message will show you which is in use. If you see “Text message” then it will be sent as an SMS. If you see “Chat message” then it’ll be sent via RCS. If you’ve ensured Chat RCS is enabled on your end but you still see “Text message”, then this is most likely because the person you’re trying to message doesn’t have RCS enabled on their end – this could be because they’ve not activated it within Google Messages, or it could be because they’ve got an alternative messaging app set as their default.

[Matt0801]

---

@pgn wrote:

Love the flashy scrolling text in your signature, @Chris_K!

• Re RCS - will this mean no more premium charge for sending an SMS that unintentionally gets converted to an MMS?

I tried the Google Messenger app a phone or two back (perhaps 4 years ago?), didn't like it and reverted to the default SMS app, "Messaging" - something to do with working while roaming back then, I think.

Anyway - I may try it again when O2 roll out RCS to those with OnePlus phones...

---

o2 may not roll RCS out, but if Google's actions have finally tipped their hand, then that's a good thing.

Try the Google Messages app again, it has been updated considerably since you last tried it which was just after it was released by the looks of it (November 2014) and has started receiving a lot of the features that were in Allo which is good.  It shouls work fine on OnePlus devices. 

There's still some features missing of course, but with any luck Google will continue to bring features (apparently scheduled messaging and end-to-end encryption is on the list) but as more people use it, more pressure can be applied on Google to implement features people really want.

[Oxygen87]

I really can't see why O2 would want to object to expanding their network capabilities and improving customer satisfaction by implementing RCS. I hope they go ahead and implement the service.

[Oxygen87]

O2 have told me on Twitter that they are working hard to ensure their messaging service is exactly what customers want and need and there will be more information on RCS over the summer. I'm kind of seeing this as good news because they probably wouldn't say this if they weren't going to implement it? Who knows though. Guess it's a waiting game!

[pgn]

If you read @Chris_K's signature up above, you'll find he is a member of O2's Social Media (Twitter, FB, Instagram, & c) Team, @Oxygen87. Perhaps it is him you've been conversing with 👍

Will make a better attempt to try Google Messenger again - I wonder if it is compatible with my SMS text backup tool:

? 

[Oxygen87]

I just use Samsung Cloud to back up my SMS. I didn't actually know you could use an external app for SMS back up.

[MI5]

---

@pgn wrote:

If you read @Chris_K's signature up above, you'll find he is a member of O2's Social Media (Twitter, FB, Instagram, & c) Team, @Oxygen87. Perhaps it is him you've been conversing with 👍

Will make a better attempt to try Google Messenger again - I wonder if it is compatible with my SMS text backup tool:

? 

---

Auto backup routines don't work for me but I do it manually once a week and it's fine.

[CliveC]

So, I decided to try the beta for Android and didn't like it, so I had to reset my pixel 3a to go back to Android 9 Pie, and now Chat Features are not enabled any more, nor can I enable them by going into settings. Anyone offer any advice?

[MI5]

Have you got all updates installed and the latest Google messages app?

[pgn]

---

@MI5 wrote:

---

@pgn wrote:

Will make a better attempt to try Google Messenger again - I wonder if it is compatible with my SMS text backup tool:

? 

---

Auto backup routines don't work for me but I do it manually once a week and it's fine.

---

Well, this Google e-mail will speed up my Google Messenger (and my evaluation of Rich Communication Services, or RCS) research, methinks, @MI5 and @Chris_K @@..

[MI5]

Yeah, I just had the same email