iPhone and Android RCS Communication finally Fully functional, But Requires Initial Prompt
After years of fragmented messaging experiences, Rich Communication Services (RCS) communication between iPhones and Android devices is now fully functional – though sometimes requires a nudge to initiate. Recent testing reveals that while Android readily adopts RCS, iPhones often default to SMS until prompted, according to a report by Mobilmania.cz.
The issue stems from how iOS handles RCS indicators. Unlike Android, where smileys are integrated within the message, iOS treats them as separate entities. More critically,the iPhone doesn’t automatically recognize an Android device’s RCS activation; it continues to identify the connection as SMS until the Android user sends an RCS message – or even a simple ”thumbs up” – to the iPhone.This forces the iPhone to acknowledge the RCS capability. Even after RCS is enabled on the Android side, the iPhone may continue to send messages as SMS for up to an hour and a half.
Testing showed that when RCS was disabled on the Android device, the iPhone converted RCS messages to SMS within approximately 9 minutes. Re-enabling RCS on android triggered the same conversion process a second time, highlighting the iPhone’s reliance on explicit RCS signaling.
However, the report notes this is largely a “border situation,” as most Android users have RCS active by default and are unaware of the option to disable it. With RCS widely enabled on Android, text communication – including file sharing, photos, stickers, and swift responses – between Android and iPhone users is now operating as intended.
